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An aircraft tire is a sophisticated, computer-designed, multi-component product consisting of three major materials: steel, rubber and fabric. Taking this down a level, there are multiple types of nylon and rubber compounds in tire construction, each with its own special properties designed to complete the task assigned. The only thing they have in common with […]

AVweb will be in Orlando, Florida October 17-19, 2006 for the NBAA Convention. If you’re one of the many AVweb readers who make a living in the business of aviation, please take a moment while you’re at the show to stop by our sponsors’ booths. Their patronage of AVweb makes it possible for us to […]

During this year’s repositioning of the Pilot’s Lounge from the virtual airport to the EAA convention at Oshkosh, many of our regulars and visitors again partook of a rather cynical variation of the traditional form of recreation-at-the-airport-when-we’re-not-flying: watching arriving aircraft to see stupid pilot tricks.Sadly, we saw a bunch.While the majority of arriving pilots demonstrated […]

Crash at Lexington The tragedy at Lexington offers insight to a couple of areas (NewsWire, Sep. 11). The FAA can make rules in a knee-jerk reaction, but has a hard time spending the money to follow them. The FAA wants to staff to traffic, whatever that means. It should staff to safety. Which is what […]

This article originally appeared in Aviation Safety, July 2004. Pilots must often deal with a wide range of competing emotions and pressures when faced with less-than-ideal conditions for a planned flight. These can range from doubts about one’s skills and proficiency for the planned flight, to mechanical problems with the aircraft and to adverse weather. […]

I‘ve had wonderful luck with piston aircraft engines throughout my 37 years as an aircraft owner. All the engines on my airplanes have made TBO with minimal maintenance along the way, and in recent years they’ve gone well beyond TBO.For decades, I was convinced that the secret of my success was the fact that I […]

I don’t usually travel by boat, but I found myself crossing the rough waters of a Midwestern, middle-size lake. I was on my way to a friend and co-pilot’s 50th birthday party. It was to be held on the hallowed picnic grounds once cavorted upon by this person’s forebears and ancestors. A sort-of old-time, traditionally […]

Cockpit Security No matter what technology may be employed to bar unauthorized entry to the “front office,” rest assured that it will be challenged by innovation on the part of the terrorists (AVwebFlash, Sep. 14). I wouldn’t be surprised to see contacts that can foil retinal scanners and gloves that can do likewise to fingerprint […]

This article originally appeared in IFR Refresher, March 2005. Though you may possess a valid medical certificate, as an FAA-licensed pilot you are expected to ground yourself whenever you do not meet the standards of that certificate. When a pilot has a bad cold or some other similar ailment, and especially if he or she […]

I spend a lot of time talking about “the book.” I use the phrase as a catchall for FAA publications. My favorite “book,” by far, is the AIM — The Aeronautical Information Manual. Some might consider that strange in that I’m not a pilot. I’m a controller. You might expect me to spend most of […]