Features

Heading into another winter season, our thoughts begin shifting to cold-weather flying hazards—fog, icing, and widespread precipitation. Most pilot training considers each of these factors individually. But most of them share a common cause, and it’s rooted in the weather patterns. Because of that, most pilots will be ahead of the game if they can […]

One night the Potomac Approach frequency was not very congested. I overheard a pilot talking with the controller about his impending arrival at an outlying airport just at the tower’s 9 p.m. close. Pilot: “I think they’ll be closed by the time I get there.” Potomac Approach: “I don’t know. You might just make it.” […]

The backup rechargeable batteries used in current-gen EFIS models have gotten better over the years. But they still require routine inspections, might have mandatory replacement intervals and are intolerant of extreme storage conditions. Don’t underestimate the costs associated with replacing them, either. Fortunately there are some things you and your mechanics can do to ensure […]

AVweb’s General Aviation Accident Bulletin is taken from the pages of our sister publication, Aviation Safety magazine. All the reports listed here are preliminary and include only initial factual findings about crashes. You can learn more about the final probable cause on the NTSB’s website at www.ntsb.gov. Final reports appear about a year after the […]

Entry-Level Travel One big advantage of owning vs. renting is the ability to take your time. With renting there’s the added pressure of having to return the airplane for the next renter. If weather threatens the expense of returning the plane late can push the renter into making undesireable decisions, especially if a VFR pilot. […]

The problem with an airplane like that is you can’t really use it for travel,” said a pilot looking out the FBO window at a Cherokee 140 sitting on the ramp. That pilot was saying that an entry-level airplane—think two or four seats, fixed gear and no more than 160 hp—can’t go places. Show me […]

I enjoy flying kids as part of the EAA “Young Eagles” program. Last year, I had a particularly hilarious day: Two sisters were in the back seat and their brother was in the front. I always let the front seater fly the plane for a bit. When sister #1 realizes this, she says: “He’s flying […]

I was happily plugging along at a good pace on my GlaStar project when life happened. What I had projected to be a two- or three-year build came to a crawl with a few spurts of activity and then finally stopped altogether. For seven years. My project was in the attached two-car garage, only a […]

AVweb’s General Aviation Accident Bulletin is taken from the pages of our sister publication, Aviation Safety magazine. All the reports listed here are preliminary and include only initial factual findings about crashes. You can learn more about the final probable cause on the NTSB’s website at www.ntsb.gov. Final reports appear about a year after the […]

Frank Robinson Dead At 92 I was fortunate to hear this remarkable man speak at a Royal Aeronautical Society lecture in London. He even graciously answered a question from me. He changed the lives of many thousands of people by introducing them to helicopters, by making them light and simple. The R22 weighed half of […]