Features

AVweb: How are you, Mrs. Garvey? GARVEY: I’m very good, very, very well, thank you. I’m looking forward toOshkosh. AVweb: We’re looking forward to seeing you. GARVEY: Thanks. The secretary is joining us this year, which is a nice treat,and I believe Congressman [Todd] Tiarht (R-KS) [the Congressman from Wichita -Ed.] is also coming. He […]

In17 years as a designated pilot examiner, I administered over 4,000 flight testsfor a variety of certificates and ratings. During that time, I was witness to agreat many unusual performances by all kinds of applicants. Some were humorous,some tragic, but all were interesting. I wanted to take this opportunity to sharea few. “I’ll Take A […]

Hot Fun In The Summertime? It has been a pretty good month in thePilot’s Lounge. Summer is here and the airplanes are beautiful. For the secondyear in a row we have had great weather, so the old saw, “what comes aftertwo days of rain in Michigan? Monday” is not holding up. As one of thepilots […]

Now that previous columns have littered the runway with theory and attempted to explain manifold pressure, propeller RPM, and mixture, I’d like to present some suggestions for in-flight techniques to extract better performance from these engines. Some of it will be a little repetitive from prior columns in an attempt to make this column more […]

Everybodytakes checkrides. It simply goes with the territory – if you want to fly, anFAA Inspector (Fed) will examine you from time to time or you will be tested bya Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE). In a 17-year career as a DPE, andhaving administered over four thousand flight tests as a DPE, I believe I haveseen […]

There are few things in airplanes as misunderstood and misused as the mixture control. Old Wives’ Tales (OWTs) abound, many of them spread by POHs, the FAA, and even the engine manufacturers! Not much of what you’ve read and heard about mixture management makes sense – much of it is out of context, and most […]

Things have started to quietdown here in the Pilot’s Lounge since the FAA came out with its nutty interpretive rule stating that pilots are perse negligent if they do not hear an air traffic control clearance accurately. There isa deep-seated anger at some portions of the FAA among pilots, but the shouting andarm-waving has stopped […]

When Isubmitted my original column on the subject of hazardous attitudes,AVweb‘s editor told me that it was my bestcolumn ever. That may or may not be an accurate statement, but in any event my reply wasthat I would be willing to wager that the column would draw less reader response thanothers I have written would. […]

OnWednesday of this week, Miami International’s ASR-9 approach control radar took a directlightning strike and was out of service for more than three hours. Most of the agenciesand people involved in moving airplanes rolled up their sleeves and went to work.Everyone, that is, except the U.S. Customs Service. The approach controllers, crippled without their own […]