Short Final

From an AVweb reader: I conduct airfield vehicle driver training at a large-hub Part 139 airport with a very complex layout. The training for each driver ends with a practical evaluation where the driver has to call ATC to get directions to navigate the field safely and efficiently, so a major part of the evaluation […]

One morning on departure from Peoria International Airport: Peoria Approach: “I bet you didn’t think you were going to get this type of workout when you asked for the clearance into the Class Charlie, did you?” Cessna: “Peoria approach, student pilot here. I enjoy the workout.” Peoria Approach: “Roger that.” Unknown aircraft: “If he’s a […]

I was inbound for landing at Reid‐Hillview airport and had a traffic alert off to my left, 300 feet higher and faster. About a minute after the traffic alert the tower told me I had traffic above and to the left of me. I replied that I did not have traffic in sight. Tower said, […]

Overheard on the airwaves, somewhere, sometime … maybe: Air Traffic Controller: “Cessna 1234X, say position.” Student Pilot [on first solo cross-country]: “I’m, ahhhh, approaching the XYZ VOR.” Air Traffic Controller (after a brief slow burn): “You’ve been approaching the XYZ VOR since you took off. Can you be more specific?”

As a fresh pilot and first-time aircraft owner back in the early 1980s, I was excited to fly my little two-seat Grumman on a midwinter trip from New England to Florida. Knowing all the complications of weather and airspace issues, I had done my research, but I never missed a chance to seek counsel from […]

From AVweb reader Ron Rands: Overheard on the radio while en route to Oshkosh. (An Albatross is a Grumman-built Amphibian. See photo): Albatross: “Peoria approach, Albatross N54321.” Peoria approach: “Albatross N54321, Peoria approach.” Albatross: “Peoria, request flight following, destination Oshkosh – Oscar Sierra Hotel.” Peoria approach: “Albatross N54321 flight following approved, squawk 2451.” Albatross: “Squawk 2451.” After a brief pause… […]

The aviation safety culture can be brutal and unforgiving. Consider this sage advice from Angus Kydd, one of the instructors at my home-base airport, years ago. Chatting with a group of students about risk-taking, he said, “Before you do something stupid up there, think of what everyone sitting down here will say about you after […]

During the early days of World War II in the Pacific, the Curtiss P-40 served heroically well, despite its shortcomings against the Japanese Mitsubishi Zero, which was more maneuverable in a dogfight. As the story goes: After one harrowing mission, a P-40 pilot returned to base. After stowing his flight gear, he ran into a […]

From sister publication IFR Magazine’s “On the Air” letters page: A female tower controller at a flight-school airport was known to have a sultry voice that the young male instructors found … appealing. On one occasion, she advised one of the school aircraft that had been waiting for ground fog to dissipate: Controller: “Cessna Five […]

From AVweb reader Erik Klavon: After an unusually long period of silence on a Denver center frequency, I heard the following exchange: Unknown pilot: “Still there?” Denver Center: “For another 25 years.”