Flight Safety

This article originally appeared in IFR magazine, Jan. 2005. Gather ’round, boys and girls. It’s time for your annual smug fix, wherein we harvest the perplexing and peculiar from a year’s worth of NTSB accident reports.For the new folks who haven’t trod this well-worn path with us before, a bit of preamble. None of these […]

Nominate an FBO |Rules |Tips |Questions |Winning FBOs AVweb’s “FBO of the Week” ribbon goes to Dillon Flying Service at KDLN in Dillon, Mont. AVweb reader Benjamin Marsh liked the service so much at the FBO that he dreams of going back. “Dennis and Jean, the owners, offer extremely personable service and genuinely care about […]

“I can’t figure it out,” said Sid, my co-pilot. “The airplanes keep getting bigger but the coffee cups keep getting smaller.” He was looking askance at his shot-glass-sized coffee that the flight attendants had just brought up.”I wonder why they are so stingy on coffee. The passengers are just going to bug them for a […]

This article originally appeared in IFR Refresher, Feb. 2006. The Northeast winter weather was normal for February when the pilot of a Rockwell 500S Shrike Commander departed Naples, Fla., for Newport State Airport (KUUU) in Rhode Island. He had flight planned a stop in Wilmington, N.C., and the first leg of the flight went without […]

There seem to be a growing number of people who think that a cylinder head temperature (CHT) of 380 F is a universally good target to use for setting the mixture.Folks, it just ain’t so.It may work some of the time on some engines, but it’s a long way from universal, and I’d like to […]

I‘ve helped many pilots make the transition from four-seat, trainer-type airplanes into high-performance, retractable-gear airplanes and powerful light twins. If you’ve made that transition yourself, you probably remember zooming up through your desired (and perhaps air traffic control-assigned) altitude as you grew used to the new airplane, and the challenge of accurately transitioning to level […]

Nominate an FBO |Rules |Tips |Questions |Winning FBOs AVweb’s “FBO of the Week” ribbon goes to Phazar Flight Support at KFTW in Fort Worth, Texas. AVweb reader James Knox says the facility staff are attuned to customer’s every need. “Phazar is a relatively new FBO, and they are just puppy-dog eager to please. (Or else […]

Nominate an FBO |Rules |Tips |Questions |Winning FBOs AVweb’s “FBO of the Week” ribbon goes to Jet Aviation at KBED in Bedford, Mass. AVweb reader Paul Tollini says the FBO provides the same level of service, regardless of airplane size. “Unlike some other FBOs, at Jet Aviation BED all customers are valued regardless of the […]

On the first warm day in weeks I had gone out to the virtual airport to see if I could get an airplane started that had been tied down outside for over a month. I suspected that the siege of cold weather would have left the battery with a questionable level of oomph. (Don’t you […]

Nominate an FBO |Rules |Tips |Questions |Winning FBOs AVweb’s “FBO of the Week” ribbon goes to Rexburg Air Service at KRXE in Rexburg, Idaho. AVweb reader Scott Brooksby says the FBO’s owner bent over backwards to accommodate him. “I landed last weekend for a mothers weekend at BYU Idaho. I was fueled quickly, and a […]