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France’s civil aviation investigations organization, the BEA, issued a report (French only) last Thursday saying a Twin Otter was a little low when it knocked the camera out of the hands of a photographer while landing at the Saint Barthélemy (St. Barts) Airport in January of 2014. St. Barts is a French island in the […]

The energy that drives an interest in selecting the next avionics upgrade has many asking the question of how deep to venture into the actual panel modification. The answer becomes obvious when it comes to a full glass panel upgrade. However, the addition of a small-screen EFIS, changes to the center stack or the desire […]

Admiral Grace Hopper was an amazing person, well known for her contribution to modern computing. Less well known than her famous nanoseconds (look it up), she was fond of saying that “because we’ve always done it that way” was never a valid reason for anything. I’ve long tried to head that guidance. Last month, our […]

There’s no question that increased automation capabilities in the typical general aviation cockpit over the last, say, 20 years has improved pilots’ lives. The usual cautions about possible effects resulting from over-reliance on all the magic in our panels still apply, however, and not just because of inevitable programming or mode-select errors. As demonstrated by […]

Nearly two years have passed since Aviation Safety magazine introduced the concept of gadget flight rules (GFR) in the December 2013 issue. The original article examined using non-certified gadgets-personal electronic devices running appropriate software-to salvage a flight when your certified instruments fail. The conclusion was, yes, gadgets can provide backup, but the user must understand the […]

Rapid avionics advancement is good, right? We get more cool tools that should keep us safer, extending our lives. Wouldn’t it be nice if they extended their own lives as effectively. Remember the KX170B navcoms? They lasted a very long time with many still in use. But today the ultimate insult comes when you’ve paid […]

Dynon’s STC’d version of the SkyView HDX system was introduced a couple of years ago, but it hasn’t been retrofitted in large numbers. Part of that is because the STC has been limited to Cessna Skyhawk models (at press time Dynon earned an STC for some Beech Bonanza models), plus Dynon hasn’t established a large […]

When Garmin introduced the GPS 175 (and ADS-B transponder-equipped GNX 375) budget IFR navigator earlier this year, we wondered why it didn’t have a comm radio. Then a couple months later, Garmin tossed the $6995 GNC 355 in the mix with, you guessed it, a built-in comm. That leaves no fewer than a half-dozen choices […]

As many as 680 Boeing 787 Dreamliners may be affected by the latest revelation involving manufacturing flaws in the jets. Boeing confirmed on Thursday that it was in contact with the FAA about out-of-spec gaps in the joints between fuselage parts. It was revealed on Thursday that the vertical stabilizer is affected by the potential […]