Features

Last July I wrote an introduction to tailwheel flying as an AVweb Feature. It went into those hot-button items a fledgling tailwheel pilot needs to keep in the forefront of consciousness when coming down final in a tailwheel airplane. Let’s consider it “Tailwheels, Part I.” With this article, I’ll go through what you should expect […]

The Weekender’s SocialFlight calendar shows a busy Saturday coming up, including the start of holiday-related events. EAA Chapter 414 and AVP Kenosha Aviation in Wisconsin will host a first Toys 4 Tots drive, welcoming all to fly or drive in for a donation day on Saturday. Bring a new unwrapped toy and join the chapter […]

The glass in your bird is looking a little milky, there’s some crazing on the windshield and a little crack where the pebble hit. Is it time to replace the windows? How can you tell? What’s it going to cost? How can I make the glass last longer? First, it’s worth noting that what’s on […]

A controller on an adjacent position had a VFR pop-up looking for advisories. Due to a familiar sounding call sign, he asked if the aircraft was a Skymaster, obviously thinking it was a Cessna 337. The pilot replied:“Heck, no. I’m a solo student.” Derek Crane & Tim Shea

With sunny skies and calm winds, it’s a surprise to reach cruise altitude and find a bumpy ride. Though computer modeling is beginning to overcome many limitations in turbulence prediction, the products aren’t always accurate and don’t convey the nature of the problem. So, it’s pretty important for pilots to be well versed in what […]

Saturday’s the day to fly out on your pick of fun-filled trips, according to The Weekender’s SocialFlightcalendar. The Granite State Airport Management Association and the Capitol Region Food Program will host a 5K On the Runway atConcord Municipal Airport in New Hampshire. There will be lots of activities for the whole family. All attendees are […]

So there you are, flying along, proverbially fat, dumb and happy. Suddenly a cacophony of unusual sounds and vibration, accompanied by a pungent smell that pierces the cockpit, and the windshield is sprayed with oil. Some emergencies are clear cut like this—others more subtle. Some are caused by outside events such as a mechanical engine […]

Some airplane manufacturers build a model based on what it thinks a typical private owner might do with it. Not Swiss manufacturer Pilatus. For decades Pilatus has built models—including the PC-12 turboprop single—to specifically meet the missions of armed services throughout the world, including the U.S. Air Force (U-28A). Moreover, the Pilatus PC-12’s launch customer […]

While flying from Henderson, Nevada to Ontario, California, I was receiving flight following from L.A. Center. In the middle of the desert, just southwest of Primm, Nevada, I heard a pilot initiate a call to Center with, “Excuse Me … .” My ears perked up. The conversation was as follows: Pilot:“Excuse Me. Can you tell […]

Letter of the Week:Correcting the Imbalance Regarding Paul Bertorelli’s blog about gender imbalance: Aviation, as a profession, seems to have set the modern standard on “imbalance,” an ironic fact given the physical principles on which it is based. Does it make sense to address the subject of gender imbalance without including wage imbalance, race imbalance, […]