What I wish someone would talk about is whether these mega-corporations are really too big to fix.  Rather than putting them on public life support, would it be better to let them slip away into history?

If she is in a hurry to set the alarm, it can be as much as 15 minutes early or late.  If I am in a hurry, I am likely to get a very precise 12 hour error.

“Fools ignore complexity. Pragmatists suffer it. Some can avoid it. Geniuses remove it.” - Alan Perlis, Computer Scientist

There is no question that my alarm is the more complex of the two, so I suppose it is no surprise that it would be more prone to operator error.  This relationship is found in our cockpits as well.  Avionics have made a huge jump in capability, and complexity, over the last decade.  I often instruct in aircraft equipped with the Garmin G1000 and Avidyne Entegra glass cockpit systems.  While I feel I am very proficient in their use, I still learn new things about them from time to time.  And you customers have to work hard to learn to take advantage of everything these systems can do. (more…)

In many ways, the addition of WAAS is a subtle change.  There is no WAAS switch and no WAAS light to tell you it is working.  It does, however, add some very useful capabilities.  Among these are the ability to navigate vertically as well as horizontally.  The system will provide guidance during descents in cruise and on instrument approaches.  The glide path it displays looks and works very much like the glide slope for an ILS approach.  There is also a general upgrade in the accuracy of lateral guidance over GPS-only equipment.

The primary benefit of WAAS lies in its ability to provide accurate vertical guidance.  So many accidents result from the pilots’ lack of awareness of where the airplane is relative to a safe descent path.  The WAAS system, properly used, can help to fill that gap.

WAAS capability comes with a price, however, and that is additional complexity.  To fully take advantage of its capabilities requires additional programming and an enhance knowledge of the modes of operation and displays.  Autopilots designed to take advantage of WASS also have more features, and therefore a steeper learning curve.

Like so many technological innovations over the past several years, WAAS requires a bit of training before the pilot can really take advantage of it.  This is yet another reason to be sure you spend some quality time with your instructor to receive personalized training on the equipment you use.

The newest revision of the “Instrument Flying Handbook” includes material on basic instrument flying using the new generation of glass cockpit instrumentation. This book is a companion to the “Instrument Procedures Handbook” , which was also revised this year to update information on GPS, RNAV, and RNP procedures. Together, these are excellent resources for any instrument pilot.

Until recently, FAA guidance on the conduct of an Instrument Proficiency Check (IPC) was vague and out of date. In August 2007, however, FAA released “Instrument Proficiency Check (IPC) Guidance” , a document that gives instrument instructors and pilots helpful hints on how to prepare for and conduct the IPC. Complementing the IPC book is “Conducting an Effective Flight Review”. Together, these two books provide solid recurrent training guidance for just about any instructor or pilot.

Another excellent resource is last year’s “General Aviation Pilot’s Guide to Preflight Weather Planning, Weather Self-Briefings, and Weather Decision Making”. This provides excellent tips on weather strategy and tactics.

Finally, FAA has been promoting the use of scenario-based training for the last few years. A clear and understandable guide to this training technique is found in “Introduction to Scenario-Based Training”.

Represented by their industry group, the Air Transport Association, they are lobbying for yet another round of cost cuts. In the recent past, they have robbed their employees, vendors, and stockholders in their efforts to reduce costs to match their artificially low prices. Now they are casting business jets as the bad guys – responsible for delays and all manner of ills that cost the airlines money. The balance sheet, of course, is the issue. The airlines don’t seem to consider their lack of ability to provide good service to their customers a problem.

I’m sure it is no secret that I don’t hold the airlines in particularly high regard. For decades they have proven they are unable to solve the most fundamental equation of business: Profit equals price minus cost. The number of airlines that have failed, or have passed through bankruptcy, is astounding. (more…)

1. You don’t have to stay on the airplane for 8 hours when you divert.
2. You don’t get treated like a terrorist upon arrival at the airport.
3. You get to pick who you sit next to.
4. The weather in New York doesn’t make your flight from Dallas to Phoenix late.
5. Some guy in a golf cart doesn’t yell at you to get out of his way in the terminal.
6. There is never another plane at your gate when you arrive early.
7. You don’t have to wait for your luggage, and it NEVER gets lost.
8. Your airplane will not go bankrupt an hour before you get to the airport.
9. You don’t have to wait for the crew to arrive from Cleveland.
10. You don’t arrive with 5 minutes to change planes while sitting in seat 36A.

One of the newer ones is the “whole aircraft parachute” system.  Such systems float the entire airplane down to the ground, and have been adopted widely in the ultralight community.  Under the name of CAPS (Cirrus Airframe Parachute System), this equipment is installed on every Cirrus Design product.  These systems are credited with saving numerous lives, but are still the object of passionate debate in airport lounges and online forums.  Folks either love them or hate them.  (more…)