Stephen Pope

Garmin wasn’t the first out of the gate with an angle-of-attack indicator for light airplanes, but the avionics giant’s first foray into this emerging market could be just the thing to jumpstart interest among pilots who’ve been considering adding the safety equipment. Garmin’s $1,500 product offering, consisting of the GI 260 AOA indicator, GAP 26 […]

On Sept. 29, 2013, a Cessna Citation CJ2 landing at Santa Monica Airport near Los Angeles suddenly veered off the runway and crashed through a hangar, bursting into flames and killing all aboard. Three months later, on Jan. 5, 2014, the pilots of a Challenger 601 landing with a strong, gusting tailwind in Aspen, Colorado, […]

As the FAA drags its heels on a Congressionally mandated overhaul of light aircraft certification rules — or, as some charge, digs in its heels — the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) is hosting a high-profile aviation summit in Europe to press for similar reform there. The global initiative in Brussels, attended by nearly 100 […]

Garmin is launching a new extended service program for the G1000 avionics system called FliteLevel that gives aircraft owners — and used airplane buyers — additional peace of mind that any needed avionics repairs won’t break the bank. The FliteLevel service contract can be purchased at any time and provides complete coverage for the G1000 […]

What makes an airplane climb? The answer might seem obvious, until you consider all the factors that allow us to gain altitude. The addition of engine power is the answer that probably popped into your head first. Yet in light GA airplanes, altitude gain can also be achieved by taking advantage of thermal updrafts, reducing […]

General aviation accidents showed a welcome decline in 2013, falling from 1,471 crashes in 2012 to 1,222 last year, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. In fact, by every measure GA flying was safer last year than the year before. The accident rate per 100,000 flight hours dipped to 5.85, continuing a steady historic […]

Doc’s Friends, the Wichita-based nonprofit organization that is restoring the B-29 Superfortress Doc to flying condition, says the historic airplane will be ready to fly as soon as the avionics, fuel tanks and a few other last remaining items are finished. The goal is to get the airplane back in the air by the end […]

The U.S. Navy has identified Lt. Nathan Poloski, a 26-year-old from Lake Arrowhead, California, as the pilot who was presumed killed in a collision between two F/A-18C Hornets over the Pacific Ocean on September 15. Poloski was declared presumed deceased after the two Hornets collided during a routine flight off the USS Carl Vinson, the […]

If you’re an experienced pilot with a sparkling personality and a burning desire to star in your own reality TV series, read on. The producers of “Air Fare America,” a new travel show in development for cable TV, announced they are now casting for the show’s star. The series seeks to combine three of television’s […]

AOPA says a study released by the National Transportation Safety Board this week on pilot drug use is “incomplete and its conclusions should be regarded with caution.” The study of more than 6,600 cases reviewed toxicology tests performed on pilots killed in aviation accidents from 1990 through 2012. In it the NTSB concluded that drug […]