Features

Overheard in IFR Magazine‘s “On the Air” Approach:“You need to say your altitude is 2999 feet.” Cessna:“But my altitude is 3000.” [radio silence] Approach:“If you say your altitude is 2999, you won’t be in Class B airspace without a clearance. If you say your altitude is 3000, you’re in Class B without clearance.” Cessna:“Ah. My […]

We’ve asked questions about military UAVs and the rest of us before, but now the Air Force has specific ideas on how that airspace should be shared. In its proposal for a 1,200-square mile training box in North Dakota. Do you think military UAVs should be sharing the air with civilian aircraft? What do you […]

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 on the ATL Approach: Cessna 123:“ATL, can we get flight following?” ATL:“123, give location.” Cessna 123:“Squawk 0130, baro 30.21.” Cessna 123:“South of VPC.” ATL:“123, you’re squawking the baro pressure. Squawk 0130.” (He must have been partying late.) Gary Austinvia e-mail

In some high-profile recent accidents, emergency locator transmitters (ELTs) have failed to activate or their signals were obscured. The technology has existed for some time to track individual aircraft by satellite. Should we scrap ELTs in favor of satellite tracking? Should ELTs be replaced by satellite trackers? (click to answer) Last Week’s Question: Results Want […]

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 […]

Overheard in IFR Magazine‘s “On the Air” Heard on Chicago Center frequency: Pilot:“Chicago, Piper 12345 en route to St. Louis. Request flight following.” Center:“Piper 12345, where in the world are you?” Pilot:“I’m down below the water [meaning south of Lake Michigan], heading for St. Louis.” Center (deadpan) :“Piper 123, it must be pretty wet down […]

By now you’ve likely heard about John and Martha King being held at gunpoint by police in Santa Barbara last weekend. We’ve already heard from more than 100 readers about how they feel about the whole thing. Now, we want to know how you feel – not about what happened to the Kings, but where […]

Last week’s “Question of the Week” on further regulation of RC models – in light of the collision between a biplane and an RC model at Brighton, CO – generated huge response. Many of the letters reminded us that the investigation hasn’t been concluded. The FAA has promised a full report within a week or […]

Click for more photos Rarely have we seen the spontaneous outpouring of reader response that we have with the gunpoint detention of John and Martha King last weekend. We’ve picked a few letters that represent a broad range of views on the fallout from the incident. We also encourage you to take part in our […]