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Each week, we run a sampling of the letters received to our editorial inbox here in AVmail. One letter that’s particularly relevant, informative, or otherwise compelling will headline this section as our “Letter of the Week,” and we’ll send the author an official AVweb baseball cap as a “thank you” for interacting with us (and […]

The fleet of older Cirrus airframes could face further depreciation because of pricey parachute upkeep. We look at the economics and the CAPS repack process. Cirrus owners rave about having the CAPS parachute system as the ultimate safety backup, but if you’re shopping for a used Cirrus, know this: Many used airframes are coming up […]

During WWII, tens of thousands of Americans were either taught to fly by the U.S. military or were exposed to the routine use of air transport to cover long distances quickly. Aircraft manufacturers naturally assumed this fertile crop of newly released soldiers, armed with the recently enacted G.I. Bill of Rights, would generate a sales […]

An old and often-used justification for owning a light General Aviation aircraft is the ability to bypass the automobile and the airlines in order to spend valuable time in a more productive manner. This rationalization focuses on the time savings created by flying oneself. Thus, according to the reasoning, it is possible to easily meet […]

Flight simulation is a part of nearly every pilot’s curriculum, whether he or she is just starting out, staying current, or landing a type rating. But the type of simulation and its benefits (especially when it comes to motion) is often the subject of controversy — maybe for good reason. Use of simulation is the […]

Each week, we run a sampling of the letters received to our editorial inbox here in AVmail. One letter that’s particularly relevant, informative, or otherwise compelling will headline this section as our “Letter of the Week,” and we’ll send the author an official AVweb baseball cap as a “thank you” for interacting with us (and […]

The only reason leaded avgas still exists is to deliver high octane cheaply and the only reason for octane is to prevent detonation in high-power, high-compression engines. But octane isn’t the only way to quench detonation, something engineers have known for years. Injecting a water-methanol spray into the combustion chamber-so-called anti-detonation or anti-detonant injection (ADI)-was […]

While there is evidence CorrosionX provides the best protection, ACF-50 also works well. Get it applied by a pro, however, or you’ll be cleaning it up for months. Corrosion is like aging; it does its damage slowly and is easy to overlook-until major systems begin to fail. Unlike aging, we know how to stop corrosion […]

Each week, we run a sampling of the letters received to our editorial inbox here in AVmail. One letter that’s particularly relevant, informative, or otherwise compelling will headline this section as our “Letter of the Week,” and we’ll send the author an official AVweb baseball cap as a “thank you” for interacting with us (and […]

In the Northern Hemisphere many of our airplanes hibernate in their hangars sometime between November and March, maybe even longer depending on how far north we live. Oh, we probably pay them a monthly visit and run the engines a bit so we keep them at least minimally lubricated. But our faithful aerial steeds typically […]