Features

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, […]

What if you’ve got visible metal bits in your oil? Since source identification is critical, the first question is what kind of metal is it that you’re looking at? There are two sources of filtration; one the suction screen, which has bigger screen holes to stop big parts from being passed to the oil pump […]

Boy, oh boy, has this been fun! The excitement level at Liberty Landing International Airport had reached a fever pitch; the crowds of cheering spectators were on their feet! The field was littered with the orange carcasses of shattered pumpkins scattered over a very impressive area. Some were pretty dang close to the hangars. That […]

The Weekender can’t finish up October without the Halloween touch, hence a search for treats on SocialFlight — plus some events for all ages. On Friday, Leesburg Executive Airport in Virginia will host anAviation Education & Career Expo for high school and college students. Speakers, demonstrations, exhibitors and aircraft will expose students to the variety […]

Back in the ’60s, at TEB, a student on a cross-country got lost over eastern Pennsylvania and managed to come up on a New York Center frequency asking for help. When the controller asked for the pilot’s name, he responded:“There is no pilot — just me: Carlos.” Ron Krantz