Features

After holding short of runway 4, with the vice-president of the company riding shotgun and no traffic in sight… Pilot: “Cessna 123, still holding short.” Tower: ” Cessna 123, Hold your taters.” Pilot: “Taters held, over.” Tower: “Cessna 123, release taters, [chuckle] Runway 33, position and hold.” The VP was impressed and the pilot is […]

First Experience Today, I walked in the clouds, flew 50 feet above the ground and discovered much to my delight that I enjoyed both sensations. Manfred Leuthard’s Experimental Gyro N71ML provided the transport, and the pilot himself was an excellent host, a splendid pilot of the Magni two-seater auto-gyro, and a subject matter expert where […]

This week, we would like to know your thoughts on flying during the July 4th holiday weekend. For AVweb’s Question of the Week, click here. PREVIOUS RESULTS We received over 300 responses to our question last week on using anti-depressant medication. The majority (62 percent) of those responding never have taken an anti-depressant before flying […]

Three guys are in the cockpit for today’s flight from Los Angeles to the beautiful splendor of Newark, N.J. Normally, having a jump seat rider in the cockpit for such a long flight is a huge pain in the butt. Today, it’s not so bad because the seat is filled with the butt of Jeff, […]

GA Security In Practice … Pilot Crashes After ATC Denies Access How much longer will the safety of government officals be put over Americans? The system pre-9/11 was there for our safety. You got in trouble, you called ATC and the system became yours to help you get down safely. Now, courtesy of Homeland Security, […]

The July 3-20 Inventing Flight celebration in Dayton, Ohio, kicked off this weekend with a hot air balloon launch and a visit by President Bush. Events celebrating 100 years of flight will continue at various locations through the year Nearly fifty yars ago when I was a NAVCAD (Naval Aviation Cadet), one of our classmates […]

This week, we would like to know your thoughts on using anti-depressants before flight. For AVweb’s Question of the Week, click here. PREVIOUS RESULTS We received over 700 responses to our question last week on cell phone use in airplanes. Approaching half (44 percent) of those responding felt there might be some risk of interference […]

SBD Checkout I was very interested in the checkout story, and how different mine was in 1943. I had just finished operational training in Avengers and transferred to Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro, and was told, “Forget the Avenger, you will fly the SBD.” So with only a cockpit checkout and a tower clearance […]

This week, we would like to know your thoughts on cellphone use in airplanes. For AVweb’s Question of the Week, click here. PREVIOUS RESULTS We received over 300 responses to our question last week on the Paris Air Show. The largest group (39 percent) of those responding felt the American boycott of the event was […]

Most days when I come home from work, no matter how bad things are (and they usually are), I take a few moments to calm down and take stock of my life. Invariably, I come to the conclusion that I’ve got it good. I’ve got a good home, a good wife (a great one actually), […]