Features

Years ago, I had gotten pretty used to skirting VFR in my Grumman AA1-B around the western edges of New York’s Class B airspace as I headed north-south to-and-from my home in New Jersey. The busiest time on the radio was overflying Caldwell and Morristown Airports (KCDW and KMMU) because their airspace almost overlapped, and […]

There’s an old military pilot saying that goes, “Never fly the A model of anything!” While test pilots will argue the idea, the typical squadron pilot wants an airplane that does what it is supposed to do and does it without breaking down—that’s understandable. But for those of us flying “experimental” aircraft, it can be […]

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 […]

To Dream The Irrational Dreams There are always the facts that: one, it’s available on short notice when you want it (shop time notwithstanding). Two, you don’t have to have it back at a specific time regardless of weather. And three, you have a better idea of the maintenance history and condition of the plane. […]

Part of being able to forecast comes from reading the sky, because so much of what’s taking place in the atmosphere can be seen visually. When I worked the forecast counter in the Air Force, I occasionally stepped over to the window for a quick look while filling out the weather briefing forms. The pilots […]

Heard over Lake Michigan this summer: TBM 123: “Chicago Center TBM 123 with an unusual request when you have a minute.” Chicago Center: “TBM 123 go ahead.” TBM 123: “There is a SkyWest aircraft on the frequency, just behind me, also en route to Grand Rapids, and I am the very proud father of the […]

I’m a firm believer in using supplemental oxygen; there’s a portable O2 tank in my airplane right now. For a variety of reasons, I usually go on oxygen when I’m going to be at 10,000 feet or higher for any length of time. I typically fly long legs, and when I use oxygen, I’m not […]

Off-Field Landings Excellent summary. I would add that, except for maybe the Cirrus and a few others, aircraft are designed with horizontal crashing in mind and not so much vertical. So although minimizing forward speed is essential, it’s just as essential to avoid stalling as that would increase the vertical speed component. Since part of […]

A good landing is any landing you walk away from. A great landing is when you can use the airplane again. Who doesn’t enjoy the classics? As humorous as these sayings can be, they occasionally do contain some nuggets of wisdom. For example, I would consider Captain Sully’s landing in the Hudson River a good […]

Years ago before GPS, when we only had two VORs, we were westbound against an extraordinarily strong headwind in a Cherokee, talking to St. Louis Approach. Through breaks in the clouds I could see that the big trucks on the Interstate below were making better time than we were. It was obvious we weren’t going […]