FBOs

When I was young, I had fantasies of becoming a test pilot. I’d done some test flying in the F-51 and lesser airplanes, but with no college at all, no money, and very poor high-school grades, it seemed an impossible prospect. Then I joined Air America in 1963, and the money started flowing into my […]

A collection of images to accompany “Pelican’s Perch #61: Test Pilot School.“ KEDWAirspace Chart Click the image for a much higher-resolution version, which will open in a new window. Note: CHUM (see lower right corner of chart)stands for Chart Update Manual. The CHUM has all the changes to the charts for new towers and obstructions, […]

Last month I said that this month’s column was going to be the third in the series on flying tailwheel airplanes. In working on it, I have spent quite a bit of time in the Pilot’s Lounge here at the virtual airport, and received a lot of very good feedback on the subject. I’ve enjoyed […]

Oh sure, pilots have the FARs and the AIM, and controllers have the 7110.65, to tell us what we must do and can’t do. But where do you go — besides AVweb — to find out how the ATC system really works out on the firing line — like VFR climbs and descents, approach gates […]

Several years ago here on AVweb I wrote an Eye of Experience column entitled “Eye of Experience #17: I Can’t Believe They Did That,” dealing with unusual events I witnessed over a 17-year career as a Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE). At that time, I promised more of these reflections of a DPE. Now it is […]

Hello again, class. This series of 300-level classes will be dealing with the structure of airspace. This particular article will be about airspace stratums. While most everyone is comfortable thinking in terms of lateral boundaries depicted by almost any chart, air traffic control must be thought of in three dimensions. Unfortunately, we are not all […]

WARNING: The techniques and procedures described in this column can definitely be hazardous to your health and life. I do not encourage anyone to fly at these altitudes unless they have experience in an altitude chamber, have AT LEAST the equipment described, and know the subject and their limitations thoroughly. Mountaineers call altitudes above 25,000 […]

Ordinarily, as summer winds down here at the virtual airport, the Pilot’s Lounge regulars are engrossed in planning their hundred-dollar-hamburger trips in directions that will give them the best scenery as the fall colors start to show. But this year, discussion of the continued high level of incompetence at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and […]

Jim Slade was born December 4,1936, in Morgantown, W.Va. As a kid he washed airplanes for flight time, earning his pilot’s certificate 15 minutes at a time. His deep voice and ability to think on his feet pointed him to a career in radio journalism, and during his 40 years in the business he covered […]

Please forgive me if I rant and rave here, but I simply can’t help it when I see what’s happening to that which I love dearly – aviation. Although I am solely responsible for the opinions expressed here, I am sure that thousands of GA pilots share these opinions. And although the subject of this […]