Features

Winter Flying? Really, Must We? Winter flying has its challenges, but so does summer flying. Given a choice between being too hot or too cold, I find it easier to build a fire than an ice cube. And I can always put on more clothing, but I can only take off so much. One of […]

A series of transitions defines every pilot’s life. For Bill Anton of Satanta, Kansas, retiring after 35 years as an ag banker coincided with maturing flying desires, “from cross-country and aerobatics to fun flying out in the boondocks.” Now 72, “I’m thinking of how many more years of good flying I might have left,” he […]

Departing Buckeye for Flagstaff, the Phoenix Departure controller was obviously a stickler for standard communications. Phoenix: Two Seven Victor, Squawk Fife Tree Tree Tree. Us: Okay, squawking five and the forest, Two Seven Victor. Phoenix (chuckling): 27V, Radar contact, cleared on course, maintain VFR. David Bunin

The thing about airborne emergencies is that there are not that many scenarios in which using the radio will help. Sure, getting lost or trying to find better weather come to mind, but most emergencies depend on the pilot or crew to resolve them without external help. Failure of a single-engine airplane’s powerplant is an […]

FAA Announces New Drone Regs I think the general aviation community needs to drop their paranoia of drones and push back against overarching FAA regulations such as this. This regulation as written will prove to be extremely damaging to the traditional hobbyist model aircraft industry. This will have a very real impact on full-scale aviation […]

AIRMET Tango for turbulence was spot on. You’re given “climb and maintain six thousand,” but with the bumps you accidentally enter 7000 in the altitude preselect. Passing through 6,300 feet, you hear your call sign and, “verify level at six.” You stop the climb and head back down. All seems good until 10 minutes later […]

By Dave Prizio Looking for a plane to give you backcountry access with Super Cub performance that you can fly as a Sport Pilot? Or are you just looking for a tandem two-seater that is fun to fly and easy on the budget? If so, the RANS S-7 series is worth a hard look. With […]

Years ago when it was one of those typical Midwest spring days where the turbulence was ferocious down low, but the headwinds seemingly doubled for every thousand feet of altitude. We were south of Chicago in a Warrior westbound at 4000 feet, talking to South Bend Approach, when our passengers started turning green. Reluctantly, I […]

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 […]

Hybrid-Electric Utility Aircraft Gathers Support People have to stop thinking about electric and hybrid electric propulsion as an evolution of piston, turbine, or jet propulsion. Our current crop of aircraft are designed around the operating characteristics of piston or turbine powerplants, including their fuel, combustion air, cooling, operating speed, maintenance, fire protection, and other requirements. […]