Flight Training

The annual adventure trip to Arizona with my buddies would have been better if we could fly around the desert in a rented Cessna as we planned. An important part of that plan included my checkout and endorsement to rent the FBOs Skyhawk. Unfortunately, scheduling the checkout turned out to be more difficult than I […]

Following last weekends debut of Planes and my conversation with some kids who had just seen it, I was vicariously imagining what it would take to inspire them to become pilots by remembering what inspired me. This isnt difficult, because I can pin it down to about the year, if not the day. It wasnt […]

On Interstate 4, southwest of Orlando, is a conspicuous power pole consisting of one large circle topped by two smaller ones, the lines tacked to their arcs. Its a major power feed into Orlandos Disney World. And the fact that theres not a four-year-old alive whod miss the reference to Mickey Mouse makes it a […]

Lyn Freeman has championed BuildAPlane.org and has seen the project maintain a successful outreach, attracting young people to the aviation industry. AVweb spoke with him about a recent project that saw eight high school students build two planes in two weeks. Duration: File Size: download here

Larry and Maxine Durst of Roseburg, Oregon have combined efforts to allow Larry to fly more than 5,300 Young Eagles since 1994 to earn the Phillips 66 Aviation Leadership Award. The couple spoke with AVweb’s Russ Niles at Airventure 2013. Duration: File Size: download here

The FAA has released a draft revision of the airman certification standards for flight instructors, and the public has until August 23 to submit comments online. The revision is part of an overhaul of several airman certification standards, including private pilot and the instrument rating, in an effort to promote more efficient and effective training. […]

Australian researchers have created a study that aims to answer questions regarding pilots’ reliance on automated systems and information overload in emergencies, and seek to inform better delivery of information to pilots in the cockpit. The study, funded by Australia’s Defence Science Institute, will be carried out by University of Melbourne and Swinburne University of […]

Continentals purchase this week of the assets of Thielert Aircraft Engine GmbH didnt exactly come out of left field. Continental already declared its interest in diesel in 2010, when it announced the TD300 diesel. And that was before China-based AVIC International came into the picture with a necessarily global view, but not one that Continental […]

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 […]