Flight Planning

You’ve focused intently on pre-flighting the airplane, and you’ve paid attention to passenger safety and comfort. But that twinge in your lower back as you line up on the centerline gives you a moment’s pause. Taxi back to the ramp or press on? If it’s a kidney stone, and the pain only gets worse at […]

One of the comments made by some pilots when a group of them gather is that their spouses or significant others and family members won’t fly with them. While riding in little airplanes is certainly not to every person’s taste—and rising above the planet does generate a concern about returning to it less than gracefully—some […]

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have proposed a possible fix to relieve the increasing noise complaints from neighbors of Boston’s busy Logan Airport — if airplanes on departure just slowed down by about 30 knots, it would significantly reduce the noise at the surface. Logan is one of many airports nationwide where the […]

While traveling into Valdez, Alaska for the annual fly-in and STOL competition, a couple of planes were trying to hurry in before the airspace closed for aerobatic practice. A couple minutes after tower gave “best forward speed” instructions to a Lake amphibian (not known for great forward speed), the following exchange was heard: Tower: “Lake […]

Sandel Avionicsannounced that longtime avionics executive Larry Riddle has joined the company as VP of marketing and sales. Previously, Riddle was with L3 for 16 years. Sandel has an extensive line of specialty avionics including primary attitude displays, AHRS and TAWS systems. Aviation apps for the iPhone and iPad continue to proliferate and the latest […]

While flying one day in Northern California, I heard the following: Center: “Cessna 1234 are you planning to pass east or west of Mt. Diablo? Cessna: “We’re currently heading south. Center: (with a chuckle) “I understand that you’re heading south. But when you pass that mountain ahead, will it be on your left or right […]

The stomach is often called a second brain—connected, as it were, to the first brain by the vagus nerve. Although your stomach may play second fiddle, when it comes to your personal domain, it’s often supreme ruler. That’s why dealing with dyspepsia can be the first order of business prior to any flight. Matters of […]

The cargo door of an Antonov An-12, a Soviet-era cargo plane, loaded with nine metric tons of gold broke open as the aircraft took off from Yakutsk in East Siberia. The aircraft’s door apparently gave way and broke off due to the weight shifting in the cargo hold. Gold alloy bars were then strewn across […]