FBOs

Among the many things that have surprised me in writing for AVweb, one of the most surprising has been the number of military fliers that I’ve heard from. I don’t know why it surprised me. There certainly are enough of them. I guess I just never thought they’d be interested in what I have to […]

Not long ago an AWweb reader wrote explaining that, as long as he has been flying, he keeps hearing about “natural pilots,” sort of Supermen of the air, who can do absolutely fantastic things with an airplane. My correspondent, Rick Grant, wrote, “From the day I started flight training in 1965 through today, during military, […]

AVweb’s John Deakin has told us a little (in “Pelican’s Perch #14” and “PP #47“) about his time with The Company. In this month’s Pelican’s Perch, he tells ALL the secrets – how he got in by the skin of his teeth, finally learned how to execute the “radius of action from a moving base” […]

This week in my Area at Atlanta Center (ZTL) the main long-range radar site was out for maintenance. Yes it was Maiden, but we don’t have enough time to discuss that problem. We’ve got bigger fish to fry. So, without any chit-chat, let’s get busy. Some of you may be familiar with non-radar operations. The […]

According to Garrison Keillor, Lake Woebegone always has quiet weeks. That isn’t the case here in the Pilot’s Lounge at the virtual airport, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. We have been known to have some pretty raucous moments; particularly if Old Hack and a couple of other folks show up at the […]

In 1958 Bill Kershner was a student looking for a project to blend his interests in aeronautical engineering and journalism. He took a look at the Civil Air Manual 105, decided it was poorly written, and decided to write his Student Pilot’s Flight Manual. It’s now in its ninth edition with over 800,000 copies sold. […]

When I was first recruited by AVweb to write a column coming fresh off my FLYING magazine column dealing with flight testing called “The Eye of the Examiner,” I was given the freedom to write whatever strikes my fancy (so long as it is in reasonably good taste). At that time, I informed the readers […]

LEGEND: JT = Jim Tucker [Co-pilot] AC = Auburn Calloway [Jumpseat Passenger] AP = Andy Peterson [Flight Engineer] DS = David Sanders [Pilot] Center = Memphis ARTCC Tower = Memphis Air Traffic Control Tower UV = Unidentified Voice AW = Autowarning UA = Unidentified Aircraft UNIN = Unitelligible [UNIN] [Laughter] DS: I can’t believe it, […]

James Morgan Tucker, Jr. was bornSeptember 7, 1951, in Miami, Fla. He grew up two blocks from MIA with A&Psfor neighbors, and watched Eastern Airlines transition from props to jets. Hewent to college in Alabama looking at a law career, but a carrier aviationposter in the recruiter’s office caught his eye, and he became a […]

I‘ve been writing for AVweb just over a year now. It’s amazing the things I’ve been learning. One of the things that I’ve learned is that new people start reading this column all the time. And they don’t necessarily go back to where I started and “catch up,” as it were. So, at the risk […]