Proficiency

On a swing through Continental Motors factory in Mobile this week, I spent a couple of hours touring the companys new Zulu Flight Training center in nearby Spanish Fort, Alabama. We first reported on Zulu a year ago and my visit coincided with its one-year anniversary. Zulu, you may recall, juxtaposes an intimate little flight […]

Automation is a routine part of our lives now, dictated by sweeping new technologies and consumer preferences. Arguably, the trend toward automation began in aviation in the 1970s. It has been debated and resisted by many in the aviation community, but the game has recently changed for both the airlines and general aviation. Yet, our […]

I’ve been an avionics tech long enough to remember when the extent of new avionics upgrades included a couple of flip-flop Navcomm radios and an audio panel. Even back then, some owners stumbled with otherwise simple switchology. Worse case was a missed radio call. Things have changed. Today’s avionics upgrades usually involve tightly integrated glass […]

The NTSB’s recent release of a final report regarding the fatal November 13, 2011, crash of a Cirrus SR-22T shed light on a flight noteworthy for its aerobatics; it also invites speculation regarding the potentially untapped value of recorded flight data in general aviation. Both Avidyne and Garmin produce avionics (the Entegra and G1000, for […]

Especially in military operations, it’s impossible to eliminate risk, but it can be minimized. Many of their risk-management techniques can apply to your flying. No matter what we do in an aircraft, we cannot eliminate risk entirely. Instead, we can manage that risk and take positive steps to mitigate or reduce it; in rare cases, […]

An Arizona-based company announced Thursday that it is now offering pilots emergency upset training in a two-seat version of the famed A-4 Skyhawk attack fighter. Aviation Performance Solutions (APS) says its new program is designed to offer first-hand experience in real high-performance aerobatic-capable jet trainers. Their upset training course includes high-altitude stalls, high-mach conditions and […]

With major certification rules revisions on the book, Flight Design has decided to reset its certification schedule on the much-watched C4 four-place aircraft, its first venture into the world of certified aircraft. Although Flight Design had initially planned a more aggressive development schedule, revisions to CS23/FAR Part 23 now in the works in the U.S. […]

A young upwardly mobile first officer for a major airline says the math doesn’t support the notion of a pilot shortage anytime soon. Brant Harrison naturally has a vested interest in the pilots ahead of him on the seniority list moving on and when he heard about studies like one from Boeing suggesting the looming […]

The IMC Club, a nonprofit project based in Norwood, Mass., to help instrument pilots maintain their efficiency, continues to grow and develop, co-founder Radek Wyrzykowski told AVweb at EAA AirVenture this week. “Our motto is essentially that currency is not enough,” said Wyrzykowski. “You might be legal, but that doesn’t mean you’re proficient.” The clubs […]

One of the hardest parts of flying instruments is making the transition from on-the-gauges to visual flight at the missed approach point. Visual and instrument pilots also have difficulty at times landing in the proper touchdown zone because they’re too fast or too slow on final. One way to make safe, consistent landings, and to […]