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I don’t know how many times the subject of the conversations in the Pilot’s Lounge here at the virtual airport have lingered on issues of aircraft maintenance. If there is one thing that concerns a pilot nearly as much as flying weather or the cost of flying, it is the mechanical condition of the aircraft […]

Recently I talked at length with an aircraft owner who had acquired a 1980 Cessna 340A just a few months ago. He found the aircraft through one of the best-known twin-Cessna brokers in the industry. The pressurized twin appeared to be in pristine condition, with excellent logs and mid-time engines (about 850 hours SMOH). Because […]

Sport Pilot Should Cover C152 I lost my third-class medical 26 years ago because of undergoing open heart surgey. After eight years I got a waiver and passed. I lost eight years of PIC. I belonged to a flying club and over the past 40 years we have had about 200 different members.Many lost their […]

The pilot lounge at our crew base is just like every other one in the airline universe: some preschool-type art tables with folding chairs and walls covered with cork bulletin boards, which in turn are covered with the flotsam and jetsam of pilot life. There is the usual large screen television showing either the usual […]

I have always enjoyed meeting people of all ages and hearing their personal life stories, career choices, and most important, their future dreams and ambitions. I’ve been fortunate to meet many interesting people over the past eight years who have completely opened my eyes to the numerous opportunities that really exist in the world. At […]

No-Fly Zones AVweb wrote (NewsWire, Mar. 1): On Feb. 11, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) proposed the bill (H.R. 3798 that would require the DHS to establish no-fly zones around nuclear plants and chemical facilities for the duration of any high threat levels, including level orange or above. The zones could also be implemented anywhere […]

Sometimes you learn hard lessons in life. Sometimes these lessons are cheap, but sometimes they are very expensive. During the first week of February, I learned one of the expensive lessons.I have perhaps one of the most highly modified and upgraded Cessna T206H aircraft in existence. It has just about everything. However, when I fly […]

I had a incident the other night that really bothered me, so (of course) I started looking for a way to work it into a column. When I see something like this incident, I’m ashamed to admit my first reaction is usually somewhat uncharitable. The thought pops into my head that some people are just […]

Killing the Commanche In a typical Army mentality, the system that wants to “restructure and revitalize Army aviation to meet current and future needs” killed the one avenue it had to do exactly that. As a retired Army pilot, I have watched for years as this branch of military service seemingly anti-aviation, makes all the […]

I think I’m seeing the rapid growth of yet another OWT (Old Wives’ Tale). Some pilots are going to extraordinary lengths to prevent this badly misunderstood phenomenon, and a few are creating far more danger for themselves and their airplanes as they try to avoid a problem that probably doesn’t exist.I believe the Commemorative Air […]