Features

It always fascinates me that general aviation airports somehow become ghost towns about 5:00 on Sunday afternoons, even if the weather is superb. This particular Sunday was no exception: The Pilot’s Lounge at the virtual airport was rapidly emptying. The students had headed home, and the only folks around were some of the flight school […]

On Friday, October 10, Qantas’s first Airbus A380 visited Auckland, marking the first visit of the type to New Zealand. It did a press junket promotional flight across the city and environs, filmed by a news helicopter, ZK-HST. This was heard on Auckland control 124.3: ZK-HST:“Auckland Control, Hotel Sierra Tango. We’ve filmed the takeoff, and […]

This Week’s Question |Previous Week’s Answers PREVIOUS RESULTS *** Last week, we reported that Canadian company Vancouver Airport Services is taking over the operation of Chicago’s Midway Airport and wondered if the implication of foreign operators and major U.S. airports was still perceived as a conflict of interest by AVweb readers. There was no clear […]

The quiet home I expected to find when I returned from my last trip was not as serene as I might have hoped. My nephew Kermit was there and was going to stay for at least a few days while his parents vacationed in Vegas.The first indication I had that he was in the building […]

Overheard in IFR Magazine‘s “On the Air” A few years ago I flew a T-34 into Orlando Executive. Our flight leader called tower 15 miles out: Flight Leader:“… flight of 19 warbirds for the initial, overhead for landing.” Tower:“All civilian aircraft stay out of the area ’til further instructed.” Confusion reigned. Peter HorvatNew Milford, New […]

This Week’s Question |Previous Week’s Answers PREVIOUS RESULTS *** Last week, in the wake of several setbacks for various segments of the very light jet industry, we asked if VLJs, recently seen as the hottest ticket in aviation, might be cooling down. Nearly half of those who took a moment to participate in our poll […]

The Real Deal click for a larger image Having an instrument rating doesn’t mean that you have to fly in the clouds-it just means that you can, legally. In fact, the FAA doesn’t require a pilot to have any experience whatsoever flying in actual IMC in order to qualify for, or maintain, an instrument rating. […]

Texas GA Status I listened with interest to your Podcast about the GA airspace situation in Texas (Podcast Sep. 15). It was noted that GA wasn’t up to the task and work was best left to the “professionals.” When asked about the assessment of damage, the reply was, “We are watching and listening to the […]

Overheard in IFR Magazine‘s “On the Air” Flying into New Orleans Lakefront, and approach had switched us over to tower. One controller worked both ground and tower frequencies. There was minimal radio chatter with other aircraft but what was there was worth hearing: Tower:“Cessna XXX, for future reference, the one with the yellow line down […]

This Week’s Question |Previous Week’s Answers PREVIOUS RESULTS *** Last week, the outpouring of support from pilots for residents of Texas who were affected by Hurricane Ike prompted us to ask if you’d ever used your airplane for humanitarian purposes. We listed several popular methods of helping out (mainly those we’ve engaged in or know […]