Features

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 […]

Well … I’ve reached the halfway mark. I am now 50. Lord, 50! Where the heck did all those years go? Why it seems like only yesterday that I left school and…. Oh no! I’m starting to channel my father! The scary thing is, he keeps looking at me from the bathroom mirror. How’d he […]

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This column is a continuation of previous columns about manifold pressure(MP), props, mixtures, and engine management techniques. They are listed here for your reference. Reviewing them might be a good thing to do before venturing further into this one! PP #15: Manifold Pressure Sucks! PP #16: Those Marvelous Props PP #18: Mixture Magic PP #19: […]

In my previous column, we explored a bit of the history of supercharging, some of the many variations, and some of the reasons for it. We touched lightly upon the turbochargers, which make it possible for an aircraft engine to produce a manifold pressure greater than ambient pressure,and thus more power. We also mentioned the […]