Ownership

Metal possesses lots of properties that we find very useful in building airplanes. It’s strong, hard, and tough. It’s easy to form, work and machine. It’s fireproof and can stand up to high temperatures. All in all, metal is neat stuff.But metal isn’t unique in having these properties. Metal is strong, but ordinary cotton fiber […]

No one in officialdom seems to be too worried about the security implications of the alleged theft … even as (some) general aviation readies to return to Washington National airport, Sept. 18 (many, many aircraft will still be excluded under extensive regulations). “I would just encourage increased vigilance at the various airports and the companies […]

Stand on the spectator line at the Reno Air Races and the sense of “calm before the storm” permeates the atmosphere. A few minutes before, we spectators watched the Sport-class aircraft line up, start engines, taxi way down to the east end and then take off to the west, making beautiful airplane noise and flying […]

CS&A Aviation Insurance(This article originally appeared in Aviation Insurance & Risk Management, Summer 2005) where are your aircraft’s maintenance logs? Are they stored at your local FBO or aircraft maintenance shop? Where does your mechanic keep your logs when in his care? Are your logbooks insured? If insured, for what kind of loss? If lost, […]

No aircraft is considered airworthy by the FAA until the weight of its paperwork exceeds its maximum certificated takeoff weight (or so goes the old joke). We in aviation are always complaining about the amount of paperwork that the FAA, in its infinite wisdom, makes us do. Any aircraft owner who has gone through the […]

I pulled my Cessna T310R out of the hangar, and performed the usual pre-flight walk-around. I climbed into the left seat, watched my two passengers take their seats and fasten their seat belts, and checked that the cabin door was properly secured. Pre-start checklist: flight controls free and correct, switches and dimmers off, circuit breakers […]

CS&A Aviation Insurance(This article originally appeared in Aviation Insurance & Risk Management, Summer 2005) Are you a professional pilot who provides paid pilot services as an independent contractor to an aircraft owner? If so, what kind of insurance protection is available to you? Many aircraft owners use contract pilots as primary flight crew members or […]

No doubt you’ve read plenty here and elsewhere about the 2005 edition of EAA’s AirVenture — something we who have to work it just call “Oshkosh” — and I’m happy to add to the coverage because, for fans of internal combustion, it was a pretty good show.Yes, it’s true that Honda’s nifty jet, the pair […]

As is the case with most of us here in the Pilot’s Lounge at the virtual airport, my involvement with state aeronautics commissions had, for years, been limited to paying a small annual fee and receiving a nice book that gave information on all of the public-use airports in the state, as well as an […]

Not long ago, I was chatting about piston aircraft engines with a group of aircraft owners when the longtime owner of a Cessna P210 asked me the following question:“What are the relative pros and cons of oil filter inspection vs. laboratory oil analysis? Do you recommend one over the other or do you recommend both?”The […]