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Remarks

Master Pilot

Perhaps you know of the FAA’s Wright Brothers Master Pilot award recognizing 50 years of safe flying. I looked into it but the documentation...

Circle From An ILS?

Recently a reader wrote to ask me a question that’s been provoking a lot of thought here in the IFR virtual offices. This particular...

Autoland-No Thanks

When you stop and think about it, autoland in GA was inevitable. We’ve had the technology for decades, so it was merely a matter...

Safe, or Not?

The article “Deep Dive into Mins” on Page 16 mentions a change earlier this year by the FAA, allowing us to fly faster than...

“Know When to Fold ‘Em”

Recently I had an e-mail conversation with a friend who’s also been a contributor to these pages. I’ll fictitiously call him “Hal.” Hal started...

You Meet The Nicest People

Last September, my Remarks lamented my experiences with FlyThisSim, trying to get delivery of a simulator I’d paid for long ago. Readers of this...

State of the Industry

Those of you who regularly read my remarks have probably noticed that I don’t often take on global subjects, instead preferring to discuss narrow...

Bite the Bullet

Am I upset thinking the inspector unnecessarily picked nits? No. He was just extremely thorough and that's what I claim I want. I am a bit frustrated with the situation and that it wasn't caught before now, but the whole thought exercise has been enlightening, and a good test of my resolution to maintain my aircraft as thoroughly as possible.

CHECK NOTAMS

Contributing Editor Fred Simonds sent me a brief There I Was story that he published elsewhere. Not being one to let a good idea slip by without exploiting it, Ive borrowed the topic and moral for these remarks. Heres my True Confessions story.

Bigger Class B?

I used to fly out of an airport on the coast just south of the San Francisco Class B. While controllers tried to permit transit, there was no guarantee. If they also have a 91.131(a)(2) problem, that Miami solution would seem attractive to San Francisco. The result for VFR traffic on a trip headed north might be to add up to 100 miles or more to bypass the Class B to the east, or a deviation far out over the Pacific Ocean, neither of which is an attractive alternative.

LostMySim

As my simulator was nearing completion in July 2018, Carl left his company because of some conflict with their new investor, Meiya Group, chaired by Roland Pinto. I wont go into specifics, but after paying in full for my simulator about 18 months ago, Mr. Pinto ultimately ignored all my attempts to get my sim. The Cirrus Owners & Pilots Association, another big proponent of FlyThisSim (FTS), has now advised their members, Any dealing with FTS is at high risk of non-delivery and potential loss of funds exchanged.

Living is Risky

Anyway, once we accept that GA flying is dangerous, we can focus on making it less so. Look at maintenance. Tony Saxton of TAS Aviation, a Twin-Cessna specialist, reports that the total number of annuals they can do in a year has decreased by a whopping 28 percent simply because theres more to inspect (from ADs, service bulletins, or just from experience) and more discrepancies to fix; their comprehensive annual merely takes longer.