Regardless of what you think constitutes uncomfortably cold, winter brings risks to us all. That’s true when driving over a combination of packed snow and ice to an intersection near the bottom of a downhill grade, and it’s true when we climb into an airplane to fly through that thick, clear winter air.
Opinion
Flight training regulations need to be updated
As Congress tackles a long-term reauthorization bill for the FAA, it’s time to tackle a hotly debated topic in flight training: Increasing the number of hours a pilot can log as part of the 1,500 hours the FAA requires to become an Airline Transport Pilot.
Pay attention
I can’t imagine why the city would want to annex the land if development wasn’t the ultimate plan.
Stay in your lane
The doctor in a 2023 turbocharged Cirrus doesn’t get the right of way over a student pilot in a 1950s trainer simply because the aircraft is more impressive. There are rules about this sort of thing. We would do well to stay in our lane, follow the rules, and respect those who share the skies and the airport facilities with us.
Should I preheat the oil in my aircraft engine during the winter?
Question for Paul McBride, the General Aviation News engines expert: I saw your recent column, “Should I pre-oil these Lycoming engines?,” and I was wondering does CamGuard help? Cold oil doesn’t splash very well, so how about pre-heating the engine and oil?
STC vs ASTM: What’s best for unleaded fuels?
There is some confusion as to how the ASTM process compares to Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) approval for the unleaded fuels that will replace 100LL. Some people even think that they are basically the same. In reality they are very different and most of that difference goes back to our old friend liability.
Family brings the future into reality
The Wright brothers did the impossible, which then became the improbable. Eventually transitioning into the realm of the mundane with flights being so common, safe, and affordable that virtually everyone you or I know has flown. That wasn’t true when I was a kid. It was absolute fantasy when Orville was a child.
Questions from the Cockpit: What’s up with pilots who keep busting TFRs?
Randy, a commercial pilot in Massachusetts, writes: What’s up with these morons who keep busting Presidential TFRs? It seems like I read about this happening way too often. And then it always gets played up in the general media and it makes the rest of us pilots look bad!
A tale of two towers
Frederick Municipal Airport in Maryland has two towers: A modern one that keeps things flowing safely at the airport. The old tower has been transformed into a restaurant that captures the history of the airport.