Tag Archives: news
Gimli glider's last Air Canada flight
You’ve probably all seen this already, but today the Gimli Glider takes its last flight as an Air Canada aircraft, almost 25 years after its famous power-off glide to a landing in Gimli, Manitoba. The original pilots and some of … Continue reading
It's the runways, stupid
Here’s a statement from the U.S. Air Transport Association (ATA) — the airlines’ lobby group — about variable landing fees for U.S. airports (e.g. higher at peak times, lower other times): “Unfortunately, [the policy] does nothing to fix the primary … Continue reading
Tagged news, system
4 Comments
Global orgasm for peace
Pilots often already have their watches set to UTC, so this should be easy. At the exact minute of the winter solstice tonight, at 06:08 UTC, is the second annual Global Orgasm for Peace To effect positive change in the … Continue reading
Tagged news
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In praise of flying a trainer
From a news story about a new U.S.-run military flight training school in Iraq: The mission shift is particularly acute for [Lt. Col. Mark] Bennett, who flew 15-hour combat missions over Iraq in 2003 and now finds himself forming steadfast … Continue reading
In praise of flight attendants
Like pilots, flight attendants are highly-trained professionals; remember that next time you’re tempted to treat one like a waiter or bellhop (though you shouldn’t treat waiters or bellhops that way, either). To see just how important they are, check out … Continue reading
Unintended consequences
In the U.S., in an attempt to avoid user fees for general aviation, AOPA (the main G.A. advocacy group) worked with the FAA to outsource flight services (briefings, VFR flight plans, etc.) to Lockheed-Martin. AOPA didn’t realize that they were … Continue reading
Tagged canada-us, news, system, tips
3 Comments
Forced landing near Rockcliffe
About three hours ago, a homebuilt Zenith 250 lost power after takeoff from Ottawa/Rockcliffe (my home airport) and made a forced landing in a wooded area a couple of miles east of the airport (CBC News story). It’s a big … Continue reading
Tagged news
8 Comments
"Crash" redefined (again)
For pilots, the word “crash” generally means an high-speed, uncontrolled descent into the ground or similar collision with terrain (such as hitting a mountain in level flight), followed by total destruction of the aircraft and everyone in it. For the … Continue reading
"acting in any capacity other than as a passenger"
The online edition of Sports Illustrated (via CNN) has a story about the NTSB report on the Liddle crash. There’s nothing surprising in the report — the rough outline of the accident chain was obvious early on — but the … Continue reading
Tagged news
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DA-42 engine failure
This incident in Germany raises an interesting question about newer aircraft-engine designs. When the pilot(s) of a Diamond Twinstar arrived to find their battery flat, they started both engines using an auxiliary power unit. That’s not an unusual thing to … Continue reading
Tagged news
5 Comments
Land and Hold Short 