Perfect Christmas Gift for Aviation Enthusiasts - FlyAbout Movie DVD

For Christmas, buy aviation enthusiasts a copy of the movie FlyAbout and watch it with the family. Better yet, buy it as a gift for a young person to help inspire him or her to get their Private certificate. Words are inadequate to describe the beauty of the film. FlyAbout chronicles a young woman’s four-week trip around Australia with her father in a Cessna 172. You’ll see beautiful scenery and exotic animals. Best of all, (www.maxtrescott.com) More...

Passenger jet and cargo plane came within 100 feet

A US Airways jetliner last week came within 100 feet of colliding with a small cargo plane near the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, according to the National Transportation Safety Board, which announced Thursday it is investigating the incident. "Neither pilot saw the other aircraft because they were in the clouds, although the captain of the US Airways flight reported hearing the Beech 99 pass nearby." (www.startribune.com) More...

New Jersey Pilot Kills Himself and Son in Predictable Plane Crash

Preliminary NTSB report on a Private Pilot who took off into a 300 foot overcast with predictable results. Includes quotes from local newspaper and wife that speak to the state of mind of the pilot before takeoff. (www.maxtrescott.com) More...

Instrument Flying with GPS—What Your Flight Instructor Didn’t Teach You!

Instrument flying is a “bet the ranch” proposition. If you don’t do it well, it can hasten your demise. Modern GPS receivers increase your potential capability, but require increasing amounts of training and practice to get the most from them. Here’s an excerpt from a new GPS & WAAS Instrument Flying Handbook that teaches alternate ways of flying an instrument approach. (www.maxtrescott.com) More...

SPOT 2 Satellite GPS Messenger

My testing of SPOT, an innovative, satellite-based system popular with hikers, boaters and pilots that lets others track your position via the Internet. A SPOT user can send several different pre-programmed messages via a commercial satellite that triggers emails or text messages to up to ten friends’ cell phones. (www.maxtrescott.com) More...

New Seaplane Video - Water Landing with Low clouds around

Great seaplane video with cameras mounted outside aircraft. Earlier, the weather was 1/4 mile visibility and 100 foot vertical visibility at the Byron, Calif. airport, but by the time the plane arrived the clouds had blown to the east and risen a few hundred feet. So the plane was able to get under the clouds and shoot some excellent video while remaining outside of the clouds. (www.youtube.com) More...

New NTSB 830 Rules May Increase Reports of Near Mid-Air Collisions

The pilots of United Flight 889 initiated the report of their near mid-air collision near San Francisco last week. New NTSB rules may make those reports more common, so don’t be surprised if the number of reported near mid-air collisions rises in the coming year. Pilots in particular need to know about changes last month to NTSB 830 that add new reporting requirements for abnormal events. (www.maxtrescott.com) More...

American Airlines Jet Scrapes Wingtip Landing at Charlotte: Pilots May Have Violated Procedures

n Sunday night, an American Airlines jet scraped a wingtip while landing in poor visibility at the Charlotte, N.C. Airport, according to an article in the online version of the Wall Street Journal. It states that the NTSB is “expected to look at whether fatigue may have played a role in the performance of the pilots. (www.maxtrescott.com) More...

Review: New book by Flying Magazine's Lane Wallace

Readers of Flying Magazine will instantly recognize Lane Wallace as a magazine columnist who writes about her flying adventures around the world. Her new book, available through Sporty’s, is Unforgettable: My Best 10 Flights. I just finished reading it and Lane gets my nomination for Poet Laureate of General Aviation. You can read the full review here. (www.maxtrescott.com) More...

GA Pilots in Europe Taking Advantage of Airliner Free Skies

The volcanic ash clouds creating havoc for the airlines in Europe are also creating unprecedented opportunities. With air traffic interrupted, workers are patching runways and general aviation pilots are making low passes at airports they rarely get to fly over. Includes Photos from low pass at Dublin International. (www.maxtrescott.com) More...