Flight Safety

This article originally appeared in IFR magazine, Jul. 2005. It was late in 1981 or maybe early in 1982, because that’s the only time in the history of O’Hare that the draconian departure restrictions in this tale were used. To understand how those departure restrictions fit into our story, you need to know a little […]

It was a tough approach to a landing and I was all by myself. No co-pilot to help me and no company dispatcher to ask for numbers or advice. I was fairly low on fuel — about two and a half gallons left — and the air pressure in my left main gear tire was […]

Nominate an FBO |Rules |Tips |Questions |Winning FBOs AVweb‘s “FBO of the Week” ribbon goes to the FBO at North Las Vegas Airport (VGT) in Las Vegas, Nevada. AVweb‘s own Mike Busch has nominated these folks before, pointing out that “the same customer service people have been working there for as long as I can […]

This article originally appeared in IFR Refresher, Mar. 2007. There is no rule that states how many instrument approaches a pilot can fly before going to another airport and there shouldn’t be. I am not in favor of removing any of the pilot’s authority to conduct operations the way he or she sees fit. However, […]

I was arriving at Wichita with the GPS set up for the ILS Runway 1R approach. About 10 miles from the final approach fix, approach control called: “9PT, change in runway, expect the ILS 1 Left, fly present heading to intercept the localizer.”My world got really busy, fast.I was facing what safety researchers call an […]

Nominate an FBO |Rules |Tips |Questions |Winning FBOs AVweb‘s “FBO of the Week” ribbon goes to American Aviation West at KPGA in Page, Arizona. According to AVweb reader Scott A. Hauert, “These folks embody the spirit of aviators helping aviators” – and after hearing his story, we tend to agree. Scott arrived early the morning […]

Winter in the Pilot’s Lounge at the virtual airport can be pretty slow, with days of low overcast and generally lousy flying weather. Either no one comes out to the airport and our flight-school owner starts to panic over whether last summer’s revenues can be stretched through the winter, or a lot of people come […]

Nominate an FBO |Rules |Tips |Questions |Winning FBOs In a week filled with stellar FBO recommendations, our “FBO of the Week” ribbon goes to Epic Aviation at KEVB in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. According to AVweb reader Robert Edelson, Epic really stepped up to the plate on a recent visit, despite having their hands full […]

This article originally appeared in Aviation Safety, Dec. 2005. In aviation, perhaps more than with any other activity, there is really very little that’s new and different when it comes to accident causes. If we fly only on calm, VFR days, pay excruciating attention to our training and proficiency, and operate only new airplanes with […]

Nominate an FBO |Rules |Tips |Questions |Winning FBOs AVweb‘s “FBO of the Week” ribbon goes to Dixie Aviation Services at KCTY in Cross City, Florida. AVweb reader Alec Thigpen brought Dixie to our attention: I stopped in twice last month on a trip to the Keys and got a very low price for full service…. […]