Features

One of the most common places Experimental airplane owners look for performance improvements is the propeller, and many homebuilts go through several props in their lifetime. This is not surprising as propeller design, like many aspects of aircraft design, is an exercise in tradeoffs, but prop design in particular is a black art to many. There […]

Experienced aircraft builders know that completing a homebuilt is all about a multitude of small steps eventually resulting in a flyable airplane. That concept is doubly true where metal aircraft are concerned: Each stage rewards patience and repetition. With that in mind, our sister publication KITPLANES has launched a 20-part video series that takes potential […]

This happened a few years ago, in the pre‑pandemic world. I was chugging along in my Piper Dakota from North Central Arkansas heading toward the busy Dallas‑Fort Worth airspace on a Friday afternoon. Fort Worth Center was talking fast, directing the arriving airline traffic, dealing with a few military training flights and a couple of […]

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 […]

Already Had My Electric Airplane, Thank You Eventually pilots flying piston aircraft will be like pilots flying taildraggers now. Some will respect the extra skill required, while many will be puzzled why people still bother with old technology when there is the magic of one switch, one handle, electric flight. My goal is to be […]

Some—perhaps even many—pilots of Experimental aircraft never operate their artfully homebuilt aircraft on any runway surface not considered “improved,” meaning asphalt or concrete. That’s certainly fine, and a lot may never desire to do so either. But that doesn’t mean they can’t. With some common sense, proper planning and following the right procedures, many homebuilts […]

During my high school years, I got a lift home from a friend. Approaching my neighborhood, I said, “Turn left here.” I expected my friend to be a sensible driver, spot the clearly marked street a few hundred feet ahead, decelerate, merge into the designated left-turn lane, look for traffic, and smoothly turn into my […]

By Jonathan and Julia Apfelbaum Have you ever had project creep? The gradual cumulation of ideas and what-ifs that makes a straight path meander is all but guaranteed to add time and complexity. But it can also lead to a much better end result. Witness the evolution of Allen Floyd’s Long-EZ, Excalibur. Allen, who hails […]

Recently, I took my Piper Arrow out for a late afternoon Bay tour from Oakland to the Golden Gate Bridge. The NORCAL frequency was unusually quiet. Only one other airplane, a Cessna, checked in. The friendly controller gave him instructions that contained a number of semi‑official local waypoints. The instruction went something like, “Stay north […]

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 […]