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The following information is derived from the FAAs Service Difficulty Reports and Aviation Maintenance Alerts.

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The NTSB has recommended that initial and repetitive non-destructive inspections be accomplished on main landing gear spring struts of Cessna tailwheel airplanes.

These recommendations stem from an investigation of an accident in which the main gear spring failed at the upper axle attachment to the spring strut. This particular spring strut underwent major repair for previous damage prior to this accident.

FAA Service Difficulty Reports indicate that failures can occur in the gear spring struts at the axle attachment. Generally, such failures occur from corr…

Your cover story, Tech Trap, [Airmanship, August] definitely underscores a very acute problem today for both pilots and CFIs. The NTSB report of the JFK Jr. accident concludes that Kennedy did not have the autopilot engaged at the time of the crash.

Neither Flight Safety Academy in Vero Beach, Fla., where both John and I received much of our flight training, nor any other flight school in the United States is mandated to train on the use of autopilot, GPS, weather, terrain or traffic warning equipment in order for a pilot to earn private, instrument or commercial rating.

Last fall I had my new Garmin 530/430-equipped Piper Saratoga upgraded to include Honeywells new Enhanced Ground P…

[IMGCAP(1)]Day in day out, week after week, in good weather and in poor, pilots are beating the snot out of airplanes, using the runway, edge lights, signs, ditches or anything else that gets in the way of their landings.

Landing accidents account for more than a third of all general aviation accidents. While landing accidents are not as likely to be fatal as other kinds of crashes – only 3 to 4 percent of fatal accidents are caused by poor landings – they are responsible for nearly 500 bent airplanes per year.

General aviation accidents tend to be caused more often by pilot error than by mechanical problems, and those pilot errors can be separated into two categories: judgment error…

[IMGCAP(1)]In the interest of national security, flying light planes has become a confusing and dynamic business where the rules can change between the time you get your briefing and start your engine. In this brave new world, prepare to be wrong.

If thats too pessimistic a view, there is a bright side. The FAA has backed off enforcement actions when pilots can show theyre following the rules that existed an hour ago. And the number of airplanes forced to land by armed fighter jets has been small. So far, the trouble appears to be borne of changing rules, nervous politicians and a paranoid public.

But staying out of trouble has gotten decidedly more difficult.

Consider that in t…

[IMGCAP(1)]Being a responsible pilot means there are a lot of things you cant take for granted. Proficiency, maintenance, charts, briefings, inspections, review and judgment are all routine parts of the game.

Some people play it well and play it to win. Some play it to have fun or pass the time. Some play because they think they should. Some shouldnt play at all, but do.

Accidents that involve the latter group are easy for more serious pilots to dismiss. They reason that by virtue of a more businesslike approach they are immune from many of the troubles that befall their unfortunate brethren.

As you go up the aviation hierarchy to more flying hours, more ratings and bigger airpl…

[IMGCAP(1)]The pilot-in-command is in control of the safety of the passengers and care of the airplane. His judgment is the deciding factor in whether the flight should go or not go. His decisions are based on his evaluation of the conditions existing for a safe flight. He doesnt give in to the demands or influences of the passengers.

He also knows he cant always rely on the FAA weather minimums as guidelines for the safety of his flight. FAA minimums for flight – both VFR and IFR – are the absolute minimum weather conditions to legally fly. They are not – nor were they ever intended to be – the standard every pilot can use to determine the level of safe operating procedures.

Not e…

For owners not blessed with heroic stick-and-rudder skills and cash to burn, the usual sequence of ownership starts with a fixed-gear single and progresses to a high-performance retractable. For many owners, the retract is the end game.

The attraction of a folding-gear single is undeniable. These models are plentiful in both variety and price, most offer good performance at reasonable operating costs and they usually do represent a step-up in performance and capability.

Ignoring price and performance for this analysis, were comparing these aircraft strictly on one narrow parameter: the models accident record. What kinds of accidents do they suffer and how do they compare with each ot…

The following information is derived from the FAAs Service Difficulty Reports and Aviation Maintenance Alerts.

The FAA has issued a special airworthiness information bulletin in a continuing attempt to get owners of Beech prop airplanes to use proper gust lock procedures.

Numerous incidents and accidents have resulted from the failure of a pilot to remove the flight control gust lock prior to attempting to take off. Many involved the use of a makeshift gust lock, including such things as a common bolt or nail inserted through the holes in the control column provided by the manufacturer.

Obviously, this tactic did not provide the pilot with any kind of reminder that a gust…

The next generation of training devices look and feel more like real simulators. Thats a big improvement, but theyre still not perfect.

Buzzing and hot-dogging are the leading spin scenarios, often by highly qualified pilots who ought to know better.