AVweb Insider

This weekend is the second International Learn to Fly Day, an effort to find more pilots to add to the long-dwindling ranks. The numbers of general aviation pilots have been in decline for quite a while now, as the younger generations seem more and more distracted by too many other ways to spend their time […]

In this week’s verdict on the collision between a GOL 737 and an Embraer Legacy, the Brazilian government proved that its justice system couldn’t untangle itself from its internal politics after all. As we reported this week, the court convicted Joseph Lepore and Jan Paul Paladino of negligence, claiming the two turned off or failed […]

The other day, as I was trying to get a couple of lead balance weights to stick to the rear wheel of my motorcycle, I should have said a silent prayer. Not to get them to stick, but in gratitude for living in Florida where we can still touch lead. I guess that’s no longer […]

At last week’s SAFE symposium, John King banged a drum I’ve heard him bang before. He points out that in general aviation, we continue to promulgate the idea that flying a GA airplane is “safe.” The oft-used comparison is that the drive to the airport is the most dangerous part of the trip. While that’s […]

Is flight training hopelessly and irretrievably broken? And if it is, is there anything we can do about it? Those two questions were at the top of the agenda at last week’s first Symposium of Aviation and Flight Educators.Permit me a paragraph on the organization of this event. It was simply superb. Organizers Doug Stewart, […]

There’s been a lot of talk lately among the GA community about how to attract more people to flying, especially the next generation. But most efforts seem focused on getting new pilots directly into Cirruses, or 172s, or at least an LSA. All the other options out there that get folks into the air a […]

On the Fiddlin’ Around America tour in 2009 after we landed at Cessna headquarters in Wichita I asked for directions to a bathroom after the bumpy and coffee-fueled morning flight from South Dakota. I was directed to a recession-empty reception and administration building steps from the parking space of our DC-3.As I walked through the […]

If NATCA, the controller’s union, was entertaining the slightest notion that the FAA would approve its members reporting for midshifts with jammies and blankets in tow, I’d say that idea is probably a dead letter by now. Last week, Rep. John Mica, who chairs the House Transportation Committee, told Reuters that he believes NATCA is […]

If you haven’t read this recent decision (PDF) on a lawsuit filed against Cirrus, it’s definitely worth a 15-minute scan. The court’s opinion makes several interesting points, but I found two particularly compelling. In a nutshell, Minnesota’s Court of Appeals reversed a 2009 judgment which required Cirrus to pay $14.5 million in damages to the […]

I’ve been corresponding with a center controller friend of mine and we’re trying to figure out exactly what happened with this First Lady aircraft fiasco. Was there a loss of separation or not? Piecing together the fractured, inaccurate and overheated coverage from the mainstream media, I think I have finally figured out that there was […]