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Aviation lore is full of stories of the pilot who soloed an Aeronca Champ or Piper Cub after only four or five hours of instruction. When I started flying in the late 1970s, it was unstated but understood that something was wrong if “first solo” didn’t come in under 10 hours. As airplanes and the […]

Overheard in IFR Magazine‘s “On the Air” On a bumpy day near New York City, we heard the following exchange: Diamond 8DS: New York Approach, Diamond Eight Delta Sierra. I’m getting continuous moderate turbulence at 5,000. Request 6,000. It looks like I’ll be on top at six. New York Approach: Diamond Eight Delta Sierra. Unable […]

This Week’s Question |Previous Week’s Answers PREVIOUS RESULTS *** Last week, an AVweb reader suggested that the difficulties many are experiencing with the newly-privatized AFSS system may be more than mere growing pains – they might be the early death cries of an antiquated system, now that DUATS, cell phone usage, and public internet access […]

I‘d driven out to the virtual airport before dawn on a Saturday morning. It only took moments to slip into the Pilot’s Lounge, load the coffee machine and push the start button, leave the box of fresh doughnuts I’d brought next to it and hurry out to where the Great Lakes was tied down. I […]

Overheard in IFR Magazine‘s “On the Air” We were leaving Marthas Vineyard when my student nervously contacted Cape Approach: Cessna 38W: Cape Approach, Cessna Three Eight Whiskey, student pilot departing the Vineyard, requesting advisories to New Bedford. Cape Approach: Cessna Three Eight Whiskey, Cape Approach. This should be interesting. Im a student controller, squawk 2234, […]

This Week’s Question |Previous Week’s Answers PREVIOUS RESULTS *** Last week, we decided to put on an impromptu beauty contest among the new breed of very light jets/personal jets/sport little fast-moving numbers that we all wish we could stock a hangar with. The results were tremendous, bringing in enough traffic to temporarily break our polling […]

When one considers the dramatic evolution of aviation support facilities of the 1920s to present day Lockheed Martin Automated Flight Service Stations (AFSS), it is difficult to fathom how the job was ever accomplished. To give the reader a sense of the extremity of Lockheed Martin’s undertaking of the government’s largest contract with private industry, […]

Overheard in IFR Magazine‘s “On the Air” Heard one day near Chicago: Chicago Center: Southwest Two Four One Three, traffic at your nine oclock, three miles. Southwest 2413: What kind of a plane is that? Center: Beech Seven Two Two, what type plane are you flying? Beech 722: Bonanza F33A. Center: Southwest did you copy? […]

This Week’s Question |Previous Week’s Answers PREVIOUS RESULTS *** NATCA and the FAA still don’t see eye-to-eye on the state of the air traffic control system here in the U.S.  NATCA keeps telling us that we’re entering a period of crisis because of the shrinking controller population, while the FAA maintains that there are plenty […]

NATCA Pushing For Carr? It looks like NATCA is organizing a little bit of support for their former president (Question of the Week, Jun. 21). If he can get everyone a 30% increase in my paycheck, I’ll change my vote …Bill Lukens The FSS Mess Copies of this article (The Pilot’s Lounge, Jun. 18) should […]