Features

Saturday, December 6, approximately 18:00 local time, I am sitting on the ramp at KTMB waiting on an IFR clearance. Here is the conversation I hear: N1234:“Tamiami Ground, N1234 at T hangar, ready for taxi.” KTMB Ground:“N1234, I don’t see you. Taxi up to and hold short of taxiway E.” [pause] KTMB Ground:“N1234, I see […]

Letter of the Week:First Officers on the Ground I’m sure the FOs can work remotely – but why? The airline is still paying the FO’s salary. Additionally, how will the FO get stick time? The incidental expenses the airlines saves by keeping the FO home likely won’t pay the legal settlement the next time a […]

Not surprisingly, as the rate of price increases for new airplanes left the rate of inflation in the dust, the business of giving new life to aging airplanes became a growth industry. The last 20 years has shown that there is a demand for general aviation airplanes, however, that demand has also been shown to […]

Peace and quiet is something that every parent has longed for at some time or another. A lack of chatter is not so great when in the clouds and rain-being vectored for a parallel ILS approach to a major airport like Atlanta. You instantly miss the constant stream of quick-paced banter of the controller. It […]

Coping with January weather — wherever you fly — is first up on Weekender’s SocialFlight calendar. A seminar on winter flying will be held Saturday at the Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma, New York. Bill Korbel, a chief meteorologist at News12, will discuss “the good, the bad, and the ugly.” Hazards, advanced NEXRAD discussions […]

On New Year’s Day 2014, my friends and I were flying to the CA-AZ RV fly-in at Lake Havasu. While crossing a “cold” MOA that was normally used for air refueling tracks, my RV-10 encountered a RV-6 that continued in the 8 o’clock low position; it was obviously going to the fly-in, but I felt […]

In previous installments of this short series (in Kitplanes magazine), we have discussed the importance of planning your first flight thoroughly, and then preparing yourself for the flight-test environment with specific training. Let’s assume then that you have a good plan and have also “warmed up” your flying skills to be ready for the unexpected. […]

The first fly-ins and drive-ins of 2015 are on the way, cold or no cold, as seen on Weekender’s SocialFlightcalendar. On Saturday, EAA Chapter 50 will meet at Hinde Field in Huron, Ohio, to present a program on the history of Cleveland Hopkins Airport. Bill Meixner, president of the Society of Air Racing Historians, Cleveland […]

You’ve decided that it’s time to buy an airplane, or you own one and you want to upgrade it with a glass panel or a larger engine. The “how will I pay for it?” refrain has gone through your head more than once. Now you have to listen to that voice. It’s time to get […]

Back in the 1970s, when transponders were just starting to be used, a pilot contacted Tucson Approach Control. Approach asked him if he “had a transponder on board.” To which the pilot responded:“No. Just the wife and I, headed to Phoenix.” Burke McClure