General

Each month, Flying answers questions about the new Sport Pilot/Light Sport Aircraft Rule with assistance from the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), the authority on the opportunities available within the category commonly known as “Sport Pilot”: Q: I am a private pilot with an instrument rating, single-engine land. I would also like to have the paper […]

When the first satellite weather receiver was installed in my Baron several years ago the local FAA inspectors insisted that the radio shop put a placard near the display commanding that “Satellite Weather Information Not To Be Used For IFR Navigation” before they would approve the system. I thought that was about the stupidest placard […]

After I wrote my article last month about some of the mindsets that can get us into trouble, I found an excellent example of one of those situations. Air Transat Flight TS236 was an Airbus A330 that was on its way from Toronto to Lisbon. The discovery of metallic particles in the oil system about […]

An insurance company executive mentioned to me the other day that the pilot who worries him most is the one who buys a general aviation piston airplane with the idea he can use it to replace his airline travel. I knew immediately what he meant. The accident record shows thatpiston airplane pilots have very few […]

Those are the two words that can change a life, disrupt a business or curtail a profession forever! I heard them unexpectedly from my FAA medical examiner of several decades, Dr. Ed Klemptner, in July, just a few weeks after my 80th birthday. The actual birthday started out in great fashion. I had nixed the […]

Recently I attended a talk given by Daryl Bussert titled “Lessons from the Commander.” Daryl is the safety officer for JAARS, Inc. (originally Jungle Aviation and Radio Service), which is the technical support organization that serves Wycliff Bible Translators. I thought that the “commander” in his title might refer to someone in authority, but it […]

One of the least appreciated or commented on features of the new glass primary flight displays (PFD) that are the norm in all new airplanes is the flight director. The vertical tape displays of altitude and airspeed, the full width artificial horizon line and other new information on thePFD have been talked and written about […]

I’ve noticed lately that I fly more and more slowly and pay more and more attention to fuel flow. Clearly this behavior is related to the rising cost of fuel; as it goes up, the best speed to fly goes down. But that relationship – speed divided by fuel flow – must be corrected by […]

As we ate breakfast at the kitchen counter, Carol and I fixated on the TV in the corner. CNN was reporting, ad nauseam, on the foiled terrorist plot in the UK. An innovative plan for mass murder on commercial airliners had become part of terrorist ingenuity. For those of you who are familiar with Bomb […]

The New York State legislature insists it has taken a major step to ensure its citizens are safe from terrorist attacks. But it’s a misstep. Alerted to the passage of Assembly Bill 2122, which would make background checks mandatory for anyone wanting to take flight lessons in New York State, I contacted Governor Pataki’s office […]