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Best. Nordo. Ever.

Earlier in the year, I found myself headed toward Albany, N.Y., to visit a long-time pilot-friend and play with airplanes. I was flying a second friends airplane, IFR, and being vectored for a visual approach through a cloud deck. All of a sudden, I can hear ATC, but they cant hear me. So I reached down between the front seats for the handheld mic-but there is no handheld mic. Theres a bracket, but nothing on it.

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • Despite concerns about the changing nature of general aviation (GA), the author posits that its core, community-oriented spirit still exists.
  • The author experienced an in-flight radio failure (Nordo) while flying into Albany, NY, but landed safely with ATC assistance.
  • A local maintenance shop, Hildt Aviation, provided prompt, effective, and complimentary repair service for the author's plane, embodying the enduring helpfulness and generosity within the GA community.
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As long as I’ve been involved in general aviation, there’s been gloom and doom about the expense, about student starts, about user fees and about how “all this is going away.” In response, I often point out that, like any industry, GA goes through changes. Yes, GA “as we know it” is changing, but the romanticized taildragger on a grass runway and everyone helping each other out still exists—you just have to look harder for it. Sometimes, it comes to you.

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