Performance in simulated training can predict a pilot’s success.

When Does “Sharing” Become Illegal Charter? The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 contains a section entitled “Report on Illegal Charter Flights.” The law includes several requirements to identify and combat illegal charter flights. The FAA has been revising inspector guidelines. They even sent a letter to every pilot on record about the new emphasis on […]

Do You Feel Lucky? Even before Covid-19, the aviation insurance had become painful for aircraft operators. Aircraft owners are seeing premium increases in the 20%-30% range on all renewals. Owners with recent claims are experiencing even higher premium increases. Why? The aviation insurance market ended an unusually long “soft” market. Competition drove down premiums, so […]

The FAA is Coming For years the FAA’s lack of budget dictated cut backs on “non-essential travel” to places like: airports. Budget cutbacks also resulted in Flight Standards Offices (formerly known as FSDOs, or GADOs if you are older) migrating from convenient airport office buildings to cheaper office parks that are nowhere near an airport. And of […]

The NTSB Investigates, It Doesn’t Enforce The National Transportation Safety Board is unique within the massive federal organization chart. One might expect to find it next to the FAA among the “subsidiaries” of the Department of Transportation. The NTSB was originally established in 1967, but in 1974, Congress reestablished the NTSB as a completely separate […]

Rewriting FAR Part 135 Rest & Duty In one of my favorite movie scenes, a swashbuckling pirate is about to lead the beautiful princess into a dark morass of vegetation. The princess stops short and says, “We can’t go in there! It’s the Fireswamp! We will never come out alive!” The pirate confidently replies, “Nonsense. […]