Search Results for: general aviation inc

My Dad, a renowned research doctor, used to argue that the human gene pool has reached its zenith and is on the decline. He’d cite the recent efforts at promoting intelligent design, ignoring global warming, preventing stem-cell research and the disavowal of science in general. Maybe I’m a pessimist, but I’m beginning to wonder if […]

Forcasting future trends is difficult in any business, but predicting the direction aviation will move has been particularly inaccurate over the past many decades. Part of the problem is that aviation is fundamentally cyclical, both in the manufacture of airplanes and in their use. Changes in the economy appear to have more to do with […]

Whenever there is an accident, pilots should get into that old “learning from events” mode. The recent 737 runway overrun at Chicago Midway created a lot of food for thought. In a preliminary NTSB report, it was noted that the dispatchers and the crew had calculated that Runway 31C at Midway was okay for landing […]

The Liberty XL2, a two-place trainer/touring airplane manufactured in Melbourne, Florida, might well be the most eccentric, innovative and downright quirky certified airplane you can buy, and chances are good that even if you have heard of it, you don’t really know just how odd and cool it is. The Liberty embodies several notable contrasts. […]

The NTSB recently took a close look at weather-related accidents to see how different pilots manage risk. The results provide clues on avoiding weather-related mishaps.

Operating off pavement requires a different, perhaps rusty technique to extract maximum performance. A little finesse on the grass goes a long way.

As most in the aviation community know by now, legendary test pilot Scott Crossfield died April 19 when his Cessna 210A rapidly descended into remote mountainous terrain near Ludville, Ga., after entering an area of thunderstorms, as the NTSB put it. According to the safety board, his airplane entered a Level 6 thunderstorm just prior […]

A mantra in pilot training is that you should train the way you fly, and then fly the way you train. Thanks to its enormous fleet of Level C and D full-flight simulators, FlightSafety International has been providing absolute realism in flight training for many years, except in one area-high altitude physiology. Until now, the […]

A decade ago, the avionics in one panel worked the same as the next. Not anymore. Theres genuine risk in flying glass without training.

Avoiding overgross loading is a given. But if you tweak the CG, you can improve handling and maybe eke out an extra knot or two.