Jay's posts about his son and flying remind me of the family of my hanger mate. Saturday morning, my instructor and I were standing outside the hanger talking. A car pulls up full of teenagers. I recognize at least 2 of them as my hanger mate's kids and I know from talking to him that they have...

Cessna SkyCatcher HQ to Be Announced This Week CESSNA TO BUILD SKYCATCHER OVERSEAS (http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/1004-full.html#196645) Cessna CEO Jack Pelton has confirmed what many suspected when the Cessna 162 Skycatcher -- and its $109,000 price tag --...

http://www.star-telegram.com/business/story/322928.html "Airline executives say recruiting less experienced pilots is necessary because the pool of applicants is shrinking while demand for pilots grows." "A starting pilot at Trans States, a regional airline that flies for American under the...

On top of last week's A340 incident, now an A330 experienced a sudden depressurization on a shakedown flight. Among the injuries to passengers were spinal injuries. Sounds like the pilot may have abruptly dived the aircraft while some passengers were still standing in the aisle. Or would people...

WHO: The Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum and the Mel Harmon Chapter of the Air Force Association WHAT: are sponsoring a "104th Anniversary of Flight" Celebration WHE at the Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum located on the grounds of the Pueblo Memorial

From this morning's AVweb: "Cessna is one of as many as three suitors for Columbia Aircraft, which has been shopped around by the Malaysian government, its principal investors, for about a year. Analysts say acquiring Columbia would give Cessna instant penetration of the luxury touring market...

I've been trying to come up with some numbers that will impress upon my son the stark rarity and unique nature of his accomplishment as a new Private Pilot. In short, I thought it would be neat to figure out how many pilots have EVER flown, since 1903. It's easy to get the number of US...

The rental 150 was a bit late getting back, and the sun was getting low in the late fall sky. So, we sat around the FBO, basking in the glow of Joe's newly minted Private ticket. One by one, folks stopped to slap Joe on the back, or give him the thumb's up. In one fell swoop, he had gone from...

Yesterday we flew to nearby Amana (C11) to show my sister Iowa's most popular tourist attraction, the Amana Colonies. Amana has a grass strip -- one of the nicest in the Midwest. We had received an inch of snow the night before -- the best kind of snow, too, since it only "stuck' to the grass. ...

I've just bought a TomTom GPS for my car with preloaded road maps of the US and Canada. My question: Will it work in my 172 at 3,000 to 5,000 feet, showing the roads below, etc?

Woo hoo! Our 17-year-old son, Joe, passed his Private checkride today, on a picture-perfect fall afternoon! He flew the rental Cezzna 150 down to Burlington, IA to meet up with his Designated Examiner, an old P-38 Lightning pilot named Tommy Tomkins. He's the same guy that gave Mary her...

After dealing with the doctors and the FAA for the last six months I finally got my class 3 renewed. It's been a year since I last flew. and I can't believe how fast that time went by. So this month I am getting back into the cockpit and in addition to all of the standard maneuvers, I feel I...

Many car companies are beginning to produce more and more cars that are not only good at using less gasoline, but are also better for our environment. With both of these issues being a big concern for many consumers, car manufacturers are presenting to the public more choices in hybrid cars....

I'm trying to figure out what's an appropriate value adjustment to an engine that has an upcoming tbo on the camshaft. Engine: IO360 C1C Lycoming Engine was torn down in 2002 (prop strike inspection), new lifters, new valves, chrome cylinders honed, new rings, about 400 hours ago. Camshaft at...

Many pilots, if they have heard about ADS-B, think that it means free weather. IT DOES NOT This proposal will mandate potentially costly avionics that in my analysis provide little or nothing to the GA pilot. You will still have to keep your Mode C transponder. You won't get free weather.

Any idea what the tax value will be on the AOPA Cardinal? The latest AOPA mag claims about 350K has been invested by various suppliers in the plane. If the tax man thinks it is worth 350K, wouldn't someone need to shell out nearly 100K in taxes to claim it? -- Best...

I was in Sault Ste. Marie on Saturday for my uncle Ray's funeral. After the luncheon, I spent a couple of hours at the Bushplane Museum with two of my cousins: http://picasaweb.google.com/martin.moleski/BushplaneMuseum It's way off the beaten track, but a nice place to visit if you happen to be...

Keep an eye out for those Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, even over urban environments: HOUSTON, MIAMI POLICE TEST UAVS (http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/1004-full.html#196649) Will news helicopters and traffic spotters soon be mixing it up with police drones? That's one...

According to AVweb http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/1004-full.html#196645 Cessna CEO Jack Pelton has confirmed what many suspected when the Cessna 162 Skycatcher - and its $109,000 price tag - were introduced earlier this year. In an interview with The Wichita Eagle, Cessna CEO...

This NPRM needs to be drastically modified to exclude most GA aircraft since it will mandate costly avionics for minimal to no benefit to the GA community. The document and response submittal procedures are available he http://tinyurl.com/2raefd I stringly suggest reading my reply first and...