Features

Several years ago, while passing through Caracas air space, I heard this on the radio: Piper 1234:“Caracas Control, Piper 1234 inbound for full stop.” Caracas:“Piper 1234, turn right five degrees to intercept the ILS.” Piper 1234:“Caracas, five degrees is too little a turn for me.” Caracas:“Piper 1234, can you make a 90-degree turn?” Piper 1234:“Affirmative. […]

The way is now clear for Michael Huerta to become the next FAA administrator. Is Huerta the right person for the job? (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 then you can view real-time results. What’s On Your […]

What compelled 45 women from Anchorage to Chesterfield, N.H., to trek to Vernon, Texas, a tiny north-Texas town where there are more trucks than cars? All had heard about a unique program called Girls in Flight Training (GIFT) Academy that provides free ground and flight instruction for women in all stages of flight training. The […]

As an AIM AIR missionary pilot flying in South Sudan, listening in on Juba International Airport’s frequency can provide a few minutes of eye-watering laughs. It is a completely non-radar environment, and all position reports are by radial and DME. Everyone, from the British Airways flights transiting overhead to our small bush airplanes, all share […]

The FAA has backed off on integrating UAVs into the NAS, citing privacy concerns. Is that a wise move? Did the FAA make the right call in deciding not to address the integration of UAVs into the air space right now? (click to answer) Last Week’s Question: Results Want to see the current breakdown of […]

The apps market is a young, fast-paced, booming, and rapidly evolving segment of the aviation industry that isn’t just transforming how pilots get information, it’s starting to affect how manufacturers build their products. Some of today’s most popular apps include Garmin Pilot, WingX Pro, and ForeFlight, which produces popular flight planning and in-flight support apps […]

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 […]

A friend of mine is a helicopter instructor in Arizona, and a student of his is approaching the cross-country flight portion of flight training. My instructor friend received this text from his student a few days ago: Hey, you’ve got me down for a cross-country to TBD. Where is it? I can’t find it anywhere! […]

The NTSB says GA has a lot of work to do to reach acceptable levels of safety. What do you think? Can general aviation ever be as safe as the airlines? (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 […]

Climbing out of Houston on a Sunday afternoon: Houston Center:“Citation 123, please see if you can contact Challenger ABCD on 128.17 and have them contact Houston Center.” [A few minutes pass.] Challenger ABCD:“Houston Center, this is Challenger ABCD checking in at flight level 360.” Houston Center:“Roger, Challenger ABCD. Descend to FL 240. What was the […]