Search Results for: general aviation inc

Most pilots are content do drone along in the straight-and-level, rarely banking beyond 30 degrees or pitching up and down beyond 10. Meanwhile, aerobatic pilots enthuse in their ability to fly upside down, vertically and in all combinations. Somewhere in the middle of these two extremes are what the FAA calls performance maneuvers, generally thought of as those required on the commercial airplane pilots practical test.

Last year I read in a major aviation publication that lifting off in zero-zero conditions was one of the riskiest and dumbest decisions in all of flying. In late October 2014, I attended the annual convention of a major flying club, where I heard basically that same conversation and conclusion. If I had any hair on my shiny bald head, I would pull it out in frustration.

The unregistered aircraft was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain at an unknown time. The private pilot was fatally injured. Visual conditions prevailed. The accident pilot was last observed flying the single-seat gyrocopter at about 1350 on the day of the accident. The wreckage was subsequently located the following day about 0915, about 750 feet east of the departure airports Runway 26 threshold. The private pilot held a rating for single-engine land-based airplanes.

You want me to do what? You didnt say it aloud, but you may well have been thinking it when the controller directed, N12345, hold northeast of XYZ on the 050 radial, 20 DME fix, three-mile legs. Expect further clearance at 45 past the hour; time now 20 past the hour. A hold? Who holds anymore?

My 1954 Cessna 180 was mostly stock when I bought it. That didnt last long. I quickly added a STOL kit, wing extensions and bigger tires. As a result, the stall speed went down, useful load went up and, to a degree, the pilots operating handbook, POH, became a work of fiction because it no longer matches the actual airplane. This outcome is not uncommon.

AOPA president Mark Baker told members of Congress on Tuesday the FAA must do a better job supporting the general aviation community in three key areas: third-class medical reform, aircraft certification and the ADS-B mandate. Testifying before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on November 18 about the FAA’s upcoming Congressional reauthorization, Baker said GA […]

I doubt what we’re witnessing is any kind coordinated misinformation campaign, but I’ve been reading so much inaccurate information about ADS-B lately written by people who clearly should know better that I’m starting to wonder what’s going on. On the face of it ADS-B is a bad deal for general aviation, no doubt about it. […]

Every year structural icing claims a small but steady number of airplanes. Many of the accidents are on approach in clear air-after the airplane has already collected a load of ice. We look at it afterwards and wonder-the airplane had been doing fine-why did it crash well after it escaped from icing conditions?

There were no GPS approaches when I learned instruments, so we timed everything. To do so, I purchased a simple Timex kitchen timer with direct entry via separate zero through nine buttons. Need to time 2:16? Push 2-1-6-start. I stopped using that trusty timer after a panel upgrade.

Deliveries of general aviation piston airplanes climbed by 9.2 percent through the first three quarters of this year compared with the same time period in 2013, showing a mix of bright and not-so-bright products and market trends. According to the latest numbers released by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, a total of 806 piston singles […]