Risk Management

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 […]

Only a small percentage of the controller work force in the system today—or for that matter, in the past—are or have been pilots. Controllers are taught to perform the duties and provide the services that are outlined in the controller’s bible, the FAA Order 7110.65, Air Traffic Control Manual. While they have been made aware […]

Letter of the Week:Personal Airspace I would register my drone prior to flying it above 200 feet AGL. I think it is clear from U.S. v. Causby (1946) that the FAA has no authority to regulate “the immediate reaches of the enveloping atmosphere” of my property, which in the Causby case is at least 83 […]

Things can go “bump” in the night. Daytime, too. Most of them either have been considered before or encountered by someone, resulting in a section of your AFM/POH labeled “Emergency Procedures.” But not everything that can happen is covered there: Pilots are constantly inventing new ways to screw up, and the aircraft themselves can present […]

The Single Pilot Safety Standdown seminar at this year’s NBAA Convention focused on loss-of-control events. Tom Turner of the American Bonanza Society was part of Monday’s slate of safety programming. He spoke with Paul Bertorelli about the event and currently spotlight on LOC in aviation safety. Duration: 6:18 File Size: 5.6 MB download here

This much we can all agree on: Pilots are supposed to give their passengers a detailed, pre-takeoff safety briefing. But I have sleepwalked through more of these than I care to remember. I know, I’m a terrible person, but I’ve gotten used to myself. I urge others to do better. The pre-takeoff briefing topic caught […]

The neutering of Chicago O’Hare, once not only the busiest airport in the world, but also the baddest, is nearly complete: The 2015 version of ORD has three control towers, half a dozen east/west parallel runways … and no character whatsoever. While a couple of the old diagonal runways escaped the bulldozers, they might as […]