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A retelling of the 19th-century story, especially for aviators. This has been floating around the Internet for years in various forms — and probably was passed around as photocopies for years before that. ‘Twas the night before Christmas, and out on the ramp,Not an airplane was stirring, not even a Champ.The aircraft were fastened to […]

The differential compression check has been a mainstay of piston aircraft engine maintenance for the last 70 years, give or take. Like anything else in aviation that’s been around for a long time, various Old Wives’ Tales (OWTs) have evolved about the procedure, passed on from journeyman mechanic to apprentice, and later taught in A&P […]

The Piper Navajo occupies a unique niche among piston twins: it has found a substantial market in the commuter airline business while retaining an appeal for owners who want to fly themselves in relative comfort and luxury. Cessnas 402 is another such twin but you dont find many of those in private ownership. The PA-31 […]

Cessna Eyes Massive Boys-And-Girls Club Thank you for picking up this story (NewsWire, Dec. 9).Nothing but good can come of this idea: A major corporation spending its monetary and human resources on young people in their formative years. The kids who become part of this endeavor will learn many lessons, but the largest will be […]

Dear Santa:I am roasting my ample tummy sitting by a Marriott swimming pool in Fort Lauderdale, the victim of a re-route from my usual trip that normally has a 15-hour Detroit layover. Most re-routes, as you know from hundreds of Christmas trips, are bad news. This re-route seems to be working out nicely: an extra […]

This is the fifth in a series of excerpts that began with Chapter One. Chapter Eight: Notes on Lesson Six — Advanced Stalls The weather looked pretty rough driving out to Dairy Flat. Low clouds and rain showers. I was sure we would have to scrub the flight, although there were a few small open […]

Flight Service Stations Your question this week about the FSS and quality of services prompt me to send this letter with additional comments (QOTW, Dec. 1).I’ve had a long association with Flight Service Stations as a user. I started in aviation when I was 17 and we had a FSS on the field. Every morning […]

I once had a supervisor accuse me of “just looking for trouble.” I want you to pause and let that sink in for just a second. I know I did. An air traffic controller — a safety rep no less — looking for trouble. “Uh, yeah, I guess you’re right about that, boss. I am […]

TCAS Advisories I have known Don Brown for about 20 years, and I can safely say that he is one of the best and most conscientious controllers that I have ever met. Sometimes I wish I were more like him, and sometimes not. Sometimes the FAA phraseology does not “cut to the chase.” Personally, I […]

Because of the nature of my job, I receive a lot of emails and phone calls from pilots wondering how best to prepare themselves for advanced training. This applies to any advanced training (beyond the instrument rating) from checkouts in high-performance aircraft to turbojet type-ratings. Now, there’s one disclaimer I need to make here and […]