Features

No one wants to fail when taking an exam, least of all a checkride for a pilot certificate. But there are some easy-to-learn ways of making sure that you pass your test on the first try, including how you train, what you study, whether your paperwork is in order and finally whether you can actually […]

The new math. Airline ABC: Miami center, Airline ABC, any ride reports up ahead? We’re getting continuous light to moderate here at two-eight-oh. Center: Airline ABC, Miami center, no ride reports for your area, but I’ve got three-zero-zero available. That’s a brand new flight level … so there shouldn’t be any potholes in the road […]

Picture of the Week and Digital Edits In response to J.T. McDuffie (AVmail, Jan. 17):Yes, Ansel Adams made the most of his photographs in the darkroom. But he didn’t “move mountains,” he enhanced them. His photos represent an actual vantage point, a real moment in time.Remember the uproar in 1982 when National Geographic “moved” the […]

A couple of months ago we got into an extended discussion of emergencies here in the Pilot’s Lounge at the virtual airport as a result of a gear-up landing gone seriously wrong. The column that evolved generated a fair amount of comment, including one from Dr. Alex Aimette, who has taught surgery for some years […]

Overheard, one beautiful sunny day in southern California. I wasn’t clear on exactly what the miscommunication was, either… Twr: Helicopter N123 are you heading southeast after takeoff? N123: Negative, request south towards San Diego. Twr: There are mountains in the way… (pause) N123: …which explains our use of an aircraft today.

AVweb’s Rick Durden recently corresponded with a surgery instructor who described one of the methods he used to teach new surgeons: He had them write down everything that could go wrong during an upcoming operation and then set out what should be done to deal with each anomaly. When he became a pilot, Dr. Aimette […]

Flat Spin A navy pilot (retired) with 6,000 hours in jets, props, multi engine, test pilot, combat, and trained pilots had a flat spin in a jet fighter. He came out of it by cutting the power, dropping the flaps and pushing the nose down. I’ve been told that you can’t get out of a […]

Dodging airborne 737s is one thing, but dodging airborne Chevy Trailblazers is a totally different situation. As usual, the drive to the airport proved to be much more dangerous than the flying trip. I had avoided a major roadway boning on the way to work and was still a little shook up about it as […]