Search Results for: general aviation inc

The FAA published on Friday afternoon a list of the contract air traffic control towers that will close by April 7. The list is extensive and includes a number of iconic airports that are traditionally important to GA. These include the tower at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, home to the Experimental Aircraft Association’s […]

With the Chinese government expected to announce a lifting of the ban on flying below 1,000 meters (3,281 feet), Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC) is looking at building “reliable general aviation aircraft,” said company chairman Xu Heyi. The company did not specify what category or class of aircraft it is planning to build. BAIC sold 1.7 […]

As I was talking with Dr. Martin Smith about the research he and his associates at Presage Group were doing on unstable approaches, he commented that visual approaches “were a little more seductive than instrument approaches in terms of continuing with an approach that is unstable.” Dr. Smith said even though all of the participants […]

It’s been at least five minutes since the last manufactured budget crisis in Washington, D.C., so it must be time for another one. The previous cliffs, shutdowns, grand bargains and other adolescent actions over the last 15-20 years have mostly avoided aviation operations in the U.S. Thanks to the latest federal foot-stamping, that could change, however, impacting how you and I aviate.

The concept was new to me when I first started teaching in high-performance aircraft: There are pre-chosen settings for aircraft power and configuration, i.e., flap and landing gear position, that result in predictable performance. Set the power, establish the configuration, and the airplane will perform as expected. Manage the drag (with gear and flaps) and power (manifold pressure and propeller, turbine speed or pressure) and the airplane will attain the proper airspeed and vertical speed for an approach or a missed approach.

It’s not a secret that the vast majority—almost 70 percent in 2010, according to the AOPA Air Safety Institute—of non-commercial general aviation accidents are caused by or result from loose nuts behind the wheel: pilots. According to the AOPA ASI 2011 Nall Report, which looked at all GA accidents during 2010, “Most pilot-related accidents reflect specific failures of flight planning or decision-making or the characteristic hazards of high-risk phases of flight.”

long ago, an instructor explained to me that knowing the various options for using the airplane, the different ways to make it do what’s needed, and the savvy to use those different models as appropriate, differentiated aviating from rote piloting. In the case of using climb abilities to your benefit, the best preparation begins with knowing and understanding all available options, knowing the plane and practice.

The NTSB on Tuesday issued five Safety Alerts that it says focus on the most frequent types of general aviation accidents and how to prevent them. “Because we investigate each of the 1,500 GA accidents that occur in the United States every year, we see the same types of accidents over and over again,” said […]

The NTSB this week issued five GA Safety Alerts aimed at preventing the most common fatal general aviation accidents. The big question centers on whether the Board’s action will have any discernable impact in moving the safety needle. My guess is no, it won’t. Here’s the reason: The vast majority of GA pilots won’t take […]

Unless action is taken by Congress in the next few weeks, budget cuts that result from the much talked about sequestration may have a devastating effect on the National Airspace System, the FAA is warning. On April 7, the agency could close as many as 238 control towers around the country, including some at busy […]