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Letter of the Week:Undetected Crashes Noting the incident at Nashville Airport, I, too, once had an undetected crash on what is now Runway 20C — it was runway 20L at the time — in the early 1970s. I was the non-flying pilot in a Cessna 195 during the attempted landing. During the rollout, the FP […]

Brainteaser 188’s Question 11 was a bonus survey poll that asked if flying was a right or a privilege. Reader responses played out this way: More than half said that flying was a privilege, while less than half felt it was a right. A third-party minority rambled on about unrelated topics, including one reader who […]

With its advanced systems, modern ergonomics and luxurious-yet sporty-cabin design, it may be easy to sell pilots on the Cirrus SR22s capabilities. But it might also be an easy aircraft to sell to paying passengers. You might assume that commercial travelers accustomed to larger jet aircraft might view the Cirrus as another one of those […]

Legally, 14 CFR 91.123 says, When a pilot is uncertain of an ATC clearance, that pilot shall immediately request clarification from ATC. Seems easy enough, but under pressure of time, heavy weather and busy controllers we are tempted to assume that ATC knows its intentions and to accept a clearance as given. Egregious errors appear […]

The fragile relationship between avionics shops and aircraft owners is sometimes stressed at the end of a project. Thats partly because some owners have unrealisticexpectations, assuming the aircraft will be released right after a flight test. On the other hand, shops create stress for themselves when they overpromiseand offer the impression that work on the […]

Letter of the Week:Me-Too Mooney? News of the imminent resurgence of Mooney spawned two reactions in me. I’m happy that owners of the breed are likely to have a secure supply of spares to keep their birds flying. I have fond memories of a variety of Mooneys. Most of my M-20 time is in a […]

Vulnerable. Thats essentially how Eric Geisleman and a group of aviation safety researchers described flight crews when it comes to operating transport category flight control systems. Are general aviation pilots just as vulnerable? That’s debatable. One article (Flight Deck Automation: Invaluable Collaborator or Insidious Enabler?)that was published in the July 2013 Ergonomics in Designfocused on […]

Letter of the Week:SAFE Recommendations Clarified AVweb’s September 22 article titled “SAFE Wants Pilot Experience Data Collected” misstates the recommendation made by the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators (SAFE) at the GA and Part 135 Survey stakeholders meeting. The assertion that SAFE believes “the FAA should be looking in pilots’ logbooks to help it […]

While stepping up to a glass panel may appear to offer lower maintenance bills and downtime, its just as likely that when the all-in cost of ownership is added up-including data revisions-glass could cost more than a well-kept steam gauge panel. Glass ownership is fraught with unexpected costs that many owners seem unprepared for. Routine […]

A strong case to change your own oil can be made. You certainly can save a fair amount of money, especially if you get your oil by the case, but more importantly, it puts you in touch with your engines lifeblood. You can see how it looks and feels from change to change; smell any […]