Search Results for: general aviation inc

ATIS “Tango” was advertising 43 degrees C when we landed Sunday afternoon. Although I’m “mathematically challenged” I think that works out to about 110 degrees F, which might explain the eerie quiet on the Lunken tower frequency. David Zombek had just flown an outstanding private pilot check ride in the 172. He’d worked long and […]

A history of Collier awards for achievements that didn’t work out as planned. Plus, a look at this year’s nominations and a chance to vote for your favorite.

The Collier Trophy honors the outstanding achievement in aerospace during the previous year, and 2012, as you’ll see from these nominees, was a year of innovation for the ages. Also, a look at Collier awards for achievements that didn’t work out as planned.

A new concept in aircraft ownership is taking flight with the launch of DiamondShare, a shared-use program that seeks to make flying more affordable by spreading the costs around. As you might have guessed, the idea is based exclusively on Diamond Aircraft products, specifically the four-place, single-engine Diamond DA40 XLS. The program matches aircraft owners […]

The National Aeronautic Association has announced the finalists for the 2012 Collier Trophy, the industry’s highest honor, which recognizes the top achievement in aerospace during the previous year. While the committee has had some glaring misses in recent years, recognizing airplanes that would struggle to certification in at least two cases, the nominees this year […]

The Cirrus SR20 that deployed its whole airplane recovery parachute last week in Danbury, Connecticut, did so after making a classic mistake that continues to top the list of general aviation accident causes. According to a preliminary report released by the National Transportation Safety Board on Friday, the airplane was on approach to Runway 26 […]

Lieutenant Nilofor Rhmani| Islamic Women Take Flight The Taliban has been waging a brutal war against women for two decades, but at least a few women are literally preparing for battle. On September 30th, 2012, Lieutenant Nilofor Rhmani became the first female pilot in the Afghanistan air force to fly solo in a military Cessna […]

The Air Force has concluded its investigation into an incident last July when a C-17 Globemaster III landed at the wrong airport. And the reasons for the mistake, according to a report that resulted from the Air Force investigation and published by the Tampa Bay Tribune, went beyond simple human error. Rather than touching down […]

Any time repairs or other work is performed on an aircraft, it’s a good idea to conduct a post-maintenance test flight to ensure everything is working as it should. There’s even a regulation, FAR 91.407, covering such flights and the “operational check of the maintenance performed or alteration made.” In many ways, someone conducting such a flight is a test pilot, determining whether the work performed was completed properly and the aircraft performs as intended. During such flights, we generally plan to conduct a functional check of any and all systems potentially affected by the work performed and return. This, of course, presumes we don’t find a problem with the work performed. If we do find a problem during our post-maintenance check flight, an obvious response is to get the aircraft back on the ground expeditiously and resolve the issue. Depending on the problem, we may or may not be in a hurry: To us, an engine oil leak would mean hurry up and land, while a flight-control system issue might encourage us to take things easier and handle the aircraft gently.

We bow to no one in our willingness to reject ATC clearances and forcefully but politely seek what we want and need from a controller. Since our chair usually is moving faster than their’s, we cop the attitude that our needs are more important than ATC’s. At the same time, we certainly understand controllers often have little flexibility in responding to our needs, whether due to their own requirements, conflicting traffic we know nothing about or high workload. But they also need things from us: basic airmanship, concise communication and the ability (willingness?) to follow instructions. To put it another way, both sides of the pilot/controller relationship have expectations. We know what ours are; What are their’s? To find out, we asked a controller-friend working in an ARTCC in the Midwest U.S. to share with us his top five pet peeves. Here’s what we learned.