We have a less than ideal airport layout with intersecting runways, view-limiting terrain, and published data ignored by the locals. Why, yes, that does seem like a good recipe for an accident, doesn’t it?
Questions from the Cockpit: U know it now
Elijia, a student pilot in Florida, writes: I’m confused about how private airports are shown on sectional charts. Most of them just show a circle with the letter R inside — why not the more logical P for private? And others have the more standard symbol, but then after the name of the airport it says (Pvt).
Human Factors: Fuel factors
At the accident site, an Amazon warehouse parking lot in Akron, Ohio, investigators found no fuel in the 1973 Cessna 172M’s tanks, lines, or carburetor bowl — and only trace amounts in the fuel filter.
Questions from the Cockpit: Sailplane vs. glider
Kenny, a flight instructor in Florida, asks: What’s the difference between a sailplane and a glider?
Human Factors: A competitive environment
What can we learn from a fatal crash at a STOL competition?
Seeing double
When most pilots hear “twins,” they can be forgiven for thinking of airplanes with two engines. But in this case, the twins are pilots: 17-year-old identical twins Sophia and Scarlette McIntyre, students at Albuquerque Aviation Academy, who earned their private pilot certificates before graduating from high school.
Questions from the Cockpit: Old(er) vs. new(er)
Adam, a private pilot in Georgia, writes: I’m tired of the hassles of renting to feed my passion. It’s time to pony up and become an airplane owner. I’ve read up on everything and think I know what I’m in for. But I do have one item that I’m getting differing opinions on, so I’d like your wisdom: Should I go for a good deal on an older airplane and have some money left over to make it nice, or should I go for something newer, basically buying all the airplane that I can afford? My budget is more in car-buying territory than in house-buying territory.
Human Factors: Break out the booze
If you think it’s OK for you to drink when you fly, that you can handle it, you are wrong. And if you know someone who drinks before flying, or drinks in-flight, you need to intervene.
Questions from the Cockpit: Fake weight
Becky, a student pilot in Florida, writes: I’m fully caffeinated and working my way through Chapter 10 of the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge to get my head around this weight and balance stuff. I just encountered “standard weights.” The good book says that standard weights are “established weights” and “should be used if actual weights are not available.” Then the first thing on the list is gasoline at 6 pounds per gallon. Huh? How can the weight of gas be a mystery? It weighs what it weighs…right?