Category Archives: Mac Clellan’s Left Seat Blog

Homebuilders and Electronic Flight Control Advancement

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Mac

I believe the new frontier for light airplanes is fly-by-wire, or more likely, electronic enhancement of flying qualities and envelope protection. And homebuilders are the people in a perfect position to pioneer those advances. Light airplane design and technology is … Continue reading →

Posted in Mac Clellan's Left Seat Blog | 1 Comment

Airframes Need Experience, Too

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Mac

Sikorsky helicopter president Jeff Pino was talking about the company’s S76 twin engine helicopter that will soon be offered in yet another evolutionary version, the “D” model. The S76 has been in production since 1979 and continues to be one … Continue reading →

Posted in Mac Clellan's Left Seat Blog | 1 Comment

Aviator or Pilot?

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Mac

  My boss, EAA president and CEO Rod Hightower, likes the word aviator. And also aviate. I am pleased that Rod thinks of me as an aviator. But, as usual, some have groused about use of the title aviator and … Continue reading →

Posted in Mac Clellan's Left Seat Blog | 15 Comments

Is A Crash A Crime?

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Mac

In many countries accidents are considered to be criminal acts. Italy and Brazil come to mind as nations that have treated high profile aviation accidents as criminal acts by the pilots involved.  In Italy several years ago a U.S. military … Continue reading →

Posted in Mac Clellan's Left Seat Blog | 30 Comments

Are Touchscreens Here to Stay?

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Mac

Garmin is all in on touchscreen avionics. It will no longer build its wildly successful GNS 430/530 flight management systems which have been replaced in production by the GTN 700/600 series units that have touchscreen control. Garmin also has the … Continue reading →

Posted in Mac Clellan's Left Seat Blog | 45 Comments

Over Water Worries

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Mac

I was chatting with EAA founder Paul Poberezny last week. What an amazing guy. Through a very unusual set of circumstances during his military career during World War II and then as an officer in the Wisconsin National Guard he … Continue reading →

Posted in Mac Clellan's Left Seat Blog | 30 Comments

Small Aircraft Transportation System

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Mac

At one time NASA promoted SATS – What happened? In the mid-1990s NASA created a program to revive general aviation and transform piston airplanes into reliable transportation machines that could be safely operated by pilots without thousands of hours of … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry & Government, Mac Clellan's Left Seat Blog, Safety | 46 Comments

Too Old to Fly?

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Mac

How old is too old to fly? The question is in the news again because the pilot flying the Piper Cherokee 180 that crashed in Arkansas last week killing two popular women’s basketball coaches from Oklahoma State University was 82 … Continue reading →

Posted in Airmanship, Flying for Fun, Mac Clellan's Left Seat Blog, Safety | 40 Comments

When The FAA Tries To Help

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Mac

Despite the required snickering when somebody says the FAA is here to help us, that is sometimes true. An example of absolutely essential FAA help for us pilots happens every year at Oshkosh. The special procedures that the FAA has … Continue reading →

Posted in Airmanship, Mac Clellan's Left Seat Blog, Safety | 6 Comments

Pilots Buy Dreams, but Not Airplanes

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Mac

Human economic behavior is perverse. We buy expensive items such as houses and stocks when prices are high, but sell them, or don’t buy, when prices go down. And we spend millions on dream airplanes, but when an airplane becomes … Continue reading →

Posted in Aircraft, Industry & Government, Mac Clellan's Left Seat Blog | 48 Comments