Features

*** PREVIOUS RESULTS *** While the number of airports in the U.S. continues to shrink, TransportationSecretary Norman Mineta talks about tripling the airspace capacity. Lastweek, we asked AVweb readers what they thought about the GA closingcrunch. An overwhelming 67% of respondents felt the FAA should interveneto protect airports. The other 30% of QOTW respondents thought […]

The whole point of getting an IFR ticket is (of course) to be able to go somewhere when the weather is less than VFR. So why don’t we do that? Let’s take a trip.Let’s say you want to fly from HKY (Hickory, N.C.), pick up your buddy at MRN (Morganton, N.C.), and then head for […]

Let’s take a few pot shots at some of the more common errors in the seemingly simple procedures of starting an engine and doing the runup, and also cover some new techniques with engine monitors. I’ve written a little about some of these procedures elsewhere, but I’ve never pulled all of them together. For Starters […]

Private in 40 Hours Excellent article (Training, Jan. 21). I have never read such a down-to-earth (no pun intended) article about learning to fly. Learning to fly is on my “to do” list; now I have a set of benchmarks and a host of practical suggestions to make it happen.Thanks.Leon Weeks I received my private […]

*** PREVIOUS RESULTS *** Nearly three quarters of more than 350 AVweb readers responding to last week’s question would prefer no privatization of Flight Service — 33 percent felt the move could impact a pilot’s safety. While the FAA considers taking the leap, only a quarter of our poll’s respondents indicated that they were open […]

When I first became an airplane owner 35 years ago, I hadn’t the slightest interest in aircraft maintenance. I had just relocated from New York to Southern California to pursue a career in the up-and-coming field of computer software. I’d earned my private pilot certificate four years earlier while a student at Dartmouth College, and […]

FSS Privatization After reading several articles on the subject of ATC privatization, I read AVweb’s coverage of the government plan to privatize FSS (NewsWire, Jan. 22). This has the appearance of a back-door entry to ATC privatization. The move to turn ATC over to private entities has met some pretty stiff resistance from the aviation […]

Just recently, one of the regulars here at the pilot’s lounge of the virtual airport, Ed Williams, who in the real world is a plasma physicist, took a break in studying for the ATP written, stopped by and showed us one of the published questions on that written. It said: “Who should be advised if […]

Tower: Skyhawk xxx follow Baron on four mile final for 17L. Skyhawk: Baron in sight. a little later… Tower: Skyhawk you’re 10 knots faster than the Baron. Slow down. Skyhawk: Yeeha!!! (Followed by hysterical laughter.) Tower: Right … not something you hear every day.

*** PREVIOUS RESULTS *** Security at general aviation airports is a big concern for readers ofAVweb:  We received almost 500 responses to our question about GA securitylast week!  The vast majority of you (59 percent) think that GA security isalready pretty tight.  120 respondents said their GA airport is more securethan Ft. Knox, and 143 […]