AVweb’s Flight Safety section offers in-depth coverage of aviation safety topics, including accident analyses, risk management strategies, regulatory updates, and pilot training insights. Designed for pilots, instructors, and aviation professionals, this section provides timely information to enhance situational awareness and promote best practices in flight operations.
Gen. Robert L. Cardenas was bornMarch 10, 1920, in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. At age five, he moved to San Diego,Calif., with his parents. He built model airplanes and helped local gliderpilots with dope-and-fabric projects. Being the top student in math and physicsat his high school earned him a two-year pre-engineering scholarship to SanDiego State University. […]
Although all kinds of sport flying are for fun rather than transportation, all you “power pilots” don’t know what fun is until you try soaring; it’s so quiet the instructor can hear his students cry. Soaring in a glider or sailplane is just pure joy. With the sophisticated aircraft of today that most of us […]
Dear Pete: We met before we met. Around the gliderport, there’s a sort of “Pete wave” that washes around. There’s a little bit of you in the eye of every line boy, and an ounce of you on everyone’s tongue. You are beloved for your dry, gentle humor, and respected for your skill. Whether you […]
I had a nightmare the other night. Boy, I hate those things. In this one, I could “see” through the eyes of a new trainee. Weird huh? Anyway, this trainee comes strutting around the corner of the control room, full of vim and vigor, and the first thing he sees is this old beat-up guy […]
The events of the eleventh of September affected all of us deeply. The Pilot’s Lounge at the virtual airport became jammed that day and has remained so with pilots who have come together and try to sort out the myriad emotions that each felt. The attacks, the subsequent groundings and then the national suspicion of […]
Thomas W. Wathen was born October5, 1929, in Vincennes, Ind., across the Wabash River from O’Neal airport. Theairplane bug bit early. He built model airplanes, became a Civil Air PatrolCadet, and traded airplane rides for work around the airport. He graduated fromIndiana University in 1951 with a degree in Police Administration. He joined theAir Force, […]
I‘ve said before and I’ll say again, the folks in ATC (air traffic control) are, on the whole, the greatest public servants in the history of the human race. However, the Flight Standards division of the FAA is an entirely different story. The vast majority of people in Flight Standards are typical bureaucrats, shuffling paper […]
Just when we thought we had a handle on all the possible threats to the safe operation of our flights, along comes another facet of madness: air rage to the Nth degree. Cases of enraged passengers crashing through the cockpit door, assaulting pilots and trying to interfere with control of the airplane had been increasing […]
Most pilots I know believe that the Global Positioning System (GPS) is the greatest thing since the invention of DME. It’s easy to see why. It’s like magic. No more pesky VORs; you can navigate direct to any point on the planet. What’s not to like? If you’re a pilot, not much. If you’re a […]
It suddenly occurred to me that I’ve never done a column on my all-time favorite airplane! How could I have so neglected my old sweetheart? My logbook reveals that I have 1,864.08 hours in this old classic, second only to the 747 time, which we won’t count because it’s a nosedragger, it burns that stinky […]
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