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This year’s National Business Aircraft Association meeting in Orlando, Florida, was judged by most of the press as a success. It sure looked like it: Lots of heavy metal on the spacious conventions site floor (more at the static displays at the airport), and lots of suits walking around looking like they had money to […]

“So what’s all this debate about high wing versuslow wing? When I get on an airplane, I have just one question— ‘Is THIS wing good enough?’ If it isn’t, thenI say let them get another one. So far, the flight attendantshave always said, ‘Yes,’ and that’s good enoughfor me.” “Wait a minute, Jerry. How do […]

Every flight consists of countless decisions, which for the mostpart are made as a matter of routine. We decide on routing andaltitudes based on weather forecasts, we decide on fuel loadsbased on weight and balance factors. The results of these decisionsare almost always predictable. People (especially pilots)are reluctant to admit limitations and shortcomings; we like […]

AirworthinessDirectives have been with us since the 1940’s, butit seems as if the industry’s attitude toward them has changeddramatically in recent years. Twenty years ago, manufacturerswould often brag in their sales literature that their airplanesor engines “have never had an AD issued against them.”Issuance of an AD was considered a black mark against a manufacturer,suggesting […]

I have always been envious of my friends who are skiers. WhileI dread the upcoming winter, they actually are anxious to see the temperaturedrop below freezing. The feeling of accomplishment that skiers feel at theend of a difficult run that has been well executed must be exhilarating.The sense of control, the rush of traveling at […]

Gone are the days when pilots were expected to know every nut and bolt intheir aircraft. These days, pilots aren’t expected to retain minute mechanicaldetails, but there is still much we need to know about our aircraft to staysafe_including enough systems knowledge to understand what the various cockpitannunciator lights and buzzers mean, and how to […]

As much as we might like to carp about the occasional circuitousrouting or ground delay, this much is certain: The U.S. air trafficsystem is arguably the best in the world. What’s less certainis how it got that way. How did we advance from the tenuous airmailroutes of the early 1930s to the sophisticated IFR system […]

April 19, 1996. There I was, 5,000 MSL (about 4,000 AGL) with my wife besideme in our 1954 Piper Tri-Pacer. The problem was that I was at full throttleand pitched for a standard climb, but we were descending.. I’d been cleared to 7,000 and instructed to contect Center upon reachingthat altitude TriPacer Zero Seven Papa […]

U.S. Department of TransportationFederal Aviation AdministrationOffice of the Administrator800 Independence Ave., S.W.Washington, D.C. 20591 LETTER TO PlLOTS Several recent occurrences at non-towered airports (either airports without control towers or airports where control towers do not operate continually) have given rise to concerns about operations at airports without operating control towers. The loss of life from […]

Remember buying your first new car? Most people do. Like yourfirst solo flight, it is one of those memories that stays with you. Flyinga brand new Commander 114B made that same sort of impression on me. It was new. It smelled good. The soft gray genuine leather seats along withthe close pile spotless carpeting told […]