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Q1. What is METAR/SPECI and what do the acronyms stand for? A1. METAR is the international standard code format for hourly surfaceweather observations which is analogous to the SA coding currently used in theUS. The acronym roughly translates from French as Aviation Routine WeatherReport. SPECI is merely the code name given to METAR formatted productswhich […]

$ maintenance check indicator – light intensity + heavy intensity / indicator that visual range data follows; separator between temperature and dew point data. ACC altocumulus castellanus ACFT MSHP aircraft mishap ACSL altocumulus standing lenticular cloud ALP airport location point AO1 automated station without precipitation discriminator AO2 automated station with precipitation discriminator APRNT apparent APRX […]

The transcontinental lightplane flight of7-year-old Jessica Dubroff was strictly a made-for-TV event fromthe outset. Although billed as an attempt to “set the record”for the youngest pilot ever to make such a flight, there was norecord at stake here. Neither the National Aeronautics Associationnor even the Guiness Book of World Records recognizes such”youngest pilot” feats. When […]

Appendix F to Part 23: Test Procedure Acceptable test procedure for self-extinguishing materials for showing compliance with Secs. 23.853 ,23.855 and 23.1359. (a) Conditioning. Specimens must be conditioned to 70 degrees F, plus or minus 5 degrees, and at 50 percent plus or minus 5 percent relative humidity until moisture equilibrium is reached or for […]

I write this with considerable personal embarrassment, in thehopes that someone may learn from it. Sunriver, Oregon, is a lovely summer and winter resort communityabout 20 miles from Mt Bachelor, a popular ski spot. We renta condo there for a week every year, during the kids’ Spring break.I usually fly down with one or both […]

Late last year, Mobil Corporationsettleda class-action lawsuit brought by Cessna T210 owner Malvern Grosson behalf of owners of Teledyne Continental engines damaged bythe use of Mobil’s AV-1 synthetic oil. In the hard-fought andcomplex settlement, Mobil agreed to pay for inspection and repairof TCM 360/470/520/550 engines that used AV-1 oil for more than150 hours. It now […]

Special Airworthiness Information BulletinNo. ACE-96-01 February 1, 1996 AIRCRAFT CERTIFICATION SERVICE800 INDEPENDENCE AVENUE, S.W.WASHINGTON, DC 20591 PUBLISHED BY FAA, AFS-613, P.O. BOX 26460, OKLA. CITY, OK 73125 THIS IS ISSUED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND ANY RECOMMENDATION FOR CORRECTIVE ACTION IS NOT MANDATORY. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WAS DISTRIBUTED TO REGISTERED OWNERS AND KNOWN OPERATORS OF […]

Editor’s Note: In ATC parlance, a “FAM” isa familiarization ride in which an air traffic controller is permittedto ride jumpseat in an airline cockpit to observe what the ATCsystem looks like from the point of view of the cockpit crew. As I entered the cockpit of the Boeing 787, I couldn’t help butbe impressed. My […]

Two thousand miles in an open-cockpit biplane. Richard Bach did it. Steven Coonts did it. Clearly nothing that I can’t handle! Never mind that Bach and Coonts did their biplane treks in thesummertime and carefully picked their weather. My journey wouldbe in November…the only time I could find four free days ina row to make […]

Tehachapi, California: You Gotta Be Dedicated … or a Little Nuts It’s winter, late January. There’s snow on the ground atTehachapi, California. The wind is blowing like crazy. And thetwo of us were about to camp out in an unheated hangar. All ofthis to save money so we could fly sailplanes. The operator ofthe glider […]