Features

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 […]

In a recent report, the General Accounting Office (GAO) presented research on the air traffic controller workforce and the impending retirements that the FAA will be facing in the next few years. Some of the finer points of this report include the following statistics: This increases the risk that FAA will not have enough qualified […]

The employee cafeteria in the ground-training building is a sad place, filled with the forced boisterousness of the indentured student.Facing either a five-day stint for recurrent or the “serious time” of a five-week initial, the diners found in this plastic forked purgatory gather at round, Formica-covered tables festooned with pepper and salt shakers, the current […]