Search Results for: wright

Who was first in powered flight? It’s one of the most hotly debated topics in aviation history, and author John Brown seeks to reignite the argument with his new book, Gustave Whitehead and the Wright Brothers: Who Flew First? The book examines the claims and history of Gustave Whitehead, a German immigrant who professed to […]

Leaders in business aviation are gearing up for the most important industry event of the year, the NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition, which kicks off Tuesday. Organizers expect about 27,000 industry professionals to attend the three-day conference in Orlando, Florida. As always, presentations and seminars will be given on the state of the industry, […]

Readers likely are familiar with the role product liability plays in general aviations history. It shares responsibility for the industrys collapse in the 1980s and it wasnt until federal legislation was enacted-the General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994, which limited manufacturer liability-that some piston-engine airplane production was restarted. Separately, patterns were identified involving accidents of specific aircraft types, and addressing them became another way to minimize the risk of successful liability claims.

The migratory white stork has been a welcome visitor to Europe for centuries. It seems to display a peculiar affinity for human beings, building its huge stick nests on their rooftops and chimneys, foraging in their fields, and playing starring roles in their myths and legends. It eats mice and rats, is thought to bring […]

As I write this, Im looking at my Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award sitting near the window sill. Its the most prestigious award the FAA issues to pilots, according to the agency, and eligibility for it requires a minimum of 50 years to elapse since a pilots first solo flight. I originally dismissed this award as an overblown creation of the FAA or, worse, an old geezers award for longevity. I finally decided it would be a great bookend for a lifetime of flying, or a beginning of the next chapter. For those of you out there with 50 continuous years of flying without accident, incident or violation-or if you know someone who meets the minimum requirements-you can find details of the award and how to apply on the FAA website.

Pilots can still register for Jeppesen and AOPA’s Captain Jepp Challenge for a chance to sharpen their aviation knowledge and enter to win a free trip to EAA Airventure 2017. By attending free in-person or online educational courses, forums and seminars, participants earn points for prize drawings, including $250 MyGoFlight gift cards and the grand […]

We’re just 24 days from the start of EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and the excitement is building to sky-high levels. We all know why Oshkosh is so great, of course: The planes, the people and the electric atmosphere make it the highlight of any GA pilot’s year, with enough memories to last a lifetime. […]

Scheduled passenger airlines in the U.S. have achieved an incredible level of safety. Domestic passenger operations under FAR Part 121 have achieved an unheard-of record: a near-zero fatality rate since 2010. Most of us presume general aviation operations under Part 91 never can approach this level of safety without draconian over-regulation. And most of us may be correct. It was never about the regulations, of course.

Weve always had stall/spin accidents. Today, refinements in data collection and analysis, plus improved aviation-accident taxonomy, have led the industry to adopt the loss of control in-flight, or LOC-I, nomenclature. Whatever its name, ICAOs Common Taxonomy Team calls it …an extreme manifestation of a deviation from intended flight path. It leads the statistics for business, instructional and personal flying as the single most-prevalent cause of general aviation accidents.

John, Dr. Williams is dead. I thought you’d want to know.” The news hit me like a thunderbolt. The caller was an FAA inspector. Just two weeks earlier, I had asked him to talk with Dr. Williams. Dr. Williams was a towering figure. He was a physician, a radiologist, and an Episcopalian priest. He was […]