Pilot Proficiency

Once again this late summer, desolate Nevada berg Black Rock City finds itself home to thousands of artists, freaks and spectators for the remarkably quirky festival known as Burning Man (Aug. 29 to Sept. 5), which culminates each year with the eponymous torching of a huge human effigy. There are, it goes without saying, a […]

As I was reading the latest issue of Wired the other day, a tidbit updating the remote air traffic management system being developed by Saab and Sweden’s LFV air traffic control service piqued my curiosity enough for me to delve into the topic deeper. My first thought was simple: leave it to the Swedes to […]

In the Los Angeles basin, there is a phenomenon called the marine layer. Low clouds move in from the ocean and create IFR conditions at the airports close to the shoreline. At Santa Monica Airport, the ATIS may report 700 feet overcast, but that may mean that there is an overcast layer on the ocean-side […]

“This is the crack cocaine of air travel.” That was the humorous yet apt assessment by my seatmate after we touched down last Friday at Rio’s downtown airport in an Embraer Legacy 600. It was a colorful comparison to airline travel from a fellow journalist who had never before experienced flight on a private jet. […]

Henriksen Jet Center (KEDC) Pflugerville (Austin), Texas In our FBO Spotlight series, we’re highlighting FBOs around the country that have received rave reviews from our readers. The latest Spotlight is brought to you by Cessna 172 pilot Paul S. Barnett, who was recently impressed with the costumer service provided at Henriksen Jet Center (KEDC), in […]

I had flown west through Merrill Pass on my way from Anchorage, Alaska, to the Stony River country and needed to set up a tent camp on one of the small gravel bars along the Swift River, a tributary of the larger Stony. The camp would be used during an upcoming trophy moose hunt for […]

When Aiden Lipscomb, a 21-month-old Virginia boy diagnosed with an aggressive pediatric cancer, needed immediate radiation treatments that are available only in a few locations, a unique partnering of general aviation and social media became the child’s best hope to receive them. Because of his weakened immune system, Aiden was unable to travel on commercial […]

SimCom, one of the country’s largest providers of advanced flight training, recently announced the acquisition of 14 simulators from FlightSafety International, bringing the company’s simulator tally to a total of 59 and broadening its training capabilities throughout the United States.** ** The deal will bring a variety of new piston and turboprop simulators to the […]

The FAA last week issued a final rule intended to prevent FAA inspectors from working for the airlines they previously oversaw for two years after they leave the agency. The rule applies to FAA personnel who had oversight responsibility over the airlines (as well as over fractional providers and other firms that offer commercial air […]

Conceding that the certification process for light general aviation airplanes has become a complicated and counter-productive morass of rules and restrictions, the FAA has formed a committee whose responsibility will focus on modernizing the design and manufacturing of entry-level Part 23 airplanes.**** FAA officials and industry leaders are hopeful the streamlined regulations will result in […]