Features

A friend of mine, Hal Shevers, stopped in at the Pilot’s Lounge at the virtual airport the other day. Hal seemed a little agitated, which was not unusual because he runs various general aviation businesses, including Sporty’s Pilot Shop, and has done so for many years. With the challenges facing general aviation business people, I’m […]

The Pilot’s Lounge #103: The FAA As Customer — Good Business? – (Aug. 13, 2006)Somebody has to rent planes to FAA personnel so they can maintain currency. And with the government backing them up, you shouldn’t have to worry about collecting the fees, right? AVweb’s Rick Durden has a cautionary tale from the Pilot’s Lounge […]

This Week’s Question | Last Week’s Results PREVIOUS RESULTS *** There’s been a lot of buzz around Cessna’s LSA announcement.  Last week, AVweb asked if the news would lead you to reconsider buying a Sport Plane – of if it would change your attitude toward buying into LSA at all. Of the 600 AVweb readers […]

User Fees There will be the usual complainers sounding off, but in the end, the costs incurred for keeping the system running will make it necessary to impose user fees (NewsWire, Jul. 28). The non-flying taxpayer will not want to pay all the costs. Get ready for it.Fred Engel Low-Priced LSA $95,000 for an LSA […]

This article originally appeared in Aviation Safety, April 2004. While many pilots fly only for recreation, the utility of airplanes is what drives the quest toward aircraft ownership and continued flying for most.But it is also the utility that motivates pilots to make the kinds of errors that lead to tragedy. They push into circumstances […]

Slow day at ABQ… DEP: … Airliner123 cleared to FL33, as filed to Atlanta. 123: (after readback) Wish you worked Atlanta, we always get a stairstep out of there. DEP: That’s why they call us “controllers.” 123: I already have a wife.

This Week’s Question | Last Week’s Question PREVIOUS RESULTS *** Oshkosh was the town on everyone’s lips last week.  There are plenty of reasons to attend, but in the lead-up to EAA’s big show, we asked AVweb readers to chime in and tell us their reasons for wanting to attend AirVenture. Most of you (37% […]

AirVenture, some pilots just don’t get it. On the return home Saturday I heard the following exchange as I headed southbound passing Madison, WI. Warrior 98765 was heading north and already receiving a Flight Following Service from Madison Approach. Warrior 123: Madison, Warrior 123. Can you tell me if there is a NOTAM or anything […]

It was so unexpected that I couldn’t help myself. I shouted out in surprise. Why in the world are you putting a navigational-beacon frequency into the ADF? “Well … uh … I thought I’d use the ADF as a back-up source of navigation during this upcoming approach,” said Laurie, my aviation major domo for the […]

Professional Pilots’ Pay I would like to comment on the Question of the Week about professional airline pilots’ pay (QOTW, Jul. 13):Do not forget that when you use the term “airline pilot,” you include all airline pilots, regionals and the like!The general public assumes a great deal of money whenever they hear the term “airline […]