Video of the Week

The Aircraft Electronics Association opened its 53rd annual convention in Orlando's Gaylord Palms Center on Thursday. AEA President Paula Derks told AVweb that initial impressions suggest good show attendance and a recovering avionics market. Most of the companies AVweb interviewed reported a stronger spring sales season over 2009, with Aspen Avionics leading way and expecting a banner year for 2010.

If you like your aviation information to come straight out of the AIM, umm - this is not that. In this week's video, Paul Bertorelli takes a somewhat biting look into the heads of CFIs who teach their students to fly traffic patterns that would be too large for a Triple Seven.

If you have a Garmin GNS430, you probably know the basics - but in this video, IFR magazine's Jeff Van West reveals some ninja-level operating tricks that are practical and easy to master.

Aviation Safety is continuing its series on basic flying technique. We've looked at the aerodynamics of coordinated turns. In this video, Paul Bertorelli follows up with a simple rudder exercise that he can't seem to master - but you'll have no trouble with it.

Test pilot Graham Tomlinson on March 10, 2010 flies the first F-35B Joint Strike fighter (or JSF), BF-1, at 40 knots on its 40th flight, employing the jet's forward shaft-driven vertical lift fan - look behind the nosegear - and the aft-vectored thrust nozzle.

American Legend has made a name for itself in the LSA market with well-made Cub clones. At U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring in January, it showed a new amphib LSA that attracted lots of eyeballs. Last week, AVweb flew the amphib, and here's our video report on this new product. It's not just fun to fly; it's insanely fun to fly.

If you're a pilot, do you know what the rudder is for? In this short video, Aviation Safety editor-in-chief Jeb Burnside shows the most basic of flying skills: How to keep a turn coordinated.

IFR magazine's Jeff Van West shows how a portable GPS can be used to evaluate what altitudes will be safe for flying up valleys (without actually changing altitudes) and how to use the GPS while in those valleys to enhance safety and situational awareness.

New Zealander Rudy Heeman has, over 11 years, transformed his hovercraft into a wing-in ground effect vehicle, and now it's for sale.

The crash of a rare and historic English Electric Lightning MK T5 on November 14, 2009 was unique for the history of the model and the renown of its pilot, Dave Stock. Here AVweb compiles historic video and actual event footage to review the event that saw both Stock and the aircraft lost.