Features

GA Screening Bill Rep. Weiner clearly doesn’t go far enough (NewsWire, Sep. 13). He should include private cars and trucks in his ban from cities of one million or more. Plus all truckers, bus drivers, train drivers, boaters and their passengers should be subject to rigorous security checks. We should ban anyone with packages more […]

I was eagerly awaiting t/o clearance while holding short of the runway in FLL. There were several aircraft on approach, including a Shorts 360. After several requests for t/o, I intervened one more time. The response was a bit of a surprise… Tower: Sir, just give me a moment while I get my Shorts down.

You know it’s bad when you walk into the control room and hear a controller yell, “I want a tracker!” It really wasn’t what he said so much as how he said it. The high side was trying to work all the East Coast traffic around Tropical Storm Gaston and it was getting ugly. A […]

Cell Phones in Airplanes After a recent AVweb article that recommended readers review the material on the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS), I followed the recommendation and read the report on Passenger Electronic Devices (PED). The prospect of cell phones on airplanes (now) scares me to death! I hope the PIC exercises his authority […]

Yes, I know that by now Oshkosh — er, the EAA Air Venture 2004 — is desperately old news, what with the kids back in school and some of us actually settling down to get some work done after the summer holidays. But I have to tell you that I’m still excited by what I […]

…Overheard one evening in August just west of ATL: Tower: (To aircraft doing touch and goes alone in the pattern) …You watching the fireworks just north of here? Piper1234: Yup … what’s the holiday on August 18th that includes fireworks? Tower: No clue. Unidentified: Well, I know what it is. Ten year aniversary of my […]

*** PREVIOUS RESULTS *** Last week’s question about VFR above an overcast layer (submitted by AVweb reader Steve Biddle) proved very popular with readers. We received over 1,200 responses, mostly from readers who thought our hypothetical pilot was in the clear (er, so to speak). 55% of you (689 respondents) thought it was poor judgement […]

Civil Air Patrol I received word from a gossipy type, but one in a position to know, that the CAP has had three very recent C-182 crashes and lost seven or nine members. Also, many pilots are quitting due to their new liability rules. I did not re-up in January ’04 after 30+ years.This is […]

The shadows were lengthening outside the window of the Pilot’s Lounge here at the virtual airport. From the tattered old lounge chair, I could see that the activity on the ramp was spooling down into “tucking them away for the night” mode. The flight school trainers were being fueled by the line crew and moved […]

*** PREVIOUS RESULTS *** Last week, one AVweb reader asked if spin training should be included with Sport Pilot training.  11% of respondents said “definitely,” while another 9% argued there’s no need for spin training at the Sport Pilot level when it isn’t even part of Private Pilot training. The most popular response from AVweb […]