Liability concerns are a major expense and motivator for many industries. That’s why Superman costumes come with warnings that “the cape does not enable the wearer to fly”, Zippo cautions the user not to ignite the lighter in your face, and irons are sold with tags advising against ironing clothes while they’re being worn. But for general aviation, this sort of thing is dragging the lot of us down as surely as a cement block tossed into the murky waters of the East River. Read more →
It’s Christmas for airplane geeks: the wrapping has finally come off the shiny new multi-million dollar toys from those aerodynamic elves at Gulfstream! Here are my thoughts about today’s big reveal of the G500 and G600 business jets. Read more →
Something new is brewing on the eastern shore of Georgia, and it’s going to make a big splash in the aerospace industry soon. Thousands of people on the inside know what it is, but for years the vault door has remained firmly — and admirably — closed. It’s known only by the code name “P42”. Read more →
Drones are the big thing in aviation right now, the growth sector of our industry if ever there was one. But despite the many practical uses for these miniature aircraft, I find it difficult to get excited about them. Am I the only one who feels that way? Read more →
Everyone’s heard the phrase “time is money”. Nothing proves the point better that business aviation, and a recent trip with some retail executives once again reinforced that point as we achieved what would have been impossible with any other form of transportation. Read more →
Aviators can be an ambitious lot. We want to go places (no pun intended), and feel like we should always be progressing toward larger airplanes, new ratings, more hours. Sometimes I’ll hear an aviator speak in apologetic terms about their flying because they “only” fly this or that. Whether the subject is their aircraft, training, or experience, there’s no cause for apologies. Quite the opposite. Don’t be fooled by the number of ratings on a pilot’s certificate, or assume they’re a better aviator because their logbook has more hours than yours. Read more →
Thus far, airline ab initio programs haven’t been a major part of the landscape here in the U.S. because our aviation sector is fairly robust. We are blessed with flying jobs which build the experience, skill, and time necessary for larger, more complex aircraft. But it might become an attractive option for airlines because the cost of learning to fly has risen dramatically over the past decade while the benefits (read: money) remain too low for too long. Airlines can cure the shortage by training pilots from zero hours… but at what cost? Read more →
Nashville brings to mind country music and the Grand Ol’ Opry, but it’s also home to classic Greek architecture, Vanderbilt University, and some of the country’s finest barbeque. I just got back from a quick trip to the “Athens of the South” and really loved it. Read more →
Things happen quickly when the engine quits at low altitude. Doesn’t it makes sense that the time to prepare for emergent situations is before they occur? If the answer is yes, then I wonder why takeoff briefings are not typically taught or performed in single-engine airplanes. I think they should be, because they’re as important — if not more so — in a single than the multi-engine airplanes where they’ve long been standard procedure. Read more →
Corporate & charter flying is already pretty safe, but I believe we can do even better. Perhaps instead of focusing primarily engine failures, we ought to look at the things that are causing accidents for a particular aircraft type and add them to a database of training scenarios which can be enacted in the simulator without prior notice. In other words, more teaching and less testing. Read more →