Search Results for: Lockheed

One of the fallacies of flying IFR in marginal-to-good weather is that its safe to presume everyone else out there is on the same page, under the watchful eye of ATC. Instead, its completely legal for someone else to be scud-running in barely VFR weather while youve gone to the trouble to get the rating, file the flight plan and follow the clearance.

The Sino Swearingen SJ30-2 flies in the face of conventional business jet wisdom in almost every respect. While the rest of the industry is firmly convinced that passengers demand the greatest possible amount of cabin space and simply won’t endure a cramped cabin for very long, the SJ30 delivers coast-to-coast range at a cruise speed […]

As I close my eyes and lean back against my towel-covered lounge chair, my toes digging into soft, white sand and my senses calmed by the sound of the waterfall splashing into the lagoon next to me, I have to work hard to convince myself that I am not, in fact, somewhere in Hawaii or […]

The NTSB recently took a close look at weather-related accidents to see how different pilots manage risk. The results provide clues on avoiding weather-related mishaps.

It’s official: The United States Air Force has certified the world’s only “fifth generation” fighter jet as operationally ready. The Lockheed Martin F-22 combines supersonic speed (including supersonic cruise without afterburner) with stealth and advanced targeting, weaponry and defense capabilities to make it hands down the most advanced fighter jet on the planet. With plans […]

It’s no secret that Cessna is working on a new piston single. Cessna boss Jack Pelton told single-engine dealers last fall that a new airplane was coming. Jack and I even discussed potential new designs at length several months ago. Jack bought the martinis that I drank, and I think he listened, but by the […]

Aerodynamic flutter can develop with great speed and quickly destroy your aircraft. Heres why, and what you can do about it.

We have all heard the story of how a horseshoe nail was lost, leading to the loss of the horse and its rider, and the message he carried into battle. Because the message was never received, the battle and the war was lost. Its as apocryphal today as when it was written. Examples include the shuttle Challenger tragedy-caused by a defective O-ring-and the Eastern Airlines Lockheed L-1011 that crashed in the Florida Everglades because someone nudged the autopilot switch off while working on a simple landing-gear problem but didnt notice it.

The point is that accident chains usually start from very simple events, pick up steam from other links in the chain and then snowball out of contro…

The FAA is turning over its Flight Service Station network to a private company. Whats the plan, and how will this impact safety?

Driven To Distraction
We have all heard stories of little things leading to big tragedies. Consider Challenger, a terrible tragedy caused by a defective O-ring. Then there was Eastern Airlines Flight 401, a Lockheed L-1011 that crashed in the Florida Everglades on December 29, 1972, because someone nudged the autopilot disconnect but didnt notice it while working on a failed nosegear indicator light. There are many-too many-other examples The point is, accidents and incidents can start from very simple events that simply snowball out of control. Heres the reason I began thinking about the chain of events.

A few months ago, I flew a 160-nm VFR trip in my Cherokee 140; not…