Features

It would be fair to say my plans for last April didn’t originally include building a rudder in my spare bedroom. However, when the opportunity arose to participate in Zenith Aircraft’s first-ever virtual rudder-building workshop, there was no way I was going to miss out. Since airplane building wasn’t something I’d tried before, I honestly had […]

Recently we have been flying into Statesboro, Georgia, several times a year on family business. We have noted how often we take off or land in bad weather at that particular airport. If it’s clear for our arrival, it’ll be solid IMC for departure, or the other way around. The last time we were there, […]

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 […]

Bombardier To Close Down Learjet Production End of an era. It’s safe to say if there had been no Lear, Bombardier’s (and probably everyone else’s as well) bizjet product line would be completely different – if it would exist at all. Chris K. I have 6 business jet type ratings. The Lear was fun to […]

What single-engine airplane, almost as big as a de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver, designed by Al Mooney, certified by Lockheed, built in South America, Italy and South Africa, is now powered by a 383-cubic-inch Chevy V-8? Originally designated the L-402, Lockheed built two prototypes of the tricycle-gear utility airplane that first flew in 1959. Deciding it […]

The first thing that happened was a sudden shift in “safety” concerns over to handling COVID-19. Should I go fly? Wear a mask? But, where we began and where we’re headed now are two very different paradigms. The aviation safety culture we’ve built over decades is somewhat perishable—it’s not just like “riding a bike”—and it’s […]

On a flight to Purdue University in my Piper Seneca, I was cleared for a right base to Runway 23. With a number of student pilots training at Purdue, the following exchange occurred: Tower: “300DE execute a left turn for spacing, student traffic on final.” Me: “300DE left turn for spacing.” Tower: “300DE, I said […]

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 […]

In early 2006, the world’s most experienced skydivers assembled in Thailand to build a record, 400-way formation. What did it take? The resources of an entire air force, 300 tons of Jet-A, a trainload of oxygen bottles and the determined endurance of a marathon runner. On the 15th anniversary of that record, we’re republishing this […]

Musk, FAA Spar Over Next Mars Rocket Test Launch I have had considerable experience in space launch and was part of a team that developed the FAA/USAF safety standards. I do not know exactly what occurred here, but you need to realize that launches from Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg AFB involve the use of government […]