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Whooping Cranes Whooping cranes born in the wild is a first (On The Fly, Jun. 29)? Chicks being “born” at all seems pretty amazing!Ed Wischmeyer Stay Away From Nuclear Plants Regarding your story about departure routes over a nuclear power plant (NewsWire, Jun. 29): “… the FAA’s proposed new departure routes from Westchester County Airport […]

You don’t land a Champ or a Luscombe in the same manner as you land a B767 or an MD-88, but the principles are the same. Both kinds of airplanes require your full attention until you have them parked, chocked and shut down.Landing a tail-dragger only begins with the touchdown. Once the tires kiss the […]

Power Lines Threaten Private Strip I live in Ontario and own a small strip with a hanger. Five years ago a cell phone company tried to force a tower into my circuit area. I forced them to move outside my private zone. We have a rule laid out by the Canadian government that states you […]

This article originally appeared in IFR Refresher, January 2005. When should the pilot-in-command of a flight decide that he is not going to fly a particular approach, or perhaps a particular flight, due to marginal or below-minimums weather?We all know that under Part 91 we can fly an approach even when the weather is reported […]

Last week in AVweb’s Brainteaser we invited readers to submit short stories about their first solo flights. The response was so overwhelming we can’t publish them all, but here are a few for your enjoyment. Congratulations to all who have ever soloed! 1966: Cessna 150. Instructor got out of plane, said, “You’re on your own; […]

Everybody wants to move up. I guess it’s just natural. Most pilots start out flying “low and slow” and long to go higher, faster, further. The Cessna 150 turns into a 172 and then a 210, to a twin and now everybody is dreaming about a Very Light Jet (VLJ).You see it somewhat in controllers, […]

British Airway’s Three-Engine Incident AVweb wrote (NewsWire, Jun. 12): “British authorities say flying a 747 on three engines over the polar icecap was the right thing to do and now they’re going to try to convince the FAA of that. As AVweb reported, the British Airways flight from LAX to London lost an engine after […]

As if to make the day perfectly symmetrical, two vans pulling small trailers came scooting down the driveway, crossed the parking lot and, slowing greatly, drove down the centerfield taxiway a short distance and turned into the grass. People spilled from the doors and went swiftly to the respective trailers from which they began unloading […]

Dakota Breakup near ACY I fly this area regularly. So the interest in this accident is high.To correct your report (NewsWire, Jun. 5): Weather at the time of the accident was far from benign. Looks like this poor fellow got upset in hard IMC.The sky at the time of the accident was 700 overcast. Here […]

This article originally appeared in Aviation Safety, March 2004. Night flight brings with it a number of threatening elements. From invisible weather to pilot fatigue to visual illusions, night brings with it challenges that don’t seem daunting until you are alone in the darkness.In some countries, an instrument rating is required to fly at night. […]