Features

General Aviation Security & Public Fears Let’s stop preaching to the choir (NewsWire, July 14). Whenever GA makes the news, listen carefully to the patter coming from those who do not fly. The public instantly forgets the positive stories (i.e., Rutan’s space shot), and yet they easily remember negative reports. I still endure hearing about […]

If you’ve read my previous columns, you know that I have advocated changing the way we train new pilots. The old, maneuvers-based training is no longer meeting the challenge of today’s technically advanced aircraft and the evolving national airspace system. We’ve got to spend more time teaching folks to make good, solid judgments and to […]

The price of progress… I had been through the area five days before, controllers stated that they were having intermittent reception on my transponder. I later left their area and had no further problems on the flight. Just to be sure, I had a mechanic check it out, and he found no problems. Five days […]

Chicken Wings is an aviation-related cartoon. The cartoonists try to keep it not too technical, yet accurate enough to amuse aviators and aviation fans alike. So if you’re a professional pilot or just an air-show visitor, you should be able relate to these stories!

Record With And Against The Wind Thank you for the great article on our speed records (NewsWire, Jun. 23)! Just a couple of minor corrections:Dave Riggs holds Helo and Piston records while I hold a Piston record.The biggest reason that our speed from KPHX to KLAX was so much slower was because we were experiencing […]

Summer finally arrived, so someone stuck up a notice in the Pilot’s Lounge here at the virtual airport that stated we might as well have an airport cookout before Mother Nature changes her mind. On the appointed date the weather cooperated and there was an excellent turnout. It provided an opportunity to chat with some […]

Sometimes perspective is everything. Several years ago I was flying into OSH in the late afternoon, second in line for runway 27 behind a warbird on straight in. As everyone who flies into OSH during convention knows, there are three colored dots on the runway that help separate aircraft so the controller can land three […]

There’s an old joke among aircraft mechanics that “the most dangerous thing in aviation is an aircraft owner with a screwdriver.” (Or a wrench, or a toolbox, or a Swiss army knife …)For many mechanics, this is no laughing matter. I’ve been writing for many years (on these pages and elsewhere) advocating owner involvement and […]