Features

A double-dose of holiday merriment to celebrate the season. As a retired NWA/Rep/NCA pilot, I spent a lot of time in and out of ORD. One time, leaving the gate for departure, we heard ground control say to us: “Via the outer and over the bridge, to 32 rt you go.” Very melodic for the […]

The high cost of aviation has been a theme throughout the year, so let’s pretend someone in your circle has a $2,000 contribution to support your aviation habit but you can only spend it on one thing. What would it be? Where would you spend an aviation windfall? (click to answer) Last Week’s Question: Results […]

Certification functionality and bankruptcy issues, plus a fair does of malaise, plagued many early adopters of Eclipse jets, but there are 263 jets in the wild now reaching a combined 200,000 total flight hours — and the new Eclipse ownership experience has changed. The early Eclipse experience was a master class in “the pioneers get […]

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 […]

This happened about 40 years ago. We had just had a snow storm at the airport I worked at, which was serviced by a commuter airline flying Twin Otters. It was near Christmas, and as the plane took the runway, the pilot announced over the unicom: “Air North flight XXX is dashing through the snow, […]

A California climatologist thinks polar air traffic might be behind the accelerating melting of the Arctic ice cap, and most light aircraft use leaded fuel. Does the environmental impact of your flying concern you? (click to answer) Last Week’s Question: Results Be sure to check this week’s AVmail for some thoughts on an option we […]

Fly-by-wire control system are standard issue in military aircraft — including drones — and in major new transport aircraft. Within three years, Diamond says it hopes to offer such systems for light aircraft and it’s further along the developmental road than we imagined. When we visited Diamond Aircraft’s skunkworks in Austria earlier this year, the […]

Congress has mandated a 1,500 hour minimum flight time requirement for scheduled air carriers next summer, and unless FAA regulations come along to supersede it the “impending pilot shortage” that even the general media has latched on to could become a reality sooner than later. When regulation outpaces thinking, and policy is made without concern […]

It seems there’s always an Arrow on the ramp as well as a good selection of them on the used market. Flight schools have long sworn by them as relatively economical complex trainers, and owners report happy relationships with their combination of useful load and range. Through longevity and numbers, it may have replaced the […]

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 […]