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Welcome back aviation fans. Your friendly safety rep here, Mr. Sunshine. I’m pleased to report to you that all is well and everything is coming up roses. Everyone on both sides of the mic has heeded my advice and we are all using perfect phraseology. Controllers are sticking to all the procedures and the pilots […]

Also see Mike Busch’s previous reviews of LightSPEED’s QFR Solo passive headset and LightSPEED’s top-of-the-line 25XL headset. When I reviewed LightSPEED’s new $150 QFR Solo passive headset in October 2000, I mentioned how much I was looking forward to trying out the soon-to-be-released ANR-enhanced version, the QFR Cross Country, the first under-$300 aviation headset to […]

Sometimes flying is its own reward. Youcatch the last rays of a beautiful sunset as you turn final, you calculate the fuel burnfor your trip down to the tenth of a gallon, or you grease it on at the end of your firstflight with your new in-laws. Every time we fly we usually come away […]

A new FAA rule, set for implementation in late 2002, will have a major impact on business aviation. Part 91 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) will be amended to add the new “Subpart K.” Subpart K will distinguish fractional ownership programs from other traditional business aircraft ownership arrangements. The new rule will not affect […]

Here in the pilots lounge at the virtual airport a few of us are muttering darkly about May’s flying weather. It comes after a winter for wimps, so mild that the lakes never froze hard enough for skiplane operations. It says right here in the contract that we’re supposed to have a cold winter with […]

Myron Collier was born June 8,1930, on a farm near Butler, Ohio. He built model airplanes and, though hedidn’t know any pilots, knew he wanted to be one. An hour’s worth of instructionwas too expensive, so he paid for 15 minutes at a time. What he lacked infinances he made up for in determination, and […]

It’s another normal day in the life of an airline aviator. Four legs, three gate holds, two crew meals in boxes, and one layover in Little Rock awaiting us at the end of our day. This week’s version of a co-pilot, Karl, has settled into his seat after doing a walk-around in the rain and […]

When I first started writing the Eye of Experience, fresh after seven years of writing the Eye of the Examiner for FLYING magazine, I indicated that many of the Eye of Experience columns would deal with the subject of flight testing. With 17 years’ experience as a Designated Pilot Examiner, and having administered over 4,000 […]

Avidyne’s new DX50 data link transceiver playing on a FlightMax EX5000 FSD. [Click any image for a larger version.]   Palm Springs, California — Take almost any heading inaviation these days and evidence abounds of declines wrought by the whiplashoverreactions to 9-11 and the economic downturn already manifesting itself theday the Twin Towers fell. Yet […]

It’s long past time to get out of the “Alice in Wonderland” mode on leaded fuels. There is so much misinformation out there on this, and so many OWTs (Old Wives’ Tales), I hardly know where to begin. There is a most elegant solution to the fuels problem now emerging, but more on that later. […]