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This article originally appeared in IFR magazine, Jul. 2005. It was late in 1981 or maybe early in 1982, because that’s the only time in the history of O’Hare that the draconian departure restrictions in this tale were used. To understand how those departure restrictions fit into our story, you need to know a little […]

[AVweb’s reprint of A Pilot’s History began with Chapter 1.] In California it was nice to meet my wife and to see — for the first time — my young son, even though he yelled when he saw me, a stranger to his eyes. There was also a German shepherd pup named “Rebel.” How did […]

This article originally appeared in IFR Refresher, Mar. 2007. There is no rule that states how many instrument approaches a pilot can fly before going to another airport and there shouldn’t be. I am not in favor of removing any of the pilot’s authority to conduct operations the way he or she sees fit. However, […]

Cessna Skycatcher I am a 73-year-old private pilot living in Bend, Oreg. I have had nine airplanes, starting in 1955. Six of these have been Cessnas: two C172s, two C180s and two C182s. I still own and fly a 1972 C182P.I was delighted when Cessna purchased Columbia with the decision to continue manufacture here in […]

I was arriving at Wichita with the GPS set up for the ILS Runway 1R approach. About 10 miles from the final approach fix, approach control called: “9PT, change in runway, expect the ILS 1 Left, fly present heading to intercept the localizer.”My world got really busy, fast.I was facing what safety researchers call an […]

As we go to press, the world is watching the latest developments after a British Airways Boeing 777 landed short of the south runway at Heathrow. It appears to have skimmed the perimeter fence and landed on the grass before the threshold of Runway 27L, before skidding to a halt on the markers. There is […]

Winter in the Pilot’s Lounge at the virtual airport can be pretty slow, with days of low overcast and generally lousy flying weather. Either no one comes out to the airport and our flight-school owner starts to panic over whether last summer’s revenues can be stretched through the winter, or a lot of people come […]

Better Way to Save Gas? Nice story (Airmanship, Jan. 13), but no mention of a Rotax-powered aircraft? Cirrus or Diamond as a gas saver? Please! Time to catch up with 21st century technology: Go for the Rotax. An IFR legal Tecnam Sierra goes 20 knots faster than my C172 on half the fuel, automatically adjusts […]

This article originally appeared in Aviation Safety, Dec. 2005. In aviation, perhaps more than with any other activity, there is really very little that’s new and different when it comes to accident causes. If we fly only on calm, VFR days, pay excruciating attention to our training and proficiency, and operate only new airplanes with […]

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