AVweb Insider

Sometimes I feel like a bug smashed on the windshield of aviation progress. At least that’s the impression I got on Thursday at Rotax’s giant factory here in Gunskirchen, Austria, when I walked into a big product display tent set up on factory grounds. This was one of those giant Taj Mahal-type tents reminiscent of […]

Careful readers will note a connection between my blog on our experience with the Denton, Texas tower last Friday and the horrible Cirrus fatal accident at Melbourne, Florida last Wednesday. The connection is not necessarily obvious, but both of these incidents may be cut from the same cloth, specifically ATC clearances or instructions that either […]

I’ll admit to having a love-hate relationship with control towers. I love them when they sort out a hairball on the runway when departures and arrivals otherwise step all over each other. I hate it when a quiet airport that was doing just fine with a CTAF gets a tower and all of sudden you […]

The mere mention of aviation user fees sends some of us into apoplectic fits, as well it should. Flying an airplane, much less owning one, has become an increasingly expensive proposition. When the government proposes to charge yet more money for the privilege with no apparent gain, we’re rightfully offended.That was certainly the case last […]

In parallel with the political campaign season comes aviation’s annual rite of spring: the battle over user fees. No sooner than did the Obama administration’s proposed budget come off the press than my inbox filled with a half dozen press releases from the alphabets decrying users fees. By now, I think they can just change […]

Sometimes, I just hate YouTube.My video on the Collings Mustang elicited some comments and e-mail on the Spitfire being the iconic fighter of World War II, not the Mustang. Well, whatever. My view is that the Mustang might not have been the best air-to-air fighter, but it earned its stripes with its exceptional range, allowing […]

The Collings Foundation roared into town last weekend with its two bombers, the B-17 and B-24, and Betty Jane, the foundation’s P-51C Mustang. Venice, it turns out, is one of the tour’s best stops gate wise and every year, I try to help my pal Nick Carlucci handling parking and other support duties.So a bunch […]

If you don’t have a holy &^% moment when watching this this video, you don’t have a pulse. At every turn, it seems, the creepiness factor of advances in drone technology seems to be accelerating. This was one of two developments that surfaced last week that should give anyone second thoughts. The other is the […]

How many aviation organizations should you belong to? As a member in good standing of the aviation community, must you pony up dues for both AOPA and EAA? And what other service organizations should you support in order the keep GA alive, much less vital.EAA is in the process of testing that question. As you […]

Because readers are interested in new airplanes and because most new airplanes are LSAs, I tend to fly a lot of those. I’m not complaining. They’re fun, sip gas and I see pockets of innovation thanks to the streamlined standards under ASTM. All good. On the other hand, if you fly nothing but new LSAs, […]