Search Results for: general aviation inc

Knowing of the low overcast, if that pilots autopilot had this auto-capture feature, his motivation would have been to ease his workload and obviate spatial disorientation during transition into the clag. The effect of his action would have been to capture the airport elevation as target altitude. The TruTrak, at least, takes a few seconds to process and implement settings, so that the airplane would be expected to do exactly what it did: ascend into the clouds and a few seconds later return to the preset target altitude of the runway.

Pete Daniels flies Boeing 787s for one of the world’s largest airlines. He makes $380,000 a year and works an average of nine days per month. He has been flying commercially for more than 30 years. He is one of scores of airline pilots who will reach the FAA’s mandatory retirement age, 65, within the […]

Norwegian flight school OSM Aviation Academy has made a commitment for up to 60 two-place eFlyer 2 electric trainers from Bye Aerospace, bringing the total number of order for the newly rebranded aicraft to nearly 300. Bye Aerospace rebranded its family of electric aircraft formerly known as Sun Flyer to eFlyer, reflecting the change in […]

MyGoFlight, the Denver-based company you might be familiar with for its line of iPad mounts, flight bags and other pilot accessories, says it’s closing in on FAA certification for its SkyDisplay head-up display, a lower-priced alternative to large, expensive HUDs designed for transport-category airplanes. Testing has been ongoing in a Cirrus SR22 for the past […]

The FAA’s Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS) Program has over the past 11 years used an open exchange of operational data to continuously improve safety. The General Aviation Joint Steering committee, for example, uses operations data to identify risks, develop recommended risk mitigation measures and evaluate the effectiveness of implemented solutions. The NBAA […]

The pace of new aircraft development continues to stimulate a great deal of interest in the next generation of business aircraft featuring improved performance, enhanced technology and cabin creature comforts that airplane buyers covet. While several new models — including the Gulfstream G500, Pilatus PC-24, HondaJet Elite, Generation 2 Cirrus Vision Jet, Daher TBM 940 […]

Not quite 10 years ago, I took the plunge into the abyss of airplane ownership. Having a civilian background in a general aviation environment, and possessing a pilot’s license for more than four decades, it seems that airplane ownership would have long ago been part of my repertoire. Finances, career focus, and other life interests […]

All other things being equal, one of the benefits of a primary flight display (PFD, which presents flight instrumentation on an electronic panel) is its use of a solid-state attitude and heading reference system, sometimes known as an AHARS. By using an AHARS to determine which side is up and in which direction the airplane is pointed, the vacuum-driven system is avoided and usually only an electrical system failure or failure of the display itself can eliminate the flight instruments. (Certification rules require backup flight instruments when a PFD is present but not when steam gauges are energized by a vacuum pump.)

Pilots fly for a variety of reasons. If youre like me, transportation is the main reason to own an airplane. Flying a single-engine general aviation airplane can be an effective way to travel for business and personal reasons, especially in this era of degrading, inflexible and unpredictable airline service. However, to safely use small aircraft for this purpose and manage the risks, you need to expand the scope of your typical planning efforts and be ready to change schedules and even cancel some portions of a trip. This is especially true if, like me, your travel requirements include the entire United States.

The General Aviation Joint Steering Committee (GAJSC) Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT) Working Group recently met for the last time at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Working Group finished drafting safety recommendations targeted at reducing the number of CFIT general aviation accidents. The GAJSC analyzes general aviation (GA) safety data to develop […]