Laser chemist and researcher Jayan Thomas of the University of Central Florida is working to create eyewear that could use gold to prevent pilots from being temporarily blinded or injured by laser light shot into the cockpit from the ground. Thomas is working in collaboration with other researchers at the Carnegie Mellon Institute in the […]
The NTSB issued five safety alerts on Tuesday that aim to highlight the five most frequent errors that cause general aviation accidents. “We see the same types of accidents over and over again,” said NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman. “What’s especially tragic is that so many of these accidents are entirely preventable.” The alerts remind pilots […]
The NTSB Friday announced it will meet next week to consider issuing Safety Alerts to the general aviation community as an effort to help curb the number of accidents and fatalities associated with the segment. Safety Alerts are outlines that offer practical remedies for specific safety issues. There are five areas of concern that will […]
The NTSB says it still doesn’t have any answers about the root cause of a battery fire aboard a Japan Airlines Boeing 787 in Boston in January but it’s going to great lengths to get it done. At a news conference in Washington on Thursday, Board Chairman Debra Hersman said the interim factual report it […]
An old and often-used justification for owning a light General Aviation aircraft is the ability to bypass the automobile and the airlines in order to spend valuable time in a more productive manner. This rationalization focuses on the time savings created by flying oneself. Thus, according to the reasoning, it is possible to easily meet […]
A pilot who had twice extensively damaged airplanes by flying into thunderstorms tries it a third time. This time he doesn’t live to tell about his own foolishness. Remember back to when we were student pilots, with maybe 20 hours under our belts? We all asked our instructors “How many hours do you have?” Even […]
Advances in technologies and regulations mean the best mix of airplanes, simulators and other resources also is changing and will enhance your training. In recent years, the general aviation community has complained our activity has grown too complicated and, as a result, applicants for the private pilot certificate now average about 70 or so hours […]
“Kick the tires, light the fires.” So goes a popular, flippant saying about preflight inspections. Most of the time, that’s what we and various accident reports would label an “inadequate preflight inspection.” Sometimes-immediately after stopping long enough to drop off or load a passenger, for example-it might be adequate. After all, we just flew it […]
Congress has mandated a 1,500 hour minimum flight time requirement for scheduled air carriers next summer, and unless FAA regulations come along to supersede it the “impending pilot shortage” that even the general media has latched on to could become a reality sooner than later. When regulation outpaces thinking, and policy is made without concern […]
Aviation entrepreneur Rod Rakic’s idea for OpenAirplane has earned the support of some big names in the aviation industry who believe it could simplify access to aircraft, improve pilot safety, increase profits for flight schools and FBOs, and generally boost the aviation industry — all by changing how we rent airplanes. OpenAirplane is nearing its […]
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