Ownership

Over the past three and a half decades, I’ve had the opportunity (and frequently the privilege) of working with a great many aircraft mechanics. At first it was as a nave customer having them perform inspections and repairs on my airplane. Later it was as a student and apprentice swinging wrenches under their supervision as […]

There’s a variety of obvious reasons why making the jump from piston-twin to regional jet is an exciting transition, but the potential to toss the heavy headgear in favor of a lightweight, non-head-crimping, non-tear-your-ear-off-your-head-when-you-remove-it headset is among the most anticipated. After a few thousand hours, I was looking forward to a peaceful, quiet cockpit, and […]

When I first became an airplane owner 35 years ago, I hadn’t the slightest interest in aircraft maintenance. I had just relocated from New York to Southern California to pursue a career in the up-and-coming field of computer software. I’d earned my private pilot certificate four years earlier while a student at Dartmouth College, and […]

This page should automatically direct you to an index of "Savvy Aviator" columns on AVweb. If you do not have JavaScript enabled, click here to view the "Savvy Aviator" index.

NOTE: This article was updated in November 2003 to reflect the unavailability of the previously recommended AIM and Senco detectors (both of which are no longer in production), and the introduction of the CO Experts Model 2002 which has now become our top choice for aircraft use. The dramatic crash of Piper Dakota N8263Y madeall […]

NOTE: This article originally appeared in the Cessna Pilots Association Magazine, and is reprinted here by permission. I tend to fly fairly long distances in my airplane, and have done so for decades. Since I acquired my Cessna T310R in 1987, I’ve probably averaged around three transcontinental trips a year. I figure if you’re going […]

While survival gear remains a hard sell to U.S. pilots, there is still a small minority who recognize that it doesn’t always happen to the other guy. They support a cottage industry providing ready-made aviation survival kits for general aviation use. There are relatively few kits that have been around for a long period of […]

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in Cessna Owner and Pipers Magazines. My wife, Kate, has been taking flying lessons on-and-off for a few years now. She’s been taking every opportunity to practice, so was up and out at the airport bright and early one Sunday while yours truly slept in.When the phone rang, I […]

Updated August 24, 2003, with information on new PLBs from Pains Wessex. I was ferrying my antique open-cockpit biplane — a rare Flaglor High Tow — from my home base in Driggs, Idaho (just west of Jackson Hole) to the maintenance shop at Idaho Falls. That’s about 45 nautical miles, which doesn’t sound like much […]

This article appeared in the February 2002 edition of Aviation Safety and is reprinted here by permission. For most owners, airplane maintenance is a pit of quicksand. If you plunge in, it’s easy to get in over your head. But if you stay out, mechanical problems can accumulate until dispatch reliability and safety are severely […]