Search Results for: general aviation inc

The FAA guidelines for required ADS-B equipment were released late last week, and though there are no real surprises for avionics manufacturers, general aviation advocates have little to cheer about. One of the sections of the report is even titled, “General Aviation: High Equipage Costs With Little Benefit.” Cost to equip the GA fleet is […]

_June 2010 _ THE THREE ROOMS THAT constitute the offices of the Aereon Corp. are tucked away on the second floor of a brick building near the Princeton University campus. The narrow hallway is lined with gray doors, many of which have hand-lettered business signs on them. You have to know the Aereon offices are […]

Since we all know that anyone who flies a general aviation airplane must be rich, a Wall Street Journal online story published Monday might be of interest. Titled “The Meaning of Wealth Translated Around the World,” it cited a recent study by Barclay’s Wealth and Ledbury Research. Analyzing how the wealthy expend their largesse is […]

Reports poured in from as far away as Australia, declaring the May 15, first ever International Learn to Fly Day a huge success. Across North America, close to 450 events focused on the mission of exposing non-pilots to the joys and usefulness of general aviation. The primary goal was to conduct as many demonstration flights […]

The May/June edition of FAA Safety Briefing includes an introduction to the Next Generation Air Transportation System — aka NextGen. While most reports focus on how the upgraded ATC system will benefit airlines’ bottom line, the FAA publication zooms in on NextGen’s benefits for general aviation pilots. The issue includes articles on Automatic Dependent Surveillance […]

June 2010 NOT ALL THAT long ago even the best full-motion jet simulators had very basic visual presentations that were restricted to nothing more than a view straight ahead through the windshield. Most simulators had a television-style screen mounted in each pilot’s windshield, and you couldn’t really see anything except the display on your side. […]

We leveled off at 5,500 feet, I set the power, and we watched the Texas Hill Country slide by below us. The three of us, Tom Canavera and Gary Buchanan from Sierra Industries and I, were heading over to Gillespie County Airport in Fredericksburg to grab a bite to eat at the regionally famous and […]

New motorcyclists often ask how much they should spend for a helmet. The flippant answer is, “How much is your head worth?” While not very satisfying, its true to a great extent: The helmets offering the best protection and comfort are typically the most expensive. This is largely true for ELTs; the solution most likely to enable a timely rescue under adverse conditions is probably going to cost a lot. As pilots, we constantly balance cost, risk, safety, practicality and utility. There are always trade-offs to weigh in making just about any decision. Now, we can add ELTs to the list of items whose cost we must balance against the risks well encounter and the degree of safety we want to achieve.

Its all but settled wisdom that a good landing is always preceded by a good approach. But define good? Does “good” mean you had the numbers nailed from the point you turned into the downwind? Or can you call an approach good if you sailed over the numbers on speed and kissed the pavement to make the first turnoff, even though you started too high and too fast and got behind on flap and gear extension? The second answer is the best one, in our view, because it implies two things: airmanship and judgment. The airmanship part means you have the skill to coax the airplane toward the right speed and attitude to land safely if not prettily. Judgment means you know when youre too far outside the envelope to even try to salvage an approach.

Its inevitable. Youll be standing on the ramp, clutching an avgas receipt rivaling Greeces national debt. Your chest throbs. You cant breathe, and ripping off your bolo tie, you scream, “Enough! I cant take this anymore!” Heart attack? Time to kiss 30 years of flying good-bye? Perhaps, but in this scenario, no. Instead, as you wander off toward your car, its first-love rekindled as you spot an old flame lounging in the grass across the field: a 1946 Aeronca Champ. And as your six-place Twin Turbo-Moneysucker is tugged off to its hangar, you stumble zombie-like toward the little taildragger and stammer to its owner, “I learned to fly in one of these….” She, then, takes your hand, guides you into the front seat and whispers, “Its time. Weve been waiting for you.” When she swings the prop by hand the 65-hp engine barks like a puppy on Christmas morning, and off you fly back to your aviation roots. Your flying life isnt over. Its merely come full circle, thanks to old airplanes that qualify as Light Sport Aircraft (LSA).