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Keeping in touch with ATC
February 1, 2008
There is a wealth of meaning to be found in volume, tone of voice, timing and
Digital text messaging might be the preferred communications medium of the future, but when it comes to air traffic control (ATC), pilots and their counterparts on the ground still need a live human voice at the other end of the earphones. Texting may be fine for many forms of messages aloft, and in fact, it has been widely used for years by airlines and many business-jet operators.
The mistake that helped promote aviation
December 1, 2007
The plate block with an inverted Jenny will cost you $3 million.
Manned flight in powered aircraft was only 15 years old when the idea of carrying mail in airplanes seemed doable to the bureaucrats in Washington. The airplane's success during the Great War in Europe-still ongoing- showed a promise of peacetime applications. So it happened on May 1, 1918, that the U.S.
Amateur Aviators
October 1, 2007
It can be difficult for the family on one side of a weather front, where the
In a recent discussion of sports with my British colleague Charles Alcock, he talked about England's historic admiration for what he described as the "gifted amateur." This was illustrated best in the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire, the story of Harold Abrahams, the gold-medal winner in the 100-meter dash at the 1924 Olympics.
Taking off
August 1, 2007
It is your responsibility as a passenger to ensure that the preflight safety
All takeoffs are optional but all landings are mandatory. It's one of those clever dark-humor catchphrases that permeate aviation and it speaks an unerring truth. Once you break ground and clear the security of the runway, you've left behind the one option that absolutely guarantees you will not have an airplane crash today.
Why we can fly
April 1, 2007
With enough power, you can make a barn door fly.
Ask a pilot what keeps an airplane in the sky and he'll most likely talk about the forces of lift, thrust, gravity and drag; power-to-weight ratios; and possibly "airfoils"-the word used to describe the wings' shape. Or maybe he'll answer simply, "Your credit card." Either way, it's not much comfort when you're eight miles above terra firma with no visible means of support.
History Redux
February 1, 2007
Even the vintage prop airplanes from the post-war era have begun to give the
Exactly how do you suppose the imminent arrival of very light jets will change the aviation landscape? We've heard opinions from an army of analysts, but history makes clear the hazards of paying too much heed to "expert" prognostication.
Elegant Escapes
December 1, 2006
Winter flying might be considered better or worse than summer flying, dependi
For private jet travelers intent on satisfying their own "urge for going," winter flights south often begin with a quick, cold dash from the limo or terminal across a wind-blown, icy ramp to a toasty preheated cabin. The rest of the flight passes in climate-controlled comfort until you emerge-relaxed and refreshed-to take on the sun.

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Quote/Unquote

“[New billionaires in fast-growing countries] have to buy longer-range airplanes. If you’re flying from Mongolia to Nigeria, it’s either a three-day journey flying commercial or a nine-hour flight on your jet.”

-Steve Varsano, owner of London’s The Jet Business