Reader Mail

Jeppesen Fixing Database Problem The system of issuing airspace boundaries by the FAA and other countries is a mess. The FAA uses VOR stations and VOR radials in true bearing for Class B and C, and LAT/LON for restricted areas, and who knows what for TFRs.What the other ICAO counties do is probably less than […]

Brave New World Yesterday, while flying near the Washington ADIZ, Com radio 1 on the local CTAF and 2 on 121.5, I heard the following, in a clearly synthesized voice with an oddly foreign accent: “Aircraft approaching Washington Air Defense Identification Zone! Turn away! Shiply(sic)!” Ah, brave new world! Richard Matlick Airline Training Academy Your […]

Cirrus Launches Safety Study I’ll bet you dollars to doughnuts that the results of the upcomming Cirrus study will be inconclusive.Having said that, I’ll make the same bet again by stating that the real cause of most if not all of those accidents, is over-confidence caused by color moving map displays and other modern electronic […]

Airline Woes It is often claimed that the airline industry can rightly boast of its safety record. As someone who has worked in this industry for over 20 years, I have seen and have been a part of the system, the procedures and processes that have been responsible for assuring the safety of air travel, […]

The Pilot’s Lounge Thank you, Rick Durden! Your article on the Alexis Park Inn was most welcome. Yes, we are tight-fisted SOB’s and, yes, we are self-destructive to our own passion. But maybe continued exposure to nice destinations like this are just what we need. Many pilot mags contain articles on major destinations for major […]

Airliner Missile Defense Awash in all the absurdity proposed (and implemented) by idiot bureaucrats in the name of “national security,” this Stinger missile defense seems totally at odds with the new totalitarian U.S. government’s new goals (to eliminate civil aviation). How can the nice brave soldiers at the Pentagon shoot down the airliners that stray […]

Washington ADIZ Why can’t the FAA and DoD set up air corridors for safe passage into the three DC airports affected by the ADIZ?Dave Rumney GPS Jamming Obviously, we need backup systems. With today’s technology Loran-C can provide 2d navigation for enroute and terminal, and some non-precision approaches.Local precision navigation can be provided by a […]

The Beginning of the Endalready?Ron Saeger TWA 800 Conspiracy For those interested in an exhaustive review of the evidence that TWA 800 was downed by a missile (most likely fired by the U.S. Navy in a botched exercise), get a copy of (ex) CBS investigative reporter Kristina Borjesson’s article published in “Into the Buzzsaw.” I […]

Threat Level Orange A number of coinciding events transpired this past week, including the elevation of our nation’s threat level to the second highest level, “Orange.” Simultaneously, the Washington, D.C., airspace restrictions affecting GA aircraft expanded substantially. No sooner had the news commentator made these announcements, than a film clip showing a small Cessna poking […]

Shuttle Columbia And Crew Lost Perhaps the loss of Columbia is most startling because of the years of uneventful Shuttle flights since Challenger; over 80 of them, resulting in a “ho-hum” public attitude toward the program. The stark reality is that nothing is without risk, and all of the fine people on board and on […]