“The New York Times called it a ‘fine landing’ and reported it had been widely called ‘a feat of aeronautics.’” A friend passed the story to me from the popular Imgur website. According to the June 4, 2016 New York Times story, Thomas Fitzpatrick landed a stolen plane “on St. Nicholas Avenue in northern Manhattan,” […]
Opinion
One of aviation’s guilty pleasures
By JEB BURNSIDE. “If you have time to spare, go by air” is one of many truisms associated with traveling by aircraft. It’s perhaps rooted most deeply in general aviation, where no matter how hard we may try, a schedule is merely a guideline — which means a lot of waiting. Glance around a typical FBO […]
Finding safety, longevity, and diversity in numbers
Living beings have a strong tendency to travel in packs, schools, prides, pods, or convocations. Whether they find a home in the sea, on the land, or in the air, living in a congregation is the norm more often than not. Even early humans lived and travelled in tribes for very good reason. This propensity […]
The little shows that could
In the world of airshows, two names quickly jump to mind: AirVenture Oshkosh and SUN ‘n FUN in Lakeland, Florida. These major events draw hundreds of thousands of pilots and capture the world’s attention. Little shows, not so much. But… Most readers may recall the childhood story of the “Little Engine That Could,” and that captions […]
Good job, just not good enough
Good news everyone, NTSB Chairman Christopher A. Hart says we are doing better. “Even though the fatality rate in 2015 was the lowest it has been in many years,” said Hart when the 2015 aviation accident statistics were released, “376 people still lost their lives.” If you click through to the “Data & Stats” link […]
Are you experienced?
It’s been said for many years the private pilot certificate is a license to learn. The underlying intent of the statement holds that with a private pilot certificate we have the freedom to get out and fly, to gain experience, and through that experience we might become better pilots. That was the idea, anyway. In […]
Cold case
“It was a close call,” wrote the captain in her report to NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System. “If we had not realized what was happening and acted on it, all the occupants of the aircraft would have likely lost consciousness and suffocated.” What catastrophic event caused one airline captain to have a near-death experience on […]
Full Stop: An attitude check
When I was a kid, I had big dreams. Really big dreams. If you’re the kind of person who regularly reads General Aviation News, you probably did too. For years I thought I might play in the NFL. That was until I played freshman football in high school. At a diminutive 4’ 11” and well […]
What engine is best for my Long-EZ?
As far as which engine is the most reliable high horsepower Lycoming engine for your plane, it’s a little difficult to name just one.