Flight Safety

Most instructors these days, when pressed to give an ideal number of hours for a new student to solo, will say it’s 10 hours in the airplane. So, all things being equal, can you do that in a week? Sure. Redbird’s “One Week Ready to Solo” campaign, now four days in at Sun ‘n Fun […]

If there is anything that motivates pilots, it’s passion. Their fire to fly imbues every fiber of their beings. You hear it in their speech and see it in their body language anytime the prospect of flight is about. They have looked down upon the hidden waterfall in the wilderness and the circular rainbow around […]

It’s hard to compete with regulatory change for a topic that’s slow-moving, complex, and sleep-inducing, but GAMA’s European rep Greg Bowles is excited about the progress happening now, which he says will have real impacts on aircraft owners, buyers, and manufacturers around the world within the next few years. He talked with AVweb’s Mary Grady […]

A Florida mailman landed his gyrocopter by the Capitol in Washington, D.C., Wednesday afternoon and was promptly arrested. Doug Hughes now faces federal charges including airspace violations after flying into the restricted area as part of a long-planned effort to protest government corruption. According to the Tampa Bay Times, a federal judge ruled Thursday he’ll […]

The company that built its business around automating airplanes is now saying it’s time for airline pilots to brush up on their stick and rudder skills. TheWall Street Journal reportsthat Harry Nelson, the former VP of flight testing and now a product safety executive for Airbus, told the 70th annual meeting of the International Federation […]

As a promotional effort for its emerging flight training technology, Redbird Flight Simulations plans to train three zero-time would-be pilots to solo status during the week of Sun ‘n Fun. The candidates will use a combination of Redbird’s motion-based simulators and its diesel-powered Redhawk Cessna 172 conversions flying out of Plant City, just west of […]

Glasair Aviation’s new Merlin LSA had its first flight this week, launching the in-air test phase for the composite light-sport airplane. The flight departed from Arlington, Washington, on Tuesday and lasted for 57 minutes. Following ground tests including engine run-up, high-speed taxi, and ground roll liftoff, test pilot Grant Smith conducted the flight to evaluate […]

Flight control checks of the Gulfstream IV that crashed during takeoff last year, killing all aboard, were rarely done, according to flight data from the jet’s most recent trips. The details were part of the accident docket the NTSB released Wednesday as it continues its investigation into the May 31, 2014, crash at Hanscom Field […]

The NTSB issued four safety alerts on Tuesday, highlighting safety issues relevant to general aviation pilots and mechanics. The alerts warn pilots to master mountain flying skills and emergency survival procedures before venturing into the mountains, seek transition training before flying an unfamiliar aircraft, and perform thorough preflight checks on airplanes after maintenance. The mechanics’ […]

All seven people on board were killed when a Cessna 414 light twin crashed into a soybean field near Bloomington, Illinois, at about 12:15 a.m. Tuesday. Conditions were reportedly foggy and rainy at the time. The flight had departed Indianapolis just after the NCAA basketball championship game, and was heading for Central Illinois Regional Airport, […]