Search Results for: wright

In more than 30 years of flying I have flown only a handful of ILS approaches with the weather right at minimums. The same is true for most pilots. I think the reason is that the weather seldom cooperates. Fog frequently drops the visibility well below the required minimums, but mist, drizzle and rain usually […]

Accuracy approach and steep spiral, newly added to the PTS for several certificates, help hone skills you can use every flight

It was a disparate group of musicians, artists, pilots and friends attending Craig Peyton’s art exhibit called “Environmental Forms.” As diverse as the members of the group were, they had one thing in common-their enthusiasm. It was contagious. The multimedia exhibit combined three of Craig’s loves-music, photography and aviation-and was composed of six video segments […]

Airlines take the switch to a new airplane type very seriously, but GA pilots tend to miss the importance.

I am not surprised at the results from the various tests conducted in Rescue Heroes? [Instrument Check, March]. All of the shortcomings reported are exactly what an experienced communications technician would expect.

A handheld transceiver has very limited transmit power. Most of them use a different method of stating transmit power, stating peak envelope power rather than carrier power as used by panel mounted transmitters. That means there is approximately 1 watt of carrier for a hand-held rated at 5 watts – a substantial reduction in transmit range compared to your No. 1 com.

Even more telling is the hand-held antenna system efficiency compared to a real antenna mounted on…

Visibility measurements at the airport dont mean you can see the field from that far away. The wicked world of slant-range vis

At 0045 eastern time, a Cessna 177 was damaged when it veered off the runway during landing at Dayton Wright Brothers Airport. The pilot and two passengers were not injured. The pilot said they were returning to Dayton after attending a baseball game in Cincinnati. He said the airplane ballooned during the flare and he elected to go around, but the airplane would not gain airspeed or climb. As the end of the runway approached, he elected to land the airplane. It landed hard and fast and the gear collapsed. Before the accident trip began, the pilot had logged only 1.6 hours in the previous 11 months, including a biennial flight review. His last night flight was logged nearly two years earlier…

Non-precision approaches can involve either a plunge to MDA or a stabilized approach. Your moving map can make stabilized safer

The following briefs were selected from the 170 preliminary reports filed with the NTSB in September 2002. Statements in quotes were taken directly from the NTSB documents. The information is subject to change as the investigations are completed. Click here to view “Accident Totals, September.”

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September 01, Stow, Mass.
Champion Citabria
At about 1150 eastern time, a Champion 7ECA struck a parked vehicle while landing at the Minute Man Air Field. The pilot and passenger suffered minor injuries. The pilot was landing on runway 30 when the airplane began to porpoise and veer to the right. The pilot added power but…

In ancient Greek theater, playwrights used a mechanism called deus ex machina – god from the machine – to lower an actor to the stage like a god descending from the heavens to right whatever wrong was happening onstage and return order to the universe.

Divine intervention may have worked on theatergoers thousands of years ago in Greece, but it doesnt do diddly in aviation. Unfortunately, too many pilots rely on blind luck to save their skin.

Reading the NTSB accident reports month after month shows that boneheaded pilots are not in short supply. Their ill-conceived maneuvers generally fall into predictable patterns, with the occasional creative individual who finds some new way to har…