Features

*** PREVIOUS RESULTS *** Last week, AVweb asked your opinion on the much-anticipated Sport Pilot rating.  Most respondents are ready for Sport Pilot and changes it will bring – including new aircraft, new pilots, and a renewed interest among senior pilots.  Over 200 people (60% of those surveyed) are waiting for the new rating with […]

Trying to guess what Mother Nature is going to do is risky business. I had to wait three weeks to get my yard aerated because it wouldn’t stop raining. I finally got it done, threw down a bunch of grass seed and I bet it hasn’t rained an inch in the month since.Mother Nature will […]

ATC Training Issue This radio exchange actually took place between a Cessna 172 (with an instrument student and instructor on board) and a Class C ATC controller in the Midwest. One day prior, the instructor contacted the tower by phone to determine the best time that workload would allow controllers to perform an Airport Surveillance […]

Overheard enroute from RMG to 45J… Pilot: Approach, Skylane N###, Could I have a right turn direct mydestination? Approach: Standby. I’ll check to see if that Dash 8 doing 200 knots up your five-o’clock feels like wearing you on his lapel…

*** PREVIOUS RESULTS *** Two weeks ago, AVweb was preparing for Sun ‘n Fun and the 9/11 Commission was just beginning to hear the testimony of Condoleezza Rice – and we asked readers how they feel about “terror in the skies.”  The overwhelming majority of you (almost 500 people, 63% of poll respondents) put your […]

Submitted to you without further comment … the pilots of Cessna ABC weren’t as lucky. Cessna XYZ: Cessna ABC, Cessna XYZ return to base due to turbulence. Student unwell. Cessna ABC: Cessna XYZ, my student suggests it will be better for the both of you if you climb on top.

Garmin Keeping GPS Costly I currently own a Garmin GPSMAP 196. Recently Garmin announced the introduction of the new GPSMAP 296, which is basically a color version of the 196 plus terrain info. Very neat looking.Prior to the 296, Garmin’s pricing practice was to limit what price its venders could “advertise” a product for. Regardless […]

Over the years, I’ve found that the Pilot’s Lounge here at the virtual airport is one of the better places to sit and read aviation books, particularly of an evening, after things have quieted down. Sitting in the big, fat, old recliners, there are times that I read something about flight that strikes me, and […]

Ask any aircraft owner what the TBO is for the engine(s) on his aircraft and you’ll almost always get the correct answer without hesitation: “My engine has a 1,700-hour TBO.” But ask that owner to explain the significance of that TBO figure and you’ll get all sorts of answers, most of them flat wrong. Here […]

They all know you’d rather not jump out of a perfectly good airplane. But here’s how to avoid an encounter between skydivers and your perfectly good airplane.If you fly much, you’ve certainly heard this radio call: “One minute to skydivers away over Zephyrhills … use caution, 13,500 feet and below … one minute to skydivers […]