Executive Jet Management, the charter and management division of NetJets, has received FAA approval to use Apple iPads running the Jeppesen Mobile TC app as an alternative to carrying paper charts. The authorization is a first for a large Part 135 charter operator, but is probably only the first of many. EJM pilots flew with […]
The man who invented the aerial spray airplane — and in doing so gave birth to the agricultural aviation industry — has passed. Leland Snow, founder and president of Air Tractor, died on Sunday while jogging near his home in Wichita Falls, Texas. He was 80. Snow designed his first aerial spray airplane, the S-1, […]
Members of New York City’s Police Aviation Unit are being hailed as heroes for their daring nighttime rescue early Sunday of two West Point cadets who were stranded for more than eight hours on a cliff ledge in freezing temperatures and high winds. The U.S. Military Academy freshmen decided to try to rappel down a […]
No doubt you’ve heard by now that Congress has ordered the FAA to add photos and biometric data to all pilot certificates, which would have to be renewed every eight years with a new photo at an out-of-pocket cost to you of $22. Or maybe it’s $50. Or maybe it’s more than that. Nobody’s really […]
It’s never a good sign when you show up for your airline flight and see news helicopters circling the airport. That was the scene on Monday afternoon at Newark International Airport as I arrived for my scheduled flight to Phoenix on US Airways. Walking into the terminal, I quickly understood the reason for all the […]
It’s the end of an era. Golf legend Arnold Palmer has made his final flight as pilot in command, calling it quits after almost 55 years at the controls of everything from open-cockpit biplanes to a Boeing 747. Along the way, he amassed nearly 20,000 hours in the cockpit. Palmer, 81, flew his Cessna Citation […]
You’ve probably experienced it yourself. A non-pilot friend or family member asks a question about flying that makes your head hurt as you try to think of how to respond. Of course, you don’t want to hurt your friend’s feelings (What’s the saying? There are no stupid questions, only stupid people who ask questions?), and […]
When you think about the array of flight technologies available in today’s light general aviation airplanes, it’s sometimes hard to believe we’ve come so far so fast. From infrared enhanced-vision systems and computer-generated synthetic-vision technology to satellite downlinked weather graphics and GPS precision-approach capability, all presented on bright, colorful flat-panel cockpit displays, the instrument panel […]
When deciding which avionics to add to your airplane, plenty of great products are within reach—even if you can’t afford to buy everything you want. If your goal is to reduce the chances of your tail number appearing in the NTSB’s accident database, the good news is you’ll need only four key avionics technologies to […]
My dad was the one who led me to combine my dual interests in flying and writing—and as a talented pilot and storyteller, he taught me a great deal about both, particularly when I was a teenager working as a lineboy at Teterboro Airport and writing part time for a few local community newspapers. In […]
