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We lost another Twin Cessna 414 (not A) today.  It occurred as it approached John Wayne Airport. For those of you who don’t know about the Twin Cessna line, the 414 was an early adaption of the 421 fuselage using the 340 wing system with the tip tanks.  Compared to the 414A where the fuel […]

This course consist of roughly six hours of training. We focus on the basics of engine loss beginning on the take off roll and then proceeding to failure after lift off. We cover the proper technique to verify a “go – no go” decision on the roll before Vr and proper shutdown. We then proceed

We are seeing more pilots who are taking their aircraft and installing the most advanced electronics on the market. It is the comparison of what we call in Texas the $500 saddle on the $100 horse. When these people come in for simulator training, they cannot work the equipment and, in our opinion, literally creating

James Carvel in an election year stated in an interview that when all was said and done the election was based on the “economy.” From this the phrase “it is about the economy stupid” evolved. In aviation we take it one step further. “It is about the maintenance.” I am leaving off the last word.

Why Do We Do What We Do? Losing an engine at FL210 and bringing in that aircraft to a landing on a 5,000 foot runway with clear skies and good visibility should not be a problem for a properly trained pilot. This happened to a 421C pilot with passengers on board (his family) in Alabama

I have had two engine failures in single engine aircraft and one oil line failure in a P Navajo that required a shut down.  I have also had two twin shut downs just to assure the engine would be saved. The single engine failure were maintenance item failures.  One was a broken mixture cable with

As an attorney who works both sides of the insurance policies I have seen some strange things. As I tell clients, insurance is a “fire extinguisher” that puts out a “fire” or rather pays for damages both physical and bodily injury. To begin with, insurance companies have two duties, one to defend and one to

Aircraft Simulator Training was featured in a recent edition of The Twin Cessna Flyer magazine. View the full article.

Pay Me Now or You Will Pay Later – Promise There is a reason why pilots of large complicated aircraft are trained in simulators.  First, it is cheaper to operate a simulator.  Second, you can accomplish more in the simulator than you can in the aircraft.  Finally; what you really need to accomplish, such as

We lost another Twin Cessna this weekend during the Christmas holidays.  It went down on takeoff in Florida.  The speculations have already started as to what happened and if you read the comments by people who fly, actual pilots and the general public you get the feeling general aviation is extremely dangerous.  It is not.