Features

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 […]

Our airline had come out of bankruptcy and all of us were still alive. Poorer financially, yes, but wiser to the ways of the world and just how much credence to give to the promises of politicians and managers from both sides of the labor/management divide.With any reorganization, changes are bound to come. Our pilot […]

Overheard in IFR Magazine‘s “On the Air” Last July, on a 90-degree-plus day, in my Cessna 150 just 30 minutes fuel burn below gross, in IMC and at the already unbelievable altitude of 5,000 feet, Saginaw Approach made this request: Saginaw Approach: Four Five Uniform, I need you to climb and maintain 7,000. Cessna 45U: […]

This Week’s Question |Previous Week’s Answers PREVIOUS RESULTS *** Last week, AVweb pointed out that Marion Blakey’s tenure asFAA Administrator is scheduled to end in three short months and askedwho might make a good replacement. This proved to be a popular question, drawing more than 5,000 votesover the weekend and even (temporarily) breaking our vote-countingscript. […]

In my last column we covered where I think pilots of light piston aircraft should be looking during takeoff and the initial-climb phases of flight, say to 1,000 feet AGL. In my opinion, virtually all attention should be outside the cockpit unless there are no outside references available to keep the airplane upright, climbing, and […]

Regional Airline Hiring A comment on regional hiring (Question of the Week, Jun. 13): You get what you pay for.Over the past 20 years the system has been its own worst enemy. Why would a person invest $50,000 to $75,000 or more to get all the ratings and experience it takes, plus the cost of […]

Flight instruction is considered to be one of the safest categories of general aviation. AOPA Air Safety Foundation’s 2006 Nall Report (3 MB Adobe PDF file) calls flight instruction “… relatively safe … result[ing] in just 13.2 percent of all [NTSB-reported] accidents and only 6.5 percent of fatal accidents.” AOPA attributes this to “… the […]

Overheard in IFR Magazine‘s “On the Air” Overheard at the Shreveport Downtown (KDTN) Airport, from a student pilot still very green on the radio. N3AB: Uh, Downtown Ground, this is Cessna Three Alpha Bravo, will be taxiing to the north practice area, negative radar. Downtown Ground [amused]: Cessna Three Alpha Bravo, I guess that would […]

This Week’s Question |Previous Week’s Answers PREVIOUS RESULTS *** Last week, AVweb pointed to the trend of regional airlineshiring low(er)-time pilots to fill key positions and asked what theminimum qualifications should be for a new hire at one of theseairlines. As you might have expected, there were quite a fewletters on the subject, but most […]

The atmosphere in the Pilot’s Lounge at the virtual airport has been decidedly unpleasant over the last several weeks. About half of the pilots here rely on telephone briefings with Flight Service to get their aviation weather information and file flight plans. As any pilot in the U.S. is now aware, the Lockheed-Martin takeover of […]