THINGS YOU MISS ON PREFLIGHT

Kick the tires, light the fires. So goes a popular, flippant saying about preflight inspections. Most of the time, that's what we and various accident reports would label an "inadequate preflight inspection." Sometimes—immediately after stopping long enough to drop off or load a passenger, for example—it might be adequate. After all, we just flew it in here—it's a perfectly good airplane; why bother risking burnt fingers to check the engine oil or soiling our clothes to check tire pressure? Indeed, we don't go to such trouble when getting in a car; why are we conducting an inspection at all?

That's easy: Because despite the overall safety of general aviation, regardless of our comfort with flying and/or with the specific airplane, the hard truth is that airplanes are terribly unforgiving of mechanical imperfection. The chance of an engine failure, partially blocked control travel, errant bird's nest or a structural issue is very slight, but the consequences of any of these can be heartlessly severe. My first flight instructor taught me to take the time to thoroughly inspect an airplane because, "The airplane is trying to kill you; it's up to you to catch it in time." That's the attitude with which we need to inspect our airplanes.

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AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: YOU'RE WORRYING ABOUT THE WRONG THING
That's especially true if you just sunk several thousand bucks into a traffic box to find airplanes that are unlikely to kill you. In an analysis and commentary on the AVweb Insider blog, resident blogger Paul Bertorelli crunches the numbers and reveals that stalls and stall-related accidents continue to be near the top of a long list of dreary ways that pilots manage to kill themselves. Why can't we do better? Why is it that some pilots seem conceptually unable to grasp that beyond a certain angle of attack, the wing will simply no longer deliver useful lift? We're not sure there's an easy answer -- or maybe any answer at all -- but we do know that owners worrying about mid-airs are suffering from misplaced fears. Read more and join the conversation. More...

VIDEO: MEET MID-CONTINENT'S SAM
As much as we love them, iron gyros are on their way to the scrap heap of history. They're even losing their value as backup instruments to glass panels now that glass itself has become more reliable and affordable enough to replace even analog backup devices. In this new video from AVweb, Aviation Consumer's Larry Anglisano examines a new product from Mid-Continent Instruments and Avonics called the SAM. It fits into a small space on the panel and can be backed up with its own lithium-ion battery. Installation considerations are mimimal, but here's a close look at how the instrument looks and performs. More...

PODCAST: LIGHTHAWK FLIES FOR NATURE
Laura Armstrong, director of giving for the unique Lighthawk volunteer group, talks with AVweb's Mary Grady about how volunteer pilots and general aviation aircraft help to promote the cause of conservation and save wildlife.

This podcast is brought to you by Bose Corporation. More...

SURVEY: ARE YOU FLYING WITH A GARMIN GTN NAVIGATOR?
If so, the staff of Aviation Consumer would like to know what you think of it. Almost two years ago, Garmin introduced the GTN-series navigators to update its mega-popular GNS products. If you've been flying behind one, tell us what you think of it by taking this survey. It'll only take five minutes. More...

AVWEB'S NEWSTIPS ADDRESS ...
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something 255,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard? More...

MEET THE AVWEBFLASH TEAM

AVwebFlash is a twice-weekly summary of the latest news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the world's premier independent aviation news resource.

The AVwebFlash team is:

Publisher
Tom Bliss

Editorial Director, Aviation Publications
Paul Bertorelli

Editor-in-Chief
Russ Niles

Webmaster
Scott Simmons

Contributing Editors
Mary Grady
Glenn Pew

Contributors
Kevin Lane-Cummings

Ad Coordinator
Karen Lund

Avionics Editor
Larry Anglisano

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