Search Results for: general aviation inc

Safety product manufacturer AmSafe has introduced a next-generation seatbelt airbag that is lighter and has a longer service life than the company’s current airbag restraint, which has been in production for 10 years and is installed in more than 7,000 general aviation aircraft. The new AmSafe seatbelt is narrower and features an optional lightweight buckle, […]

(March 2011) ON OCCASION, I AM ASKED if we airline types actually monitor guard frequency — 121.5. My stock answer is “Of course.” And for the most part, I’m telling the truth. However, in some circumstances it’s not practical. What are those circumstances? I don’t want to speak for all my colleagues, but below 10,000 […]

(March 2011) AFTER MY JANUARY ARTICLE, “Deadly Fatigue,” came out, I received a message from Mark Schwartz, a retired airline pilot and Gold Seal instructor, saying that any article relating to fatigue would not be complete unless it discussed the effects that circadian rhythm has on one’s abilities to perform flight duties. I responded that […]

(March 2011) I TRY TO BE TOLERANT OF OTHERS, but sometimes it’s hard, especially when it comes to people who are envious. As all you fans of medieval thought are aware, envy is No. 6 with a bullet on the list of the Seven Deadly Sins. And the idea of envy being a bad thing […]

Ordinary auto maintenance shops use modern sophisticated computers to analyze engine status and performance. New cars and trucks use computer circuits to control ignition timing, fuel flow and mixture, among other parameters. Drivers do not need any specialized knowledge or skill to operate their automobile engines efficiently and safely. Pilots are in a much different position. Aircraft maintenance shops use tools little different than they were a half-century ago. Aircraft piston engines have seen little or no improvement in decades. In fact, some argue aircraft engines are less reliable and durable than they were even a few years ago. Unless several physical laws are repealed, substantial improvement of aircraft piston engines does not appear to be imminent.

Reader David R. Wilkerson is incorrect when he says (Unicom, February 2011), “[A]irspace can have more that one designation, even under ICAO.” Firstly he mentions TRSA, which is not part of ICAO airspace designations. Instead, its a carryover from old U.S. airspace designations. Some TRSAs still exist today usually because traffic volumes are not sufficient to make them Class C airspace. Participation remains voluntary within them. Other airspace designations used in the U.S. are not ICAO designations. These include MOA, MTR and restricted areas.

Aviation engages us in various checks and balances, all in the name of safety-ours as well as those on the ground. Consider the checks faced by aircraft owners and pilots. We have annual inspections and 100-hour checks for aircraft commercially engaged. The goal, of course, is assuring the airworthiness and safe operating condition of the aircraft, spinner to tailcone. Humans also face an “airworthiness” check, the medical exam. The intervals vary, too. Beyond our own “airframe” inspection, our favorite aviation agency also requires a periodic demonstration of our competence every two years called the flight review.

Cirrus chairman and co-founder Dale Klapmeier this week sought to put an end to talk of a possible counter bid to a buyout deal from a Chinese aviation company. “There is no counter offer,” Klapmeier said at Sun ‘n Fun on Wednesday when asked about the news that a group of private U.S. investors led […]

On Monday FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt announced a plan to reduce general aviation accidents substantially and incrementally over the next 10 years with a 10 percent improvement as the target. At Sun ‘n Fun, the FAA will host the first of nearly 100 meetings across the country designed to let pilots and the FAA work […]

In an event hosted inside a large hangar at the Cessna manufacturing facility on Monday, state and local government officials and industry spokespeople showed their support of Wichita’s ailing aviation businesses and its workers. More than 2,000 people attended the event, which was organized by GAMA in partnership with Cessna, Hawker Beechcraft and Bombardier Learjet. […]