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I ended up putting an SL30 in as a second Nav/Comm almost by accident, but I'm really glad I did. Far superior to any other Nav/Comm out there, I use it all the time. The "monitor" function is one that sounded like an "eh, ok" feature, but in practice I use it all the time. Great for...

Not really that rare. Can be caused by FOD or by undetected fatigue cracks in the blades. Not to pick on DC-10s, but the famous no control DC-10 at Sioux City was caused by an uncontained failure of the center engine, they eventually found most of the fan in a cornfield. There was another...

The other reason for the 15 minute out call is to (hopefully) give the pax waiting for pickup a heads up to drink up their coffee, make their last trip to the potty and gather their bags so that we can get turned around and on the way quickly. And it isn't always for the big guys. Going into...

Heck, don't all pilots make the $100 hamburger run now and then? I don't see anything wrong with telling folks that flying somewhere just for the fun of it (and that burger) is a good time. Bad tip on the inverse relationship between airplane decor and food quality, though. The Spruce Goose...

Boy oh boy, I bet that was a long, long ride down from FL 210. My days of single engine flying at night over the mountains are long over. Jay

Interesting story on NPR this morning. After the 2003 fires in SD County, the fire department wanted to add 22 stations and more county owned helos. Voters turned it down and left San Diego to rely on state and federal resources for aerial fire fighting. LA county, on the other hand, has...

Why wait? Ski now on Mount Hood. Jay

My Twinkie has them, part of the Robertson conversion. As Ken noted, they seem to do more for low speed handling than speed. Jay

Good luck, Bruce! FWIW, the Century 2000 in my Twinkie works like a charm. 414? Jay

I spent 4 years on active duty and 8 in the reserves as a Marine, so you know where my biases are. I personally think that one of the worst decisions ever made was separating the Air Force from the Army. Air is most effective when it is closely tied to surface combat elements, and too often...

Full disclosure, I'm an ICS officer. Obviously, I think ICS is worthwhile. It is both a social and a technical organization. The "Flyer" (monthly magazine) has interesting technical articles, and the ICS technical committee answers questions on the forum. The folks on that committee are A&Ps...

The fastest certified civilian airplane in current production is a Cessna. I'm just surprised that they aren't blocked on flightaware. Jay

I've only used Flight Service twice in the past 4 months, once on the phone and once in the air, both times things worked fine. With DUATS and the Aviation Weather Center online and XM weather in the cockpit, I just don't need to talk to briefers that much any more. Jay

Go to: http://www.stolaircraft.com/ And watch the video about halfway down the page on the right side. It gets very interesting about 4 minutes in when they start flying. Jay

One thing to consider is the engine history, and just what was done on that last overhaul. How many hours are actually on key components like the cam and the crank shaft? I have a friend who had to overhaul an engine (IO-540) due to cam spalling. The engine had only 1,200 hours SMOH. But...

On the 421 trip an alternate was not required (the weather was a California marine layer). On my 760, I use the reserve fuel amount shown in cruise. I due frequently get the flashing digits for low fuel during climbout, but I ignore that. If it is a normal landing, then I actually land with...

A couple of times on trips from the Pacific Northwest to Southern California I've been able to hit the mountain wave over the Sierras just right and "surf" for up to 100 miles with "boost" of up to 30 kts. Good fun! Of course, what goes up must come down, so you can also get clobbered by...

91.126 as it applies to helicopters would dictate that the helo remain clear of fixed wing aircraft on the taxiway as well as in the pattern. Jay

My favorite vanity N number story involves an airplane based at KHIO. The owner of this plane wanted a specific number that was already in service on a motor glider. The story is that a significant amount of cash was paid to the motor glider owner to encourage him to get a different number...

The Twinkie has a Century 2000 with altitude hold. It holds altitude within 10 feet, heading within a couple of degrees and is absolutely rock solid in approach mode. In fact the first time I flew a coupled approach I thought something was wrong because the needles were so solidly centered...