This July 2010 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others. Aircraft: Beech Bonanza. Injuries: 2 Fatal. Location: Perry, Kan. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The pilot, who had in excess of 3,000 hours, of […]
Six hours in a Cirrus
I’d like to think I pondered the offer of a ride in a new Cirrus to Idaho Falls and back to Seattle for more than a few seconds, but in reality, I don’t think Cirrus Aircraft Sales Rep Ivy McIver actually finished her offer before I replied… “YES!” Ivy grinned and said, “My Mom is […]
Cirrus: The sum of its parts
The Cirrus SR22T is a wonderful airplane to fly. The G1000-based Cirrus Perspective puts decision-making information at the pilot’s fingertips. Separately, each part (airframe and avionics) is unquestionably state of the art. Together, they blow the doors off the envelope. But what about safety? There is much argument about whether the “Cirrus pilot” is a […]
Is spin resistance a big deal? Well, yes!
On Memorial Day I had a chance to visit Icon Aircraft and spend some time with CEO Kirk Hawkins. We met seven years ago — just after the Sport Pilot/Light-Sport Aircraft (LSA) rule was released — near the beginning of his ambitions to create an entirely clean-sheet LSA amphibian. Recently, Icon released a video to […]
Finding that silver lining…
Only our intrepid “Politics for Pilots” blogger Jamie Beckett could find a silver lining in a hurricane. But he did in this post from another of his ventures, FlightMonkeys.com.
The Map of My Dead Pilots: The Dangerous Game of Flying in Alaska
There are some books about aviation that are so spot-on, so gritty, that you are compelled to hide them from the aviation squeamish. “The Map of My Dead Pilots: The Dangerous Game of Flying in Alaska” is one of these books. The book was written by Colleen Mondor, who drew upon her four years of […]
Flying car completes Phase 1 flight testing
The production prototype of the Terrafugia Transition — a flying car — has completed the first phase of its flight test program. Phase 1 flight testing, conducted at Plattsburgh International Airport in Plattsburgh, N.Y, allowed Terrafugia to check off many critical early testing objectives for the Transition program, said Terrafugia CEO Carl Dietrich, who added, […]
New engine monitoring system for the iPad unveiled
A year after releasing the first iPad compatible Attitude and Heading Reference System (AHRS-G mini), Levil Technology has now unveiled engine monitoring capabilities with the introduction of the iLevil for mobile devices. With built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi support, the iLevil offers pilots the ability to customize their system by choosing any combination of the following: […]
‘Plane Talk’ to broadcast live from 99s conference
IMC Radio’s “Plane Talk,” a live-streaming aviation internet radio talk show sponsored by the IMC Club International, will be broadcasting four two-hour shows live from its remote studio at the 2012 International 99s Conference in Providence, Rhode Island, starting July 11 and continuing through July 14. The live broadcasts will be from 2 p.m. to […]