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This article originally appeared in Aviation Consumer magazine, Oct. 2005. Sometime during the short but glorious history of general aviation gadgets, the notion that mounting some sort of accessory on the control yoke became accepted as a good idea. It wasn’t, it isn’t and it never will be. Festooning controls with wire-bound junk is at […]

[Read the first chapter of A Pilot’s History here.] Our class of 51 sergeants, with newly sewn stacks of chevrons on our sleeves and silver wings pinned to our shirts, arrived in Long Beach, Calif., the heart of aircraft manufacturing facilities. We were to ferry these aircraft to modification plants scattered around the country and […]

This article originally appeared in IFR Refresher, Nov. 2006. Years ago I used to fly into the Toronto City Centre Airport (CYTZ), although in those days it was called the Toronto Island Airport, because it was built on an island in Lake Ontario.Back then, the only instrument approach that was available was an NDB approach […]

AFSS Nonsense With all due respect to Lockheed-Martin VP Dan Courain (Podcast, Oct. 5), he needs to pick up the phone and call AFSS himself. The problem isn’t just briefings; it’s the tying up of airspace and human resources as well.Case in point: I was unable to raise Atlantic City approach to cancel my IFR […]

Fog shrouded the Northwest airport. A single-engine, retractable-gear airplane, with three aboard, was arriving from a routine, cross-country flight. The experienced pilot set up for a GPS approach. At the missed-approach point, the ground was still obscured so the pilot powered up and began a climb; but as the aircraft crossed directly over the airport, […]

I do get lucky. I’m writing this from the press room in Atlanta, Ga., where I’ve just been along to the 60th annual National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) exhibition — and gotten to meet at least one of my U.S. colleagues in person. Meanwhile, over in Europe, it’s been a mixed month for GA pilots […]

Last week, we managed to record a bumper crop of podcasts with the aviation industry’s leading figures – covering topics that ranged from inside the cockpit (synthetic vision) to new airplanes (from Diamond and Cessna) to Lockheed Martin’s embattled perspective on the newly-privatized AFSS system. In case you missed any, here’s a complete recap of […]

Aviation can be a difficult topic for those not involved directly to understand, let alone explain, and aviation groups frequently correct often-understandable errors that appear in the mainstream media. But there are also plenty of instances where regular reporters do the research and gain the understanding necessary to transmit accurate, compelling stories about aviation to […]

In the face of a determined campaign by well-funded airline lobbyists and an administration hell-bent on revamping the FAA’s funding structure, Rep. Jerry Costello’s resolve has been unshaken and it earned him one of AOPA’s highest honors on Saturday. Costello was named recipient of the “Doc” (Joseph B. Hartranft) Award as the public servant who’s […]

Age 60 Rebuttal A recent letter to the editor states that the author has been working on the Age 60 question since 1996 (AVmail, Oct. 1). My question is, “Why did you not fight the issue back in 1959 when it first came into being?” There is no one flying who did not know when […]