Search Results for: general aviation inc

Recent rants in this space discussed the FAA’s role in Washington’s ongoing budget battles and, especially, proposed low-activity tower closures. After a couple of weeks of air traffic slowdowns brought on by ATC staffing furloughs and primarily affecting airline passengers in the northeast, Congress demonstrated it can move quickly: It passed a measure basically exempting the FAA—but no other agencies—from the sequestration process and allowing it to move its money around to eliminate ATC slowdowns. So far, the FAA’s actions haven’t had a widespread impact on general aviation. That could change.

The June 2013 edition of Aviation Safety arrived today. In Unicom, there is a question about gadget legality. You correctly quote FAR 91.21 (technically, 14 CFR 91.21) as saying that PEDs are legal on all non-commercial VFR flights and that the pilot in command makes the determination in non-commercial IFR operations. But more than one federal agency makes rules about electronics. The Federal Communication Commission makes a very clear statement prohibiting cellular telephone use aboard airborne aircraft. 47 CFR 22.925 states: “Cellular telephones installed in or carried aboard airplanes, balloons or any other type of aircraft must not be operated while such aircraft are airborne (not touching the ground).

The practical test standards (PTS) spell out the requirements for successfully completing an FAA checkride for pilot certificates and ratings. They have been around for nearly 30 years and, while an improvement over the previous flight test guides, they did not fundamentally alter the manner in which the applicant demonstrates compliance with the regulations. The general aviation community and FAA are developing a new concept of airman testing that will be embodied in completely new airman certification standards (ACS). The ACS, when implemented, will require applicants to integrate their knowledge, skills and risk management proficiency to demonstrate to the examiner they can do more than just perform standard training procedures and maneuvers.

Every hour and every dollar I ever spent learning to fly this or that aircraft was worth this one flight. Israel is a beautiful country, every bit of it, even the dry parts. The people here are as friendly and engaging as Texans and the weather is as good as Southern California. I’m flying north […]

Snapshots from the amazing sights of Israel from a Cessna 172.

Some people believe in the misconception that aviation accidents are largely caused by inexperience. But as pilots become more comfortable inside the skin of the fuselage that surrounds them, they can become more of a hazard. You may be surprised to learn that an NTSB study of general aviation accidents between 2007 through 2009 concluded […]

The FAA yesterday formally asked the world’s fuel producers to submit fuel samples for testing in piston aircraft as the first concrete step in helping general aviation transition away from leaded avgas. The FAA is seeking to speed the development of new unleaded fuels that could ease the pain of replacing 100-octane low-lead avgas for […]

Bravo Kilo Echo enters the pattern to circumnavigate Victoria Falls. (Photos by Mike Venturino and Michelle Carter)| At 6,500 feet, we could see the spray of Victoria Falls billowing above the Zimbabwe flatland 70 miles out. No GPS necessary, just head for the cloud of mist and keep the roiling Zambezi River below you. Strung […]

The crowd searched the picture perfect blue sky while in search of the planes that were somewhere above. The sound of airplanes approaching from behind caught their attention. Many turned just in time to see the three tiger-striped painted planes shoot overhead while one peeled slightly off and flew out of sight. Several people clapped, […]

I was impressed when I read of the exploits of Bill ­Harrelson, the Virginia pilot who on March 1 flew his ­Lancair IV nonstop from Guam, in the western Pacific, to Jacksonville, Florida. The hop, if you can call it that, of about 8,000 statute miles took 38 and a half hours. If that weren’t […]