Aviation Safety

The actual velocity over the top of an airfoil is much faster than predicted….” For those who have not seen this with their own eyes, watch Dr. Alexander Lippisch and his smoke-particle wind-tunnel in ‘The Secrets of Flight,” available on YouTube. Fascinating! Thanks for the article (“Theories Of Lift,” April 2020). It takes us a […]

As much as we may want to get back to normal and “reopen,” the ongoing response to the Covid-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on many industries worldwide. The airline and travel industries have taken a major hit, of course, and likely will continue to hemorrhage cash and well-paying jobs at least until a therapy […]

In the mid-1990s, I worked at McDonnell-Douglas in Southern California and would rent a Cessna 152 every Wednesday at 5:00 pm to fly out of Long Beach airport for pleasure and to keep current. Co-workers knew of my flying routine and one day, a young woman asked if she could get a ride with me. […]

Beech H35 Bonanza Improper Mounting The alternator suffered a total mechanical failure after only 144.7 hours. The replacement unit failed after only 41.8 hours in service. Observation suggests the alternator case hardware was not properly torqued and/or was not assembled with locking fluid. Each failure found the aircraft in near-IMC conditions. Part total time: 41.8 […]

March 3, 2020, Hill City, Minn. Cessna P206 Super Skylane During a flight review, the instructor asked the pilot to fly a visual approach and execute a go-around. However, the airplane became “too low and too slow.” The landing gear contacted the snow-covered runway as engine power was being added and the airplane nosed over. […]

Maneuvering speed is something fledgling airplane pilots learn about early in their training. It’s one of the more important details to know about any airplane because it has implications for structural integrity. It’s also relevant to operating in turbulence and performing maneuvers, although its value isn’t on an airspeed indicator, mainly because it varies with […]

The FAA on April 29, 2020, released a special federal aviation regulation (SFAR 118—Relief For Certain Persons during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak) “to enable individuals to continue to exercise their airman certificate privileges during the national emergency.” Generally, the SFAR recognizes the incompatibility of flight training with social distancing and extends to June […]

If you spend much time around old-time pilots, you’ll eventually get around to one of them going off on a rant about how the kids today don’t know what the rudder pedals are for. From their perspective, they’re right. A lot of the airplanes the old-timers grew up with had squirrelly aerodynamics, exemplified by the […]

The pilot’s operating handbook (POH) or airplane flight manual (AFM) checklists help make certain the airplane is configured properly before beginning the takeoff roll. Professional flight crews supplement this “hardware” checklist with a pre-takeoff briefing covering the “software” considerations, the pilot decision-making process that accompanies takeoff. Examples include: What are the unique hazards affecting takeoff? […]

Growing up in the pre-9/11 era, I was fortunate to take international family vacations. Going through a commercial airport without TSA, high-sensitivity metal detectors and the spirit-deadening routines of today is something I never thought would have happened. September 11, 2001, was a turning point, of course, and governments worldwide responded, forcing flight and ground […]