Features

Judging by the inquiries I get from aircraft owners, it’s a frustratingly common situation: You get a call from the shop that’s annualing your airplane, and the news isn’t good. The IA found something wrong and it’s going to be expensive to fix.Because you’re a savvy and maintenance-involved owner, you ask the IA for the […]

FSS Privatization FAA mismanagement and union “whining” put the final coffin nails in a government-run FSS program (NewsWire, Feb. 7). I am pleased to see that the FSS Union/Harris Corp. proposal was not accepted. Harris was the main contractor in OASIS (the government replacement for Model 1). “New blood” is needed and hopefully Lockheed Martin […]

Just another day around the patch… Tower: Experimental N123, we’ll try to squeeze you in. Number one, cleared to land, runway 26 left. Be advised, traffic close behind you. Experimental: Number one for 26 left, N123. (pause) Tower: Experimental N123, turn your base now, please, and keep your speed up. Traffic, a Hawker jet 10 […]

T-37 Vs. Air-Tractor It would seem to me from reading the article (NewsWire, Jan. 31) that both aircraft were at fault, The AT502 was at 5000 ft. and unless he was under IFR (which he wasn’t) then he was at the wrong altitude, as we all know. I don’t know to much about military reg’s; […]

Overheard last April near Miami, Florida, just as Sun n’ Fun was kicking in… Pilot: …request VFR flight following to Lakeland. ATC: N123, unable at this time… Pilot: Roger, unable. Any idea when can I expect it? ATC: Try again … this time next week.

I spend an awful lot of time trying to explain how the system is supposed to work. Those explanations are often at odds with what people have experienced first-hand. This leaves a lot of people confused. It just leaves me frustrated.But no matter how conscientious we are, things can and do go wrong. As a […]

Aerotoxic Syndrome I am a flight attendant and have experienced that odor on the B-747-100, B-727 and also on G-IVs (NewsWire, Jan. 20). I don’t believe I have suffered any illness from it. I remember numerous times telling the pilots it smells like dirty feet. I thought I must be the only one smelling it. […]

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 […]