Features

Nothing New Under the Parachute I must smile as I hear folks call these Ballistic Recovery Systems “something new” and “in genius.” Back in the 50s there was a TV show titled “You Asked For it” sponsored by Skippy Peanut Butter. The premise was that viewers would send in requests to see, on the show, […]

From time to time, we who frequent the Pilot’s Lounge here at the virtual airport put on an evening seminar in which presentations are given on topics of interest to us. Attendance varies, but is usually large enough to fill most of the chairs we borrow from the You Stab ‘Em, We Slab ‘Em Funeral […]

One chilly day last winter, after one of the many snowfalls, the crews were diligently working on keeping the runways clean at Syracuse’s Hancock International Airport. The ATIS had the usual warning about snow-covered surfaces. As I was taxiing to the runway, I heard the following conversation between the tower and a landing airplane: Airplane: […]

This is a true story. The names have been changed, but the rest is unvarnished truth.If you’re an aircraft owner, reading this story should make you angry. If you’re an A&P mechanic, it should make you hopping mad. (I’m both an owner and a mechanic, so you can imagine how I feel.)Over the many years […]

Airborne Cellphone Use Your question omitted an important alternative: “I’ve tried to use my cell phone in the air, but it didn’t work” (QOTW, Mar. 30).The reason this is important is that I’ve heard that digital cell phones, which most are, are subject to having their transmitters shut down by the cell phone system when […]

The sun had gone down, the evening air show was over and it was time to for all tired pilots to bed down in their campsites at the Sun ‘n Fun campground in Lakeland, Fla.After a full day of roast-corn eating, trade-fair attending and craning our necks to a 45-degree up-angle, you’d think that everyone […]

Sometimes you fly touch-and-go’s, sometimes you watch others fly touch-and-go’s. Thrity minutes later, still at the runway’s threshold… Plane: Tower, 01Q. Tower: 01Q, Tower. Plane: 01Q has a request. Tower: Go ahead 01Q. Plane: 01Q would like to taxi back to the FBO to refuel. (pause) Tower: OK 01Q, we’ll see if we can’t get […]

New Marine One Contract On a topic other than general aviation, I was disappointed to hear that the Navy’s presidential helicopter contract went to Lockheed-Martin as opposed to Sikorsky (NewsWire, Jan. 31). The Lockheed product — the US101 — is simply a licensed copy of the European Augusta EH101 helicopter. It will be built by […]