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The New AFSS I was wondering how the pilots who used to use Terre Haute, Ind., Anniston, Ala., and Altoona, Pa., Automated Flight Service Stations (AFSS) feel about using the new Washington hub. I have talked to many frustrated pilots who do not like it. Lockheed-Martin has briefers who are totally unfamiliar with the areas […]

This article originally appeared in Aviation Consumer, Feb. 2005. In a perfect avionics upgrade, it’s out with all of the old and in with the new. For some owners at the top of the economic food chain, this is the case every five years, sometimes sooner. For the rest of us, avionics upgrades are few […]

“I can’t figure it out,” said Sid, my co-pilot. “The airplanes keep getting bigger but the coffee cups keep getting smaller.” He was looking askance at his shot-glass-sized coffee that the flight attendants had just brought up.”I wonder why they are so stingy on coffee. The passengers are just going to bug them for a […]

This article originally appeared in IFR Refresher, Feb. 2006. The Northeast winter weather was normal for February when the pilot of a Rockwell 500S Shrike Commander departed Naples, Fla., for Newport State Airport (KUUU) in Rhode Island. He had flight planned a stop in Wilmington, N.C., and the first leg of the flight went without […]

There seem to be a growing number of people who think that a cylinder head temperature (CHT) of 380 F is a universally good target to use for setting the mixture.Folks, it just ain’t so.It may work some of the time on some engines, but it’s a long way from universal, and I’d like to […]

I‘ve helped many pilots make the transition from four-seat, trainer-type airplanes into high-performance, retractable-gear airplanes and powerful light twins. If you’ve made that transition yourself, you probably remember zooming up through your desired (and perhaps air traffic control-assigned) altitude as you grew used to the new airplane, and the challenge of accurately transitioning to level […]

Airbus A380 Video Watching the video of the new Airbus A380 landing in America (Video of the Week, Mar. 25) reminded me of the aircraft’s visit to Sydney, Australia, a few months ago, on its Pole-to-Pole proving flight.My wife and I were driving along Qantas Drive, which is a busy road that runs right past […]

Why is it that when a company has developed the world’s “greenest” light aircraft at a time when environmental issues are a political hot potato, it is effectively penalized for its work? Sweden’s Lars Hjelmborg couldn’t tell you. His company, Hjelmco Oil, has led worldwide unleaded fuel development and production for decades. Hjelmco’s 91/96 avgas […]

Where Are the Air-Taxis? I see no way that the VLJ on-demand air taxi concept can be profitable (Question of the Week, Mar. 7). Too many dead legs, too many fixed expenses. Nice idea, but not practical, not profitable. I give them one year to be out of business.Jim Good The success of the VLJ […]

On the first warm day in weeks I had gone out to the virtual airport to see if I could get an airplane started that had been tied down outside for over a month. I suspected that the siege of cold weather would have left the battery with a questionable level of oomph. (Don’t you […]