Search Results for: Lear 45

Rockwell Collins says its new EVS-3000 enhanced-vision system represents a technological leap forward, making use of multiple image sources to provide the clearest view yet through poor weather plus the ability to detect LED runway lighting. Available for use with head-up or head-down displays, the EVS-3000’s camera pod uses a proprietary “multi-spectral” sensor developed by […]

All pilots fear mid-air collisions (MACs), even though they’re relatively rare. The AOPA Air Safety Institute’s 2011 Nall Report, an annual look-see at general aviation’s safety record in the U.S., found only four of them. That means the other 1373 accidents occurring in the U.S. during 2010, the year examined, involved other causes, including the always-interesting stupid pilot tricks. Of the four mid-airs in 2010, one of them involved no fatalities; in only one MAC did everyone aboard both aircraft suffer fatal injuries.

Perhaps because of its various attractions, night flying presents its own set of challenges. Let the sun go down, and all kinds of aviation-related mischief can ensue. The basic problem, of course, is humans are not well-adapted to seeing and doing complex things in low-visibility conditions. So, we have to compensate.

In the driving rain, I taxied the big Gulfstream G650 across the ramp, being careful to keep it at a crawl on the slightly downhill grade. The line guy in optic-green rain gear directed me to nose up to the slab-sided metal hangar, its proud Gulfstream logo just visible through the fast-moving streaks of water […]

My name is Jack — I am 82 years old. My friend Gary is 83 years old, and my 1947 Aeronca Super Chief (N3900E) is 65 years old. In 1960, I went to work for Alaska Airlines for 25 years. Before and during that time, I worked on a lot of different airplanes, and for […]

A Mooney M20 nearly clipped several cars as it crashed into trees right next to Route 50 in Bowie, Maryland, according to witnesses. The accident occurred around 3:45 p.m. on Labor Day afternoon, typically one of the busiest traffic days of the year. A number of drivers pulled over to assist those aboard the downed […]

When considering how to crash, my first bit of advice is don’t do it. Since the reality of any flight is that things can go wrong, that isn’t particularly helpful, I know. What can go wrong? Your crankshaft can break, your fuel lines can clog or, if you are a damn fool, you can run out of gas. The point is, someday your engine may stop working for reasons beyond your immediate control and your next option is an off-field landing, or worse. If you’re lucky, you will be mid-field downwind at your home airport and it will work just like the last time you practiced engine-out procedures—you do still practice those, right?

| There’s only one foolproof way to ensure you don’t end up as an accident statistic in yet another stall/spin fatal crash: Avoid stalling in the first place. Yet if the goal is to avoid stalling, why do we spend so much time practicing stalls? After all, 97 percent of stall/spin accidents that start at […]

Raising questions about what role automation may have played in the August 14 UPS crash at Birmingham Shuttlesworth International Airport, the NTSB revealed that the Airbus A300’s autopilot and autothrottles were engaged all the way to the point of impact about three quarters of a mile short of the runway. According to the NTSB, the […]

When Bob Hoff asked me to speak at the Idaho Aviation Expo, my first reaction (after “Wow, I’ve almost never been to Idaho”) was “What will I say to these Idaho aviators who already take off at 5,000 feet msl, fly through rugged terrain into steep, high canyons and land airplanes with huge tires on […]