Tools

Several hundred pieces of software written by NASA engineers for air and spacecraft design, business optimization, systems interaction and biomedical applications have been released by the agency for free public use. The software is being made available through the NASA Technology Transfer Program (motto, “Bringing NASA Technology Down to Earth”). The available codes are listed […]

I was doing one of my periodic office de-clutters this week and up on the far northwest corner of one shelf, I found some interesting artifacts. Like an archeologist dusting off pottery shards, there was the last of my Jeppesen binders and a stack of paper charts, some dating to 1997. I can’t remember when […]

Fall conjures memories of bright blue skies, cool mornings and generally good daytime flying. But in aviation, looks can be deceiving. New air masses are on the move, the jet stream begins to flex its muscle over much of the United States, fronts are marching southward, and there’s likely a tropical storm in the Caribbean […]

I am an instructor in Germany and was with a student flying to his first towered airport. The aircraft has no GPS installed and visibility was around 4-5 km in mist. We were given the entry into the control zone via VFR reporting point “November.” Tower (in a kind, investigative voice): “D-HR you are a […]

Thirty years ago, the idea of carrying sophisticated digital radar in anything under a medium twin would probably have been met with roars of laughter, but technology has brought amazing advances. Now it’s possible for even an ultralight pilot to use the Internet to access essentially the same tools that are available to forecasters. In […]

I remember my first flight as left-seater in a TAA (technically advanced aircraft). Too. Many. Buttons. And each switch, knob and button had multiple roles, depending on my stage of flight and the information I wanted to pull up or program into it. And harmony? Well, other than the integrated glass panels available on then-new […]

Dave strolls into the FBO carrying a travel bag and a pizza box. I let out a sigh. “Well, look who showed up. Dave, you’re 45 minutes late.” “Well, I needed gas, and there was a pizza place next door and, well, that smell hit me. I got some for everybody.” “We’re already late and […]

As part of AVweb’s Features, we’re starting an occasional series on innovators who are making a difference in general aviation—the young guns of GA, so to speak. We’ll be doing interviews with them where they can talk about what they’ve done and their vision for the future of the area of general aviation where they […]

As anyone who’s paid attention to Central U.S. weather the last few months knows, it’s been a particularly violent spring across “Tornado Alley.” Midwest storms made national news and reintroduced repeat targets—such as Moore, Okla. Well ahead of the storms and far in front of the inevitable miles of destruction images, Americans coast to coast […]