Features

When we talk with busy avionics shops around the country, it’s clear that electronic flight displays are tops for major upgrades. For aging aircraft, that means yanking out spinning iron gyros and usually the vacuum systems that feed them. These upgrades replenish the used gyro market, making it easier to maintain older panels still sporting […]

AVweb’s General Aviation Accident Bulletin is taken from the pages of our sister publication, Aviation Safety magazine. All the reports listed here are preliminary and include only initial factual findings about crashes. You can learn more about the final probable cause on the NTSB’s website at www.ntsb.gov. Final reports appear about a year after the […]

You’re feeling pretty good as you descend towards your destination airport. Under Center’s watch, you’ve just checked the latest ATIS, briefed the advertised approach to Runway 27, and you’ve got your avionics all set accordingly. Center switches you to Approach. Your check in with Approach ends with, “…and I’ve got information Charlie.” Approach responds, “Expect […]

Why No Love For The B-21? Frustrating as it is, there doesn’t seem to be any real alternative to the endless -and expensive- process of staying up with the defense technology wave. Curt LeMay could just as well have said “it’s ALL interim”. Technological advances can strike deep. The Navy problem Paul mentions was simmering […]

In the early 1960s, a young Jim Katz was absorbing page after page in Air Progress magazine, and when he saw an article that included three-view drawings of the Bowers Fly Baby, his eyes widened. “Man, I could build that!” he said to himself. That thought never left him. In 1971, when Jim was in […]

Several years ago, I was flying into St. Petersburg during the NCAA Final Four. There was quite a bit of traffic and the Goodyear blimp was circling the domed stadium in which the games would be played, about one mile from the field. On the way into Albert Whitted Field, I had the following exchange: […]

I received a call from the owner of a turbocharged, high-performance single who lives in the Great Lakes region, well-known for icing conditions in late autumn, winter and early spring. His airplane was equipped with an aftermarket TKS-style ice protection system and was not FAA-approved for flight in known icing (FIKI). The pilot wanted to […]

AVweb’s General Aviation Accident Bulletin is taken from the pages of our sister publication, Aviation Safety magazine. All the reports listed here are preliminary and include only initial factual findings about crashes. You can learn more about the final probable cause on the NTSB’s website at www.ntsb.gov. Final reports appear about a year after the […]

Pattern Wars: Part Deux Great article, Paul. You’ve hit the nail on the head with NORDOs and common-sense safety. If someone can splurge on an iPad for navigation, it’s safe to assume they can also afford a transceiver for communication. Now, on straight-ins—they’re not going away anytime soon. It’s important then, for everyone, especially at […]

Entering the dog days of summer, our attention shifts to the south. Rich moisture, weaker winds, and an increase in thunderstorms are classic signs that tropical moisture has entered the forecast equations. The media also becomes filled with headlines about hurricanes and tropical storms. And perhaps your cross-country trips even take you south to the […]