Features

A commonly glossed-over subject on complex-airplane checkouts can cost you several knots in cruise speed, and perhaps several hundred hours of operating life from your cylinders. It’s not the landing gear, or a controllable-pitch propeller, or even the mixture control. Cowl flaps can have a profound, long-term effect on the health and longevity of a […]

An exchange overheard while flying over the Mojave Desert: Joshua Approach:“Bonanza 50Y, traffic two o’clock, five miles. Unmanned aerial vehicle has you in sight.” 50Y (me):“50Y looking. If he’s ‘unmanned,’ how can he have me in sight?” Joshua Approach:“Oh. He’s got a T-38 spotter plane, so really it’s a flight of two … . Now […]

This Week’s Question |Previous Week’s Answers PREVIOUS RESULTS *** Last week, we asked AVweb readers which story out of EAA AirVenture 2008 was the biggest. To our surprise, 43% of those who responded said OTHER! We thought our list of choices was pretty good, ranging from jet-pack mania to the leadership change at Eclipse, but […]

It happened the second day I was at Oshkosh. I’d vacated the Pilot’s Lounge at the virtual airport to visit Oshkosh along with a few hundred thousand of my closest friends for our annual immersion in all that is aviation. I gaped at the latest in electronics for the instrument panel, marveled at some of […]

Listening to Oshkosh Tower transmissions on LiveATC.net last week, I overheard a controller tell an approaching seaplane: Oshkosh Controller:“Amphib landing runway 36, the runway is dry; check for wheels down.” Don Aldridgevia e-mail Several “Short Final” stopped by the AVweb and press trailer during AirVenture to share their favorite radio funnies with us – but, […]

This Week’s Question |Previous Week’s Answers PREVIOUS RESULTS *** As worries about airplane theft, vandalism and for-profit scavenging multiply, we’re starting to get a little more security-conscious at our own airports – and so, we’re willing to wager, are AVweb readers. Before we left for EAA AirVenture, we asked how you would rate the security […]

Pilot Leaves Controls I enjoy your Web site a great deal, but the fact that a pilot recently left the controls to untangle a ‘chutist (AVwebFlash, July 20) is a bit similar to the typical news article where the airplane that crashed had no flight plan.Leaving the controls is not that big of a deal, […]

Overheard in IFR Magazine‘s “On the Air” Palm Beach, Florida approach was busy, as usual. My experience is that they’re always 100% business and 0% humor. They must have had a new controller at the mic: Approach:“Mooney Three Four November, squawk VFR; frequency change approved.” Mooney 34N:“Approach, uh, roger – and I want to report […]

It seems strange to feel cold while flying in the middle of summer but I was chilled to the bone. Long legs in high-altitude transports always result in a cold-soak, and the low temps work their way though the cockpit wall and over to your seat.On the Boeing 727, it was just something we had […]

Overheard in IFR Magazine‘s “On the Air” Thunderstorms moved across the Cleveland area, and approach control tried to get one more airplane in: Cleveland Approach:“Northwest Twelve Thirty-Four, if you can descend to 3000, I’ll vector you for a straight-in ILS 28.” Northwest 1234 (no doubt sensing a last-chance opportunity to beat the storm) :“We’re outta […]