Hi again, I am about 10 hours from my Commercial ticket and plan to have my CFI my the end of the year. AOPA legal plan would be ~$52/year for Commercial/CFI Any comments...good/bad/indifferent??? Thanks, Don Don Byrer

I have flown it 6~7 times now, and still find starting the engine of new Cessna 172S quite tricky, and often I have to try two or three times to start it. I never had problem in older C172s. So what's the trick, guys? How much throttle (1/8, 1/4 or 1/2 inch) do you open? How fast do you advance...

Looking for pilot beta testers to help us test a new Metar weather txt messaging service. Your account is free in exchange for helping us to test. Visit us at www.wxnotice.com.

See video of a hard(ish) landing at: http://www.flightlevel350.com/viewer.php?id=4137 Did this guy land a bit short of the runway or was his glidepath a bit too shallow? Something else? It's hard to tell from the video but maybe some PA-32 drivers can give some insight. Or maybe someone fluent...

I just noticed the new Fujitsu P1500... Check this one out.... http://store.shopfujitsu.com/fpc/Ecommerce/buildseriesbean.do?series=P15D Small form factor, 1024x600 resolution, touch screen (not active digitizer), convertible form factor so keyboard is built in. 2.2 lbs, roughly 9" x 6" size...

As expected, gas prices are dropping like a stone around here. As of this afternoon they are down to $2.89 per gallon, after peaking at $3.28 a gallon just after Katrina. (This for the cheapest grade, of course.) That's "only" 60 cents per gallon more than pre-Katrina prices, so I guess there...

Back when Andrew came through, the damage created tremendous and lasting shortages of building materials. Plywood became unobtainable in the northeast for a short period of time and scarce for nearly a year after that. Prices went up and stayed there. A few years later, manufacturers reduced the...

Montblack wrote: This was a neat pic. That's all :-) From AvWeb today: "Diamond Dropout Landing at ORD" http://www.avweb.com/newspics/potw04_1136.jpg T-34s. That's a fun airplane.

Don't forget to stop by your hospital or your local Red Cross & donate some blood folks.

Can anyone verify this? (from NORDO NEWS) WHAT DOES JET FUEL HAVE TO DO WITH FLYING A CHAMP? * Why should you be concerned about the recent addition of a highway tax on jet fuel?** Well, the authorities believe highway operators are buying jet fuel because it is cheaper than diesel (no hwy tax)...

I heard that one of the Eclipse test aircraft landed gear up officially due to pilot error. This is supposed to be a truely smart aircraft... It has a fully integrated flight control system. It knows where you are, how high you are, how fast you are, It should know if the gear is down. It has a...

Hi, Our RHV-based club (San Jose) just increased its prices by $2/gal/hr effective immediately; 172s are now over $100, Arrow is $130 - I don't even want to think what the Duchess will be when it gets its new engines (pilor error gear up). They said it was entirely due to fuel prices. I asked if...

A friend of ours has been after us to fly up to Ames, IA (home of "the other" Iowa university, Iowa State) to go flying with the "Silent Knights" soaring club for months. Today was the planned day, but things were up in the air after my mother-in law passed away unexpectedly on Sunday. Mary has...

Hi, I am interested in finding out about the American School of Aviation. They used to operate out of Reid-Hillview airport in San Jose. I believe they've now moved to Castle airport near Merced. Have people heard about this flight school? Have you had your training there? Good experiences?...

Lester Holt of MSNBC, a pilot, just did a pretty good story on Angel Flight and Brothers Keeper operations in Baton Rouge. Pretty nice. Jim

I have a couple aviation headsets (not active noise suppression) that I'm thinking of taking to the NASCAR race in California in September. I can plug my handheld scanner into the portable intercom, so that appears to make a good package. Although I've never been to one I've heard the track noise...

AvWeb has an interesting article on a recent NTSB report calling for the FAA to do more to improve pilot awareness of the effect of weather on flight. I would guess we are going to see a new round of aviation weather safety programs, if there is money in the budget for them.

I know I am a couple of models behind as far as the portables go, I would LOVE to buy a 396 but just can't justify it right now. I rent from a flying club where every plane has a different combination of ADF/VOR/LORAN/GPS , and they all work differently, no manuals for the GPS or LORAN units (if...

It's been an incredibly busy summer, and I haven't had time to update -- or announce updates -- in our rec.aviation "Rogues Gallery" since well before Oshkosh. Well, that nonsense ends right NOW -- it's time to get back with the program! What is this "Rogues Gallery" you ask? It's a webpage...

Hello All, Hoping some experts/old timers here might help me on a basic Radio Range question. I understand the principle of merging the A's and the N's to get the on-beam signal. I have been told that, while originally this merge created a continuous, uninterrupted tone except for the station...