Search Results for: general aviation inc

The Tecnam P2010 is one of those airplanes that you can’t help but stop to look at when you see it on the ramp. Mainly because you’ll be wondering why that Cessna Skyhawk looks so good. Until you realize it’s not a Skyhawk. It’s something different. Something silky smooth. With flowing lines. My goodness, it’s […]

Over the weekend, the board of directors of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) created a new “associate member” category for electric and hybrid-propulsion aircraft. The reason for the new membership category is to hasten the worldwide development, growth and airworthiness certification of electric airplanes, which very well could play an important role in securing […]

One sunny July afternoon, a private pilot was returning to his home base from a lunch run to a nearby airport. He was flying a 1946 Luscombe, a well-worn classic but a new airplane to him. As he descended along the mountains skirting a populated area, the unthinkable happened — the engine quit. At his […]

If I see one more graph or chart showing that if Im in a 60-degree bank (Maneuvering Stalls, September 2015), I must be pulling 2G, I think Ill throw up. Presenting this data is an indication of competence in trigonometry but someone is not paying attention to the real world of airplane flying.

Donating your time, skill and aircraft (rented or owned) as a volunteer pilot supporting a public benefit organization can be the most rewarding flying you ever do. Whether its medical transport (by far the largest segment), environmental and conservation support, search and rescue, emergency response, pet transport or one of the many other types of public benefit flying, you can help others doing something you love while clearly demonstrating the value and capabilities of general aviation.

Night flying can be the most rewarding kind available to mere mortals. Twinkling stars above, perhaps a full moon in close formation, and well-lit ground features can be wondrous. Too, the air generally is smoother and theres less traffic. The frequency is quieter and ATC can give you more attention, while what traffic there is can be easier to spot. And an aircraft will perform better in cooler air. Humans will, too, but thats about the only benefit we realize at night.

I’m haunted by the sky … by wind and clouds, by airplanes and fliers. It’s been a gift, a blessing: struggling to acquire and hone skills; taking written exams and practicing for check rides; feeling the pride of earning a certificate or rating and the gloom of a less-than-stellar performance; teaching neophytes how to land […]

It was a typical spring day in Minnesota, warm and clear at last, but with a brisk south wind blowing across the runway. I’d just driven 45 minutes to fly the Cub for the first time since November, and I thought that the wind was still within the plane’s capability. Once I broke ground and […]

Unless you are required by a lender to carry liability insurance for your airplane, you likely don’t have to pay for such a policy. Only 11 states require some form of liability insurance for general aviation aircraft operators, according to the Government Accountability Office, unlike automobile owners and commercial airlines, which are federally obligated to […]

A new Department of Transportation Inspector General report that studied the differences between ATC in the United States and countries like Canada and the UK, which have not-for-profit privatized ATC corporations, found that there are, well, differences. The political spin that’s being applied to the rather innocuous report, meanwhile, is making us dizzy. The report’s […]