Features

Guest Blog: The Wrong Way To Teach Forced Landings EXCELLENT article! In training, we too often concentrate on whether or not we “made the field”–rather than “what’s wrong?” The author does an excellent job of emphasizing the preflight and flying the airplane–this is as it should be–concentrate on PREVENTING the scenario, rather than “did you […]

When considering the industry’s take on risk management, one of the arrows in the quiver is something called personal minimums. One idea behind personal minimums is that the FAA’s regulations are minimum standards—we’re free to exceed them: If VFR requires three miles and 1000 feet, why not bump that up to five miles and 2000 […]

B18 – Alton Bay, New Hampshire: the only ice runway in the lower 48 with an FAA identifier when the ice is thick enough. The turbulence in the lee of the ridge was a bit rough. My passenger was a friend who is blind. I warned him that it “might be a bit of a […]

Each year, Aviation Safety magazine includes some admonishments to those planning to fly to an airshow. They can be as basic as recommending familiarity with an associated NOTAM or include a detailed analysis of the challenges. In either case, risk-management concepts like checking and understanding weather, and avoiding such human foibles as “get-there-itis,” are incorporated […]

Improper Towing Led To PA46 Nosegear Failure Similar problems can occur in Beech Bonanza and Barons. The scissors that hold the nosewheel straight are of dissimilar metals, so that improper towing will break one of the arms rather than the main structure. Damage here is usually a crack where the scissors join, often obscured by […]

It’s happened. You’ve dreamed of this forever. You can finally afford to step up from the piston-pounders you’ve been flying into the world of owner-flown turbines. You’re excited as a puppy in a shoe closet. Yet, when you discuss the idea with some of your friends with aviation backgrounds you respect, they shift into making-noncommittal-comments-while-nodding-politely […]

My home airport is KAPA, which used to be Arapahoe County Airport but is now Centennial Airport in the south metropolitan area of Denver, Colorado. One day I was flying my Super Decathlon and I was entering a right downwind to Runway 17 Right. I was overtaking a slower 172 ahead in the pattern. Tower […]

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 […]

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 […]