Pilot Proficiency

The Flight School Association of North America says the association is trying to mitigate effects of the government shutdown on some flight training providers, specifically FAA Part 141 and 142 training school authorizations set to soon expire. Without relief, some schools could be left providing training under Part 61 that does not allow for some […]

“That’s what notams are. They are just a bunch of garbage that nobody pays any attention to.” It would be a dramatic statement regardless of who said it. But this was Robert Sumwalt, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, speaking at a hearing. Sumwalt had reason to be upset. An Air Canada jetliner had […]

It is said that a second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience. The same might be said of a second attempt at buying a jet just a few months after having suffered a painful breakup. Things are surely different the second time around. My first jet-buying experience was mostly characterized by lust. I […]

The 225-hour commercial pilot, 55, had built his JD-2 Dyke Delta in St. Louis and, after several test flights there, took it to Safford, Arizona. Originally intended as a roadable aircraft, the JD-2 had folding wings and sufficiently springy main gear and large tires to allow it to be towed behind a car. It made […]

Sporty’s has announced a schedule of free, interactive, educational webinars on a variety of useful aviation topics scheduled throughout the year. Attendees of the live events must register and the webinars are available online through GoToWebinar. Past webinars from Sporty’s are available through the company’s Youtube channel on topics such as ADS-B; weather strategies; flight […]

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has expanded its face-to-face professional programs on the Daytona Beach Campus in Florida, as well as teamed with HFACS, Inc. to expand its human factors and aviation safety short-course offerings. ERAU provides open-enrollment seminars and can create customized training programs to meet the needs of the aviation industry. The new classes include […]

On the last Saturday in January – this Saturday in fact – the Chicago chapter of the 99s holds its VFR/IFR aviation safety expo typically drawing 300 people from Northern Illinois, Southern Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana, mostly pilots in search of a day of brush-up training. Noted aviator Amelia Earhart was the first president of […]

If you are one of many pilots thoroughly confused by the process of deciphering weather data prior to a flight, one of the most important components of a preflight, here is one way to bring some clarity. AvWx Workshops is offering one-on-one training that breaks down the gathering and deciphering of weather information through PowerPoint […]

When Cirrus aircraft began entering the market around the turn of this century, some pundits were certain the new-age, glass-cockpit airplane was just what the industry needed to improve the single-engine safety record. As it turned out, the first decade or so of Cirrus operations were marred by more than a few fatal accidents, despite […]

Ahead of next month’s release by the NTSB of its Most Wanted List of safety priorities, the Aviation Safety Network published its 2018 statistics that showed 15 fatal airliner accidents, that resulted in 556 fatalities. “Despite several high-profile accidents, 2018 was one of the safest years ever for commercial aviation.” ASN said last year was […]