Search Results for: general aviation inc

The very fluid situation surrounding emergency-use authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech has moved fast in the last few days, and initially, pilots, unions, and aviation associations were in a holding pattern awaiting guidance from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The question to be answered was whether pilots—especially those who make their living flying […]

The phrase “armed and dangerous” is an idiom I apply to a pilot with hazardous attitudes such as anti-authority (“don’t tell me”), invulnerability (“it won’t happen to me”) and macho (“I can do it”). These individuals fly by their rules in unpredictable and potentially dangerous ways, disregard established flight-safety practices, seem unconcerned for their own […]

According to the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), there are about 2,700 flights that cross the world’s oceans every day. When you’re halfway between continents and your airplane suffers an in-flight emergency, sometimes the only option is to ditch in the angry ocean below. Surviving this kind of “blue water ditching” was the subject of […]

At a time when we all wish we could pull out a crystal ball to look into the future, key companies within the business aviation industry have grappled with their own predictions about what 2021 and beyond will bring—and Embraer has joined the chorus of cautious optimism balanced with the reality of a market that […]

First flown on December 17, 1935, the Douglas DC-3, an iteration of the DC-1 and DC-2, married reliability with performance and comfort in a way no other airplane had before. So much greater than the sum of its parts, an apt description for an airplane that has earned the right to be called “timeless” more […]

Often, the word “front” raises anxiety and apprehension in aviation meteorology. It carries the possibility of showers and thunderstorms, signals a change in the weather regime, and means the distinct possibility of a busted forecast. Thankfully there’s nothing to fear. Fronts are now well understood— computer models have become excellent at handling the underlying air masses […]

NTSB INVESTIGATING REMOTELY The NTSB hasn’t sent staff to an accident scene since last March and it’s unlikely to start doing so anytime soon. The board issued a travel ban at the outset of the pandemic and it won’t be lifted until COVID-19 is under control. “The safety of NTSB staff is the Chairman’s and […]

The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) recently conducted a survey to generate input from their member pilots in response to an FAA notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) introducing a new electronic Pilot Records Database (PRD) that would involve certain Part 91 operators. Based on the comments received, the […]

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) had mixed news on the aircraft market thus far in 2020: “Piston airplane deliveries increased slightly, while turboprop, business jet and helicopter deliveries declined through the first nine months of 2020 when compared to the same period of 2019.” The data is part of GAMA’s third quarter report published […]

The modern general aviation airplane has data flowing from it like never before. The flood started with digital engine monitors. Then electronic flight decks came along, capable of storing a vast array of information about each flight for later retrieval and analysis, which is especially valuable in a training environment. Now it’s ADS-B, which literally […]