Have you ever wondered why aviation fuel prices can vary by 50% or more between airports — even ones located just a few miles from each other? EAA’s Mac McClellan thinks it’s because big FBOs provide lots of services and we must pay for them via higher fuel prices. I take a differing view. Read more →
Just as London had the spotlight two summers ago, now it’s Brazil’s turn. Another trip to Salvador de Bahia recently landed on my plate, and this time it came with a ticket to a World Cup match! If only I knew more about soccer. Actually, if only I knew anything about soccer… Read more →
The FAA has seen fit to ban all personal electronic devices from the airline cockpit, as well as strongly recommend a similar prohibition for Part 135 and 91K operators. As one who flies a fair number of overnight, long-haul flights, I think this is a bad idea and one which will hurt rather than help flight safety. Read more →
We put a lot of time and effort into taking care of our flying machines. On a recent trip, I got a rude reminder that our biological machinery needs the same attention. A pulled back muscle turned into a major pain in the neck just as my medical certificate was about to expire. Read more →
For better or worse, the relentless march of technology means we’re more connected than ever, in more places than ever. For the most part that’s good. We benefit from improving communication, situational awareness, and reduced pilot workload in the cockpit. But there’s a dark side to digital connectivity, and in an era of internet-connected refrigerators, toilets, and a/c systems, I predict it’s only a matter of time before we start to see it in our airborne lives. Read more →
While supersonic airliners were all the rage in the 1960s, they never panned out economically because commercial airliners have to turn a profit. But business aircraft do not. They’re simply tools for allowing business to be conducted. In addition, recent technological developments are bringing us closer to mitigating the sonic boom’s impact. It’s clear we’re headed back to that supersonic future to pick up where we left off half a century ago. Read more →
User fees for general aviation have been proposed — and rejected — over and over again for nearly two decades. Today something new is in the works: the Federal government has decided to start with the highways instead. It makes me a bit nervous, and I can’t help but wonder whether GA will be able to make the case against those fees after the “freeway” moniker has been fully transformed into a sad anachronism. Read more →
Just how important is the instructor when it comes to learning to fly? That might be a surprising question for an CFI to ask, but the longer I teach, the more cognizant I become of the many ways in which an instructor can function as a barrier to the student’s progress. And apparently I’m not the only one who feels that way.
Last month, Paul Bertorelli penned (keyed?) an editorial about simulator maven Redbird stepping into the training void created by Cessna’s shift away from the piston market. What caught my eye about the piece was this line: Read more →
As much as one may love flying, it can be a tough career choice. Many pilots struggle through the food chain only to end up discouraged, if not downright hating their job. We’re all aware of the reasons: low pay, long days, little respect, too much time away from home, difficult working conditions, commuting, regulatory hassles, bankruptcies, furloughs, and ruinously expensive training. Quite a list, isn’t it?
On the other hand, life is often what we make of it. From bush flying to firefighting, there are many different gigs out there for those willing to take Frost’s road-less-traveled. For the past three years, for example, I’ve been flying as a “contract pilot” and truly enjoy it. Read more →
Efficient aerobatic instruction is challenging enough when you’re doing a loop, hammerhead, or Cuban. Those figures last ten or fifteen seconds. A snap roll is over in about one second, and what’s happening is far more involved. So how does one teach the ‘snap’ when this complex maneuver is over almost before it starts? The method I’ve settled upon involves using techniques I normally avoid like the plague. Read more →