Features

Last week, while helping a friend move his airplane from El Monte airport to Hawthorne airport, we were on approach into El Monte when I heard the aviation equivalent of “Who’s on First”: El Monte Tower:“Helicopter 11 Alpha, say parking.” Helicopter 11A (heavy foreign accent) :“Uh, please repeat.” El Monte Tower:“Helicopter 11 Alpha, say parking.” […]

This Week’s Question |Previous Week’s Answers PREVIOUS RESULTS *** With Barack Obama on vacation under a Presidential TFR at Martha’s Vineyard this week, we’ve asked AVweb readers what they think of Temporary Flight Restrictions. Not much, as it turns out. 60% of those who took time to answer last week’s Question said TFRs provide little […]

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” A few years ago, when I drove up to my airport, there was an Aeronca there with two men looking at a chart. One of the men with the chart:“This is Catherine, Alabama, isn’t it?” Me:“Yes, sir, it is.” The man with the chart:“Can you show me Catherine […]

For anyone alert and paying attention to general aviation during the 1970s, current offerings from the “big three” manufacturers-Beech, Cessna and Piper-must have seemed like an afterthought. Back then, all three companies offered a full range of propeller-driven aircraft, from two-seat trainers to mile-chewing turboprops. Heck, Cessna even began selling jets early in that decade. […]

This Week’s Question |Previous Week’s Answers PREVIOUS RESULTS *** Following the midair collision of a helicopter and a Piper Saratoga, calls have gone out for tighter regulation in New York City’s Hudson River VFR corridor. Last Thursday, we asked AVweb readers for their opinion. Your answers were neck-and-neck, with 45% of those who responded saying […]

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” While in the pattern at Islip, New York, during a quiet time, we’d performed about 20 touch-and-goes, each time receiving a bland “cleared for touch-and-go” from the tower. Eventually, a Southwest Boeing 737 called the tower inbound: Southwest:“Tower, Southwest Fourteen Thirty-One.” Tower:“Southwest Fourteen Thirty-One, cleared for touch-and-go.” Southwest […]

This Week’s Question |Previous Week’s Answers PREVIOUS RESULTS *** Last week, GAMA released some sobering numbers about aircraft orders (and cancellations) for the current year. In response, we asked AVweb readers to predict when we might see the bottom of the current downturn for aviation. Reader responses ran the gamut of possible choices. The most […]

Overheard in IFR Magazine‘s “On the Air” After clearing runway 161 at Van Nuys, California Airport, the tower asked my destination on the field. The conversation continued as follows: Tower:“Okay, cross runways 16L and 16R, continue taxi straight ahead to [name of FBO] and stay with me.” Me:“Crossing 16L and 16R, and appreciate the invitation […]