Features

I was a controller at Albany Georgia tower back in the ’70s, and a Cherokee was on downwind, with the instructor introducing his student to radio procedures. Fortunately for me, their intercom locked on for a bit and I got all the dialog between the student and the instructor. It went like this: instructor:“Say ‘Albany […]

Last week we took a whimsical approach to the whole sleep-on-duty issue, but we’re dead serious this week. Is there a serious problem in the towers and the TRACONs, or is the government response to the latest round of errors ridiculous? Is the government overreacting to isolated controller errors, or is there a serious problem […]

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 […]

There used to be a controller at my home base of Shoreham, SE UK who had the kind of plummy voice that you might expect of a Victorian actor. One day there were two non-radio Cubs in the busy circuit. After giving my take-off clearance, he asked, “Now, where are my pride of cubs?” Bob […]

Controllers can’t be the only folks nodding off while on duty. If one of the following meets your job description and you’ve caught a few Zs while on the job, choose it. Don’t worry – we can’t trace your responses, so be honest! (Click here to send us an e-mail about this week’s Question.) Have […]

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 […]

Heard over Oakland Center frequency in northern California: Oakland:“Bonanza 123G: Report Chico in sight for the visual approach.” Bonanza 123G:“Roger. Looking … .” [Several minutes pass.] Bonanza 123G:“Bonanza 123G has Chico in sight.” [pause] Bonanza 123G:“Still looking for the airport, though.” Zack Brownvia e-mail

The aviation world is buzzing with the ill-advised landing of a Piper Warrior on famous Rockaway Beach in Queens, NY, a few miles from Kennedy Airport. Have you ever made an impromptu off-airport landing? (click to answer) Last Week’s Question: Results Want to see the current breakdown of responses? Take a moment to answer the […]

I overheard the following tower transmission after a King Air made a particularly short landing at Metro Airport near Denver. The King Air landed in less than a thousand feet and cleared the runway much earlier than the tower anticipated. Controller (obviously stunned – and in good humor) :“King Air, would you mind telling the […]

Live the likes of new-age airplane companies like Cirrus and Diamond one thing: They have resisted the overwhelming urge to fit their airplanes with folding gear. But manufacturers of the 1960s and 1970s had no such resistance, including Cessna when it added retractable gear to the venerable 182. Was the effort worth it? It did […]