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Identifying the problem Alternator induced radio noise is a high pitched whine whose pitchand intensity increases and decreases with changes in engine speed.Turning the alternator master switch off also turns off the radionoise. Solid state regulators that use a pulse-width-modulated fieldcontrol system can also create a whine in the radios. Regulator-causedwhine can be distinguished from […]

Each cylinder of your piston aircraft enginehas two valves—intake and exhaust—that open and close by slidingin and out through a close-tolerance valve guide. A stuck valveis one that no longer slides readily in its guide. A stuck valvemay refuse to open, or once open it may refuse to close. Eithersituation is quite serious. Stuck valves […]

NOTE: This page was created as a companion to a 1996 AVweb review. Destination Direct has since undergone many changes, and the original links to purchase or download the demo no longer work. We recommend visiting Destination Direct at their current home on the web, www.FlightPlan.com. – 5/24/2005 You can download a free demo version […]

NOTE: This review was written in 1996, and while it may be helpful in planning your purchases, links to purchase or download the demo no longer work.  We recommend visiting Destination Direct at their current home on the web, www.FlightPlan.com.  – 5/24/2005 Iremember my first major cross country flight as if it were yesterday. It […]

Special Airworthiness Information BulletinNo. ACE-96-01 February 1, 1996 AIRCRAFT CERTIFICATION SERVICE800 INDEPENDENCE AVENUE, S.W.WASHINGTON, DC 20591 PUBLISHED BY FAA, AFS-613, P.O. BOX 26460, OKLA. CITY, OK 73125 THIS IS ISSUED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND ANY RECOMMENDATION FOR CORRECTIVE ACTION IS NOT MANDATORY. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WAS DISTRIBUTED TO REGISTERED OWNERS AND KNOWN OPERATORS OF […]

Ever notice how some towers seem to be more specific than otherswhen it comes to pointing out traffic? At some airports, you cancheck in with the tower and instantly be told “…trafficis a Lear Jet just off the airport, southeastbound.” That’sthe last you’ll hear about the Lear until he fills your windshield.Yet, at other locations, […]

During the winter, dozens of aircraft come to grief on ice andsnow-covered runways, sometimes after completing an otherwiseuneventful instrument approach. These accidents are rarely fatal but they do illustrate a harshreality of winter flying. We worry incessantly about airframeicing but slick runways, snowbanks and low visibility test thelimits of man and machine and very often, […]

Editor’s Note: In ATC parlance, a “FAM” isa familiarization ride in which an air traffic controller is permittedto ride jumpseat in an airline cockpit to observe what the ATCsystem looks like from the point of view of the cockpit crew. As I entered the cockpit of the Boeing 787, I couldn’t help butbe impressed. My […]

As all FSDO offices do, our local FAA branch office has an accidentprevention program. The fellow who runs it happened to call methe other day to mention that the FAA—ever on the cutting edge—hasjust released a new videotape on loran. “Great,” he says, “now I can show tapes about loranwhen everyone and his brother is […]