Features

Aviation Democratization Kinda Gives Me A Headache Very well written. Having learned to fly in the 70’s I was spoiled with ramps chocked full of brand-new Cessna, Pipers, and Grumman “personal fighters.” Today on the ramps are the ragged remnants of that glory age of making personal flying machines. Honestly, if you can’t even succeed […]

The word that comes up most often when talking to Sonex owners is “fun.” Designed as a recreational flyer, the two-seat Sonex is easy to transition to and simple to handle, while still leaving room for pilots who want a bit of adventure. It’s a fast-slow aircraft, offering good cruise performance and a low stall […]

I was returning to Denver from some mountain and canyon flying in Idaho one busy Friday afternoon in July, headed towards my fuel stop in Vernal, Utah. The summer monsoon pattern was firmly in place, and the weather radar was starting to show some activity throughout the region. The first few Salt Lake controllers declined […]

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 […]

Airplane Sales Go Haywire I’ve owned a desirable M model Skyhawk for 36 years. When it was 10 years old, I purchased it for $13.5 and later spent another $13.5 to put a left over brand new 160hp engine in it in the early 90’s (one of the engines that were built for the Piper […]

When I was learning to fly, my instructor would say, “A good flight comes from good information.” Surprises in the cockpit aren’t generally good things. To avoid them, you absorb data, whether it’s a preflight weather brief, the information on the ATIS, or what your instruments are telling you. You take these disparate pieces and […]

On one flight, with only a crew of three (no passengers) onboard the Global Express and light on fuel, I requested a climb to FL510 (max certified altitude) as none of us had ever been that high. We usually cruise at FL450 or lower. With masks on, of course, we inched on up slowly as […]

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 […]

Veterans Day: Thinking Past Thanks For Your Service Beautifully written, thoughtful piece, Paul. As you describe, my adding years is also one of those waypoints on the chart of life that just seems to allow for more mental space to step back and turn more freely in thought when looking at issues like, in this […]

There’s normal, and then there’s normal. Which is to say that while much of aviation relies on routine procedures and aircraft configurations, among other things, there are exceptions to most norms. For example, the FAA long ago declared a “normal” landing to be one with an airplane’s wing flaps, if any, fully deployed. That’s not […]