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April 27, 2000   Mr. Robert HackmanSr. Technical SpecialistAviation Services DepartmentAircraft Owners and Pilots Association421 Aviation WayFrederick, MD  21701-4798 Dear Mr. Hackman: This is a follow-up response to your letter dated April 26, 1999, to the Office of the Chief Counsel, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), regarding the definition of “dual controls” under 14 CFR section […]

U.S. Departmentof TransportationFederal AviationAdministration Memorandum Subject: Dual Controls under 91.109 and 61.45 From: Regional Counsel, AEA-7 To: Manager, RIC FSDOTHRU: Manager, Technical Branch, AEA-230 Date: Mar 17 2000 Reply toAttn. of: SBrice x3268 You have requested our opinion with respect to fully functional aircraft dual controls under 91.109 and 61.45 of the FARs. After further […]

U.S. Departmentof TransportationFederal Aviation Administration FLIGHT STANDARDS DISTRICT OFFICE5707 Huntsman Road, Suite 100Richmond Int’l Airport, VA 23250-2415 March 29, 2000 CERTIFIED MAIL: RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED Mr. Thomas OsinkoskyShanandoah Flight ServicesShenandoah Valley Regional Airport51 Aviation Circle, Suite 112Weyers Cave, VA 24486 Dear Mr. Osinkosky: Last year, personnel from this office had a discussion about the use […]

U.S. Departmentof TransportationFederal AviationAdministration 800 Independence Avenue, S.W.Washington, DC 20591 September 29, 1999 Mr. Kenneth A. MedleyXXXXXXXXXXXXXXArlington, VA 22207 Dear Mr. Medley: This is in response to your letter requesting clarification on whether dual instruction/flight tests may be conducted in airplanes that do not have brakes on the right side. Title 14 Code of Federal […]

U.S. Departmentof TransportationFederal AviationAdministration 800 Independence Avenue, S.W.Washington, DC 20591 July 29, 1999 Mr. Robert Hackman Dear Mr. Hackman: Thank you for your letter dated April 26, 1999, to the Office of the Chief Counsel, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), regarding flight instruction in aircraft with dual controls under 14 CFR section 91.109(a). Specifically, you request […]

Now It’s the FAA’s FSDOs That Are Out of Control! Last summer, AVweb interviewed two of the FAA’s top lawyers at their offices in Washington. That meeting was occasioned, in part, by news stories AVweb had written that were highly critical of the FAA’s attorneys and their uneven interpretations of Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs). The […]

Robert L. Rasmussen was born May26, 1930, in Sacramento, Calif. and grew up in the small farming community ofRio Vista. He got hooked on aviation thanks to the barges full of warbirds thatparked in the river by his home during WWII. He had enough talent to win an artscholarship to a school in San Francisco, […]

Oneof the most difficult subjects an instructor ever has to teach is the awesomeresponsibility of being pilot in command (PIC) of an airplane carryingpassengers. Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) 1.1 says, “‘Pilot in Command’means the pilot responsible for the operation and safety of an aircraft duringflight time.” And according to Part 91.3 (a), “The pilot in […]

As the story goes, a disgruntled passenger complains toan airline representative, “Your flights are always delayed so much! Why doyou bother publishing a schedule?” “But sir,” the quick-witted employee responds, “if we didn’tpublish a schedule, how would you know how late our flights were?” Most of us would agree that this joke used to be […]

My least favorite time of year is when I have to do my Japan Civil Aviation Board (JCAB) physical. As fate would have it, my flight engineer license expires in early January of each year. The scheduler – whom I’m sure is somehow telepathically connected with my ex-wife (otherwise why would he be so determined […]