The problem of jump-starting your plane is you have no idea of the condition of the battery once it starts, and it will be at least 90 minutes cruise or possibly not at all before the battery has any true backup value. A strong case can be made that you are operating an un-airworthy airplane, […]
According to GAMA statistics, there are 611,000 active pilots in the United States and only 223,000 registered general aviation aircraft. Even allowing for air taxi airplanes, clubs and partnerships, this means that lots of us are flying airplanes that we don’t own. Some of us rent from local flight schools, some borrow from friends. Few […]
According to FAR 61.57 (c), instrument currency means the need to execute six approaches, intercept and track courses, and perform a hold within the last six calendar months. If that requirement is not met, you have another six months to fly with a safety pilot and complete the requirements. There is no requirement that those […]
A former Alaska Airlines captain has pleaded not guilty to flying while under the influence of alcohol after appearing in a federal court in Los Angeles last week. David Arntson, 60, is alleged to have flown two legs between California and Oregon in 2014 while well over the blood alcohol limits for driving and flying. […]
A 30-year-old man is in jail after causing up to $30,000 worth of damage to a former military aircraft that he thought belonged to Microsoft founding partner Paul Allen. The man was spotted inside the fence at Arlington Municipal Airport, north of Seattle, allegedly breaking pieces off the exterior of a Dornier Alpha Jet, a […]
The FAA today issued a safety alert to airlines around the world, urging them to conduct a “safety risk assessment” regarding the transport of lithium batteries as cargo, in light of new evidence from the agency’s recent lithium-battery-fire tests. The FAA also advised its inspectors to determine whether airlines have adequately assessed the risk of […]
The ego—especially the male ego—is a curious thing; a cursed delight that’s inextricably tangled up in this pilot thing we all seem to enjoy. From the ego flows the self confidence required to learn flying and overcome the inherent risks in operating an airplane. If you didn’t have it, you’d cower in the den with […]
Although builders of amateur-built aircraft often work with limited resources, they can still apply the methodical strategies of data-driven risk mitigation, according to Paul Dye, editor of KITPLANES magazine and a former senior flight director at NASA. In a keynote talk at the opening day of the Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Florida, Dye said […]
Over the weekend at the dropzone, I had a conversation with my friend TK, who runs the place. He asked me if I had really been riding motorcycles for 40 years and yes, I really have, although not continuously. He told me he was thinking about a bike, but at 55, was considering himself a […]
After features on tailwheel flying here in AVweb in July and November, it’s time to step up to the graduate-level issue for the topic. It’s tailwheel flying’s hot button question—whether three-point or wheel landings are “better” or safer. If you want to stir things up some evening when a bunch of tailwheel pilots are at […]
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