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FABC:“Tower, be advised there were several large birds on approach to runway 32.” YKF Tower (spotting birds through binoculars) :“Roger. XYZ, look out for multiple birds of prey on approach.” FXYZ:“Klingons in sight, XYZ.” Michael Schustervia e-mail

A ground controller told me, after I cleared the runway at JFK, to proceed to the gate and then “stay with me.” I said, “Sure. Just give me your address.” The silence was deafening. John Lewisvia e-mail

AOPA and the FAA say an angle of attack indicator might help prevent you from getting into trouble on approach and landing. What phase of flight gave you your last scare? (click to answer) Last Week’s Question: Results Want to see the current breakdown of responses? Take a moment to answer the question yourself, and […]

Each week, we run a sampling of the letters received to our editorial inbox here in AVmail. One letter that’s particularly relevant, informative, or otherwise compelling will headline this section as our “Letter of the Week,” and we’ll send the author an official AVweb baseball cap as a “thank you” for interacting with us (and […]

Don’t stop me if you’ve heard this: A guy walks into a pilots’ lounge and asks, “Anyone here got an opinion?” Three hours later he staggers out, weighted down by the torments of the flying world. Similar thing happened on our recent Brainteaser survey. A mother-lode of angst burbled out when we fracked the depths […]

In the hangar all day listening to our radio, I heard several pilots ask our tower if they were closing. This was the best exchange: N12345:“Are you guys done for?” Tower:“Who do you mean – me or the tower?” N1234U:“Both.” Tower:“I’m done at noon, but the tower is going to be around for a long […]

The U.S. is an anomaly in most of the aviation world with a government-run air traffic system. Given the effect of the sequester, is it time to consider a privatized system, as suggested by by Robert Poole of the Reason Foundation? Does the U.S. need privatized air traffic services? (click to answer) Last Week’s Question: […]

I don’t remember the exact date, but I overheard this conversation with ATC about 35 years ago. Those were the days when we had the old surplus DGs and transponders were not required near busy terminals. Weather was clear, but a cloud layer had formed over the airport and trapped some students on top. Lost […]

Jane’s All The World’s Aircraft has come out in favor of the notion that Gustav Whitehead first fulfilled the definition of powered, controlled flight a couple of years before the Wright Brothers. Were the Wrights better aviators, or did they just have a better photographer? Did the Wright Brothers really make the first powered, controlled […]

As the government’s budget sequestration gains steam, the FAA is expected to announce which control tower might close as a result, perhaps as early as today. Discussion on this topic has produced plenty of opinions, some valid and some best characterized as fear mongering, in my view. Sequestration cuts will likely result in at least […]