Search Results for: wright

There are and have been many exceptional pilots in the world. And a majority of those are unsung heroes. One who deserves more celebrity than he received while still on this earth is Albert “Jay” Shower Jr. who passed away over the weekend. Shower’s aviation career spanned over 70 years. He flew as a Navy […]

In May 2016, I met a woman named Susan Mozena. When she learned that I fly, she told me her father, Charles d’Olive, had been an ace with five victories in World War I. My first thought was that my friend Javier Arango would have gotten a kick out of my having had a close […]

Most pilots look forward to the challenge involved in qualifying to fly a new make or model aircraft. They anticipate the ritual involved in the checkout and are understandably proud when they receive a signoff from a flight instructor. That ritual may involve one flight and three touch-and-goes, or multiple flights and several instrument approaches, among other operations. Regardless, managing the risks of introducing yourself to a new aircraft is at the core of this…

A plea deal has brought a swift conclusion to the legal case against Theodore R. Wright III and three of his accomplices, who were charged in July with a massive insurance fraud scheme involving airplanes, a $100,000 sports car and a luxury boat. The highest profile crime involved the 2012 ditching of a Beech Baron […]

The Zulu 3 active noise-reduction headset from Lightspeed is hard to beat, with exceptional sound quality and extra features, such as Bluetooth, cellphone interface and auto-shutoff, plus supreme comfort, all for a price of some lesser headsets. The durability of the Zulu 3 sets its apart as well. It features a stainless-steel headband and Kevlar […]

In the Top Five Tips and Traps article of the November 2017 issue, I disagree slightly with the statement that once an engine is started, take off on the selected tank and only switch to another one while airborne. The premise is a good one, but I have been in the habit of immediately switching tanks after engine start. My theory being that if the engine started fine on one tank, that tank is probably fine.

Guests from around the world are assembled in San Diego for tonight’s 2017 induction into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame, an event that begins later today in the museum’s Pavilion of Flight. The San Diego museum, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, has over the years honored more than 200 of the […]

Thanks for Bob Wrights article in the September 2017 issue, Single-Pilot Challenges. I wanted to comment on a sidebar accompanying the article: What Makes A Good IFR Platform. I agree with the authors take that range, speed and installed equipment all combine to make an airplane enjoyable to fly in the IFR environment. Those lacking similar capabilities obviously can be flown on IFR cross-countries, but come with various shortcomings that may need to be addressed depending…

While most of us probably feel fortunate to be able to fly any kind of general aviation aircraft, most of us also have fantasies about owning and flying more expensive machines, including jets. A small number of us achieve that goal and obtain certification to operate small jets single-pilot. But the safety record of these operations is mixed. Some recent accidents point to gaps in the training and checking associated with single-pilot type ratings.

Remember those executive orders President Donald Trump issued early this year aimed at simplifying and cutting costs in government? My favorite was the one requiring agencies to repeal two existing regulations before creating a new one. Close on the heels of that came “Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda,” which directed agencies to evaluate existing regulations […]