Yup, that was me. I used to ride my bike 10 miles to hang around (and eventually work on) helicopters in King City when I was 11, then on to planes when I was 13. I have never looked back, I was always waiting to be old enough. It can still happen in some places, albeit with more formality required....

If SAR techs got to it, you would think it could be slinged out by helicopter. Huh? A 9000 or so pound load, half or more stuck in the snow and ice, broken, so as not to whole to pick up, at a high elevation, out of HOGE for any helicopter capable of carrying it, once you got the chopper there? No,...

"ASAP" won't work well in most of Canada, so look in southern BC first if you're in a hurry. In Ontario, I highly recommend Lake Country Airways, in Orillia Lake Stain John. Great instructors, and lots of varied places to do water work nearby, with little air traffic competing for the sky around you.

: Lets not ask or talk about COPA, it causes some people anxiety and anger and miffs off the Kings...

Well... it miffs the kings of the tiny COPA kingdom perhaps. But the sky is a much larger kingdom, and that's where I live and play...

First off, I don't know. But, I'll add some thoughts: I think that the "track" is actually a seal, which would reconnect an air passage so as to be reasonably air tight, when that cowl was reattached. An arc can be seen stamped into one of the inner side panels, with a pivot point. Obviously, a door...

Or are you just another anonymous sniper? I will commit my quasi anonymity to stand behind the Colonel. He is hardly anonymous, and in my opinion well expresses the valid opinions which others might also express, were they to choose to post. If certain COPA insiders/supporters applied as much effor...

Well, I guess that I could have felt disgusted with what I saw COPA staff NOT doing for their members, but I try to keep my life in context. I volunteered for a number of years to assist COPA in meeting their member's needs, under the watch of Herb Cunningham. I though his passing would see a gentle...

I know nothing of the cause in this sad event. However, I know that some AS350's have a belt driven hydraulic pump for the flight controls, and those belts are known to spit off every now and then. My experience is that the AS350 is quite challenging to hover without hydraulics. It would not be the ...

Now how would you know that?

I used to apprentice with Vic leBlanc, the instrument guy at YYZ.

Thanks DonutHole. In my opinion, a 172 being flown into "airwork" has a pilot who is intending to fly unusual attitudes and accelerations, which makes the flight "aerobatic", and thus there should be no back seat passengers. Wisdom would suggest that "airwork" is not undertaken in poor weather, so i...

certified engineers with calibrated references and up to date technical documentation of course Yes, of course. I chose to not mention that, as too many "other people" have tried it. Letting alone upsetting the calibration of the altimeter, it is easy to have the screw come right out, and you'll ha...

When you turn the setting knob, the entire innards of the instrument are turned around inside the case, other than the front frame, with the pointers, face and pointer gearbox. And, the altimeter scale is also turned separately, though with the same gears. If the knob is moved differently during set...

Certainly very cool, though if a C185 had landing gear stroke like that, it would have increasing similarity in performance. Every plane is a compromise, you're going to have to give something, to get something....

A few "knowns" and a few "ifs"... The 172 is a very stable, well known aircraft, with not dark corners of handling. The 172, when operated as a "normal category aircraft" will recover a one turn spin, in not more than one additional turn, if the recovery control inputs are prompt and correct. Unusua...

Slow flight and STOL capability are a very important aspect of what makes a plane a good "bush" plane, but where landings other than in the water are required, a nosewheel will often be a detriment, which cannot be overcome. Some aircraft are modified with oversized nosewheels, which helps, but no m...

I'm imagining that 170B hydroplaning across the water on tundra tires with the brakes locked, and running aground that way. The stop would be instant, and tundra tires could exert enough torque when braked to rip brakes right off. The 182 is absolutely 95% plus of a 180/185 on short, firm runways, t...

The TSB has done their job. They have investigated, determined the causes, and contributing factors, and reported the outcome. It's up to the industry to work with this information to make flying safer.

CS, I didn't know that they made a four engined Pitts..... Yes, it appears to me that competent tailwheel instructors are few and far between. Taildraggers are not more difficult to fly, they are just much less tolerant of poor technique on the ground. A taildragger must be FLOWN until you taxi off ...

in most taildraggers the instructor is behind the student, does this affect rapport between the two? These days, with a good intercom and a little discipline, it's fine. When I learned back in the '70's in the Champ, and Tiger Moth, it required a lot of effort to communicate appropriately, so there...

The report is necessary because our society demands it. We're too nosy, we can't "not know"- someone's lawyers, in particular. For this same reason, thousands of people will be inconvenienced while the police close a major highway for hours, because a driver rolls a perfectly serviceable car and kil...