Author Archives: David Megginson

North up or track up?

Posted on January 13, 2007 by David Megginson

I was reading through an article on pilotage [Wikipedia] in the December AOPA Pilot. In general, I found the article enjoyable, but one thing stuck out like a wart — the author’s assumption that people should always read a chart … Continue reading →

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U.S. WWII F4U Corsair training film online

Posted on January 4, 2007 by David Megginson

A friend sent me a link to this 20 minute U.S. government training film for the F4U Corsair (Google Video). Make sure your wings are locked in the down position before takeoff, and remember that you’re burning well in excess … Continue reading →

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Gate shortage foils space invasion

Posted on January 2, 2007 by David Megginson

Some workers at Chicago/O’Hare Airport claim to have seen a UFO on the night of November 7, 2006 (CNN story): it hovered over the field and then climbed rapidly out of sight. The FAA talked a lot about low ceilings … Continue reading →

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Winter flying around the Great Lakes

Posted on December 18, 2006 by David Megginson

There is one really, really, REALLY important rule about winter flying near the Great Lakes: Remember which way the wind’s blowing. Even if there are blue skies everywhere else, a cold wind will often pull streamers of lake effect weather … Continue reading →

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Simple, at last

Posted on December 12, 2006 by David Megginson

It’s been four years, almost to the day, since I bought my 1979 Piper Warrior II, and it’s time for another annual inspection (I’ve moved it up from May to December to avoid missing good flying weather, so this is … Continue reading →

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Changes at Toronto City Centre Airport

Posted on December 11, 2006 by David Megginson

Update: I’ve just received a PDF of the new apron layout from the airport manager. A few weeks ago, I had a coffee with Flyin Dutchman, a local professional pilot here in Ottawa (Dutchman flies a Pilatus PC-12 all over … Continue reading →

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Taking the fun out of flying

Posted on November 26, 2006 by David Megginson

I’m flying to Boston on Sunday for the week to chair the XML 2006 conference. When I fly to New York City, I usually land at Teterboro Airport and park at Atlantic Aviation — the gas is expensive, but my … Continue reading →

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Insurance

Posted on November 20, 2006 by David Megginson

December is insurance-renewal time for me. Fortunately, this year it’s reasonably good news. How airplane insurance works There are two main components to aircraft insurance: liability insurance, which covers claims from people other than you (such as passengers and people … Continue reading →

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Canadian airspace disappears overnight! (casualties of the DAFIF)

Posted on November 1, 2006 by David Megginson

[Update 2006-11-20: it looks like they’ve pulled even the small amount of Canadian data that they can get from the FAA database — there’s nothing but US airports and navaids in there now.] Well, the DAFIF — the free database … Continue reading →

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Serious upper winds

Posted on October 29, 2006 by David Megginson

Check out the low-level upper wind forecast (FD) for Ottawa tomorrow — it looks like the gales of November are coming calling a couple of days early: STN YOW – for use 3000 6000 9000 12000 18000 FDCN03 CWAO FCST … Continue reading →

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