Features

On a Qantas flight from Adelaide to Perth last week, our lovely senior air steward announced the following after the doors closed: Over the Speaker:“Ladies and gentleman, please turn off all electronic devices such as laptops, mobile phones, washing machines and hairdryers. However, if they have a flight mode, please switch now.” It made me […]

[AVweb’s reprint of A Pilot’s History began with Chapter 1.] It was not very long after the contact with the Air Force [at the end of Chapter 7] that I was holding a piece of paper saying, “You have been called to active duty.” I took the notice to the airline president. “Don’t worry about […]

This Week’s Question |Previous Week’s Answers PREVIOUS RESULTS *** Last week, we asked if AVweb readers did anything out of the ordinary (aviation-wise) to celebrate Earth Day. 18% of those who answered told us they abstained from flying, while the plurality of you (36% in our poll) felt that aviation is such a minor contributor […]

Synthetic Vision In last week’s AVmail, Phil Seizinger wrote, “I’m concerned about SV creating a possible situation where VFR pilots will scud-run in marginal or IFR conditions simply because now they can see the terrain, which — as you can imagine — creates a hazard for IFR flights.” Excuse me … Isn’t synthetic vision a […]

You heard it in the Sun-N-Fun 2008 LSA Mall. Whether you were talking to pilots of Cubs, Luscombes, Bellancas, Cessnas or Beechcraft, it echoed strong in the Type Club tent. It was the talk of manufacturer’s displays and the exhibition hangars. It was even touted by purveyors of very light jets. It seems like the […]

Today, the weather in Southern Wisconsin was dicey. Severe thunderstorms with hail, high winds, and tornados on the ground 20 miles north of the Madison, Wisconsin Dane County Regional airport. A female voice in a Learjet 45 comes over to Madison approach from Chicago Center and says:“Madison approach, Lear 12345 is with you out of […]

This Week’s Question |Previous Week’s Answers PREVIOUS RESULTS *** Last week, we asked AVweb readers what they make of the new wave of synthetic vision technologies. Fully half of those who responded to our survey called SVT a nice-to-have addition to the panel and said they plan (or hope) to integrate it into their cockpit […]

Fenway Flyby AVweb wrote (On the Fly, Apr. 14), “A blown flypast by National Guard F-16s at Fenway Park in Boston has resulted in the grounding of the out-of-position pilot. The maneuver he chose to remedy his error busted an altitude limit, but having video of the maneuver distributed on YouTube likely added to the […]

I‘ve always found it amazing when, in midst of the noisy confusion of a crowded room, someone can say something that triggers such a powerful recollection of an event that suddenly I am isolated from the hubbub, aware only of the intensity of my thoughts. It recently happened to me in the Pilot’s Lounge at […]

Overheard in IFR Magazine‘s “On the Air” I was en route to a New England airport famous for its fog. The ATIS reported below minimums but gradual ix, improving. Approach said to expect the ILS, and I could hear one aircraft ahead, a local airliner. Approach cleared me for the approach and sent the other […]