Features

I fly in the High Desert of Southern California. We often get very strong, gusty winds. While practicing approaches, I heard this interaction between tower and a C-17 crew, also practicing. Tower: “…wind 200 at 25 gusting to 37, cleared for the option Runway 17.” C-17 pilot after acknowledging information: “Does the wind always blow […]

We don’t normally think of hydropower as a path to Experimental aviation, but in Neil Wischer’s case, it was definitely the enabler. Starting with his grandparents’ and parents’ spinner-over-tail group for model airplanes, the youthful Neil found he was “the worst RC pilot ever” and ended up in the Navy where he got into the […]

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 […]

Regarding Comments On AVweb Thank you for your message about reader comments. I agree with you. I am president of an organization representing the GA flight instructor community. Before, I was the chief instructor for a regional airline. Over the years, so much industry energy has been spent discussing topics concerning the existence of a […]

“Old pilots tend to be a deaf bunch,” as one AME so bluntly called it. He would know. For me, the tough reality is sinking in that I too may someday join the ranks of the hearing impaired—wrong in expecting that growing old would take longer.  So when reader and hearing-aid candidate Thomas Folk reached […]

I was flying a Lear with a callsign of Coyote going into Midland, Texas. Me: “Fort Worth Center, Coyote 123, request EASYY for the straight‑in Runway 28 in Midland.” Center: “Coyote 123, cleared direct EASYY.” Me: “Direct EASYY, thank you. That’ll make it easy for 28. (Laughter)” Later… Center: “Coyote 123, contact Midland approach. Ya’ll […]

With lots of downsized P-51 replicas to choose from, ScaleWings’ carbon fiber version offers the Revell-model ease of assembly, while retaining the all-metal “look.” The Germany-based company painstakingly duplicated all the rivets, screws, hardware—even replicated the fabric-covered rudder—with indentations in the factory molds. Many people assume it’s actually a metal airplane.

There’s an amusing quip from award-winning author Robert McCloskey that says, “I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.” This double speak serves to illustrate the importance of clear communication. There are few places in human […]

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 […]

The Long, Twisted And Slightly Ridiculous Story Of Avgas Good articles 1 and 2. I didn’t see much on the FBO’s point of view. I talked to my home airport FBO. They can’t afford multiple fuel tanks and pumps so they only sell Jet A and 100LL. The types of fuel that they buy are […]