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Repairs of Aging Aircraft I read that some FBOs in the States are refusing to work on aircraft over 18 years old (AVwebFlash, Jan. 4). I have an FBO at Clark Field, Philippines, and I will refuse to work on any aircraft newer than 18 years! My Ryan Navion I fly daily is now 58 […]

I have read more nonsense in “The Media” about the British Airways 747 that made the Los Angeles-to-England crossing on three engines than I can recall about most aviation “events.” I long ago gave up on “media” when it comes to aviation reporting, but this one is leading a lot of pilots astray, and we’re […]

Hearing Aids Re: Question of the Week, Dec. 28I have hearing aids, but do not wear them when flying. They tend to saturate with the higher background noise in the aircraft, and I get clipping even when wearing a noise canceling headset. On the other hand, the headset alone provides clear reception and no problems.Leonard […]

As the holiday season arrives, the Pilot’s Lounge at the virtual airport acquires what would only charitably be described as an eclectic array of decorations. Untold years ago, the owner of the FBO and flight school started the practice of suspending a small, creatively decorated Christmas tree, inverted, from the ceiling. The original reason has […]

Brisk sales, new airplanes, no hurricanes — despite troubles in the towers, some tragic flights, and worries about the future, overall a pretty good year for general aviation. Here’s our year-end review of the news. Editor’s Note: All the links in this story take you to full stories AVweb provided throughout the year. Eclipse — […]

It’s A Jungle Down There Mr. Deakin is too kind (Pelican’s Perch, Dec. 10).My comments regarding the Latin American ATC system during the ’70s would be unprintable. I filed instruments only when I absolutely had to because the system was so corrupt and inadequate it scared the bejesus out of me. There were a lot […]

There’s an unwritten rule in column journalism that you shouldn’t date the material by affixing it to a holiday boresighted by the publication date or, heaven forbid, even on that date. I mean, what’s more pathetic than noticing in February a piece of commentary tied to Thanksgiving traditions or something tied to the rites for […]

This article originally appeared in Aviation Safety, Oct. 2004. A lot of technology is available to piston pilots these days. This includes certified glass-panel displays in new airplanes as well as gee-whiz, almost-real-time weather graphics displayed on the same laptop computer used to play MP3s over the ship’s audio system. Some of the portable products […]

A funny thing happened to me on a coast-to-coast trip in my Cessna T310R from California to the East coast. I was headed from my home base in Santa Maria to teach a weekend seminar in Frederick, Md., and then to Atlanta to teach another seminar the following weekend.I first became aware of the problem […]

If you snuggle down deep, a La-Z-Boy recliner can actually begin to feel warm. This is especially true if you cover yourself with an unfolded newspaper as you try and snooze in a cold pilot lounge. We were trying to out-wait a mid-December snowstorm and I was trying, in vain, to nap the time away.It […]