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With the U.S. Export-Import Bank’s freezing its funds on July 1, the results of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association’s third quarter shipment and billing report was mixed. There was an overall loss over last year’s report for billings during the first three quarters of $600 million, from $19.1 billion in 2014 to $18.5 billion this […]

Its no surprise that many pilots go into hibernation during the winter. Winter flying has its own set of risks and operational challenges. Its cold. Theres the potential for frost on the wings and ice in the clouds. The winds are generally stronger. There are icy ramps and runways with poor traction. Oh, and did we mention that its cold?

Youre basking in the glow of your high-tech primary flight display and make a slight attitude correction to level the wings. The bank hadnt even resulted in a heading change because you caught it so quickly.

An autonomous landing system that Diamond Aircraft officials call an electronic parachute has been successfully tested in Austria, the company announced in September. Tested in a DA42 twin, the system uses fly-by-wire technology and has been in development for about three years. The aircraft, with two test pilots on board, flew the approach and landing to an uncontrolled field without any input from pilots in the cockpit or on the ground. The airplane touched down gently right on the centerline. CEO Christian Dries said the technology may be available as an option within a few years. An auto-takeoff feature also is in the works.

Prognostic charts (progs) rank among the most used weather charts in aviation. Progs are published four times a day and provide a comprehensive overview of weather across the United States out to 24 hours. Theyre found many places, but the source is the NOAA Aviation Weather Center website under Forecasts > Prog Charts > Low Level. There is also a separate chart set under the Surface tab that ranges out to 8 days in the future, but there are no precipitation markings after 48 hours.

When I learned IFR, the oddball technique for GA pilots was the DME Arc. These were the days of turn 10, twist 10, which was the best we had for approximating a curve using the straight-line navigation of VORs and slant-range distance. When GPS came on the scene, the box simply drew the magenta line in an arc and we, or George, followed it. An era was over.

Many groups tour our control tower and radar room every month. Well host everything from students with instructors, to airline, military and law-enforcement pilots.

In my experience, one characteristic most pilots share is an individualistic, self-sufficient attitude. Typically, we revel in learning the skills required to fly an aircraft well and embrace the challenges it presents. We also usually dont stop with aviation alone, often engaging in other activities designed to challenge us mentally, physically or both. Examples might include skydiving, motorcycling, running marathons and the like.

under the control of a pilot

In recent months, weve highlighted the general aviation industrys efforts supporting federal legislation to ease existing FAA requirements to hold a medical certificate for many non-commercial flight operations. Both AOPA and EAA have worked hard on this project for several years, and U.S. Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) earlier this year spearheaded the effort with his Pilots Bill of Rights 2 (PBOR2). As this issue of the magazine was being prepared, some additional details were publicized, designed to help ensure the bills passage. Its always risky predicting Congressional action, but that could happen around the time this hits your mailbox. The results probably wont look like the original PBOR2, however.