Max Trescott Aviation Trends Aloft

New Garmin 430 iPhone App and a Contest That Could Pay You Cash!

 We’ve just released a new product, a Garmin 430 GPS Guide for the iPhone and we’re running a contest in which you can win a free app or $50. It will take you just a minute or two to enter and it has an intriguing twist, since it’s actually a contest within a contest. Please help me out by clicking here for details on the new iPhone app and the contests. Thank you for your help and good luck in our contest!     

Photo - Skies of Europe Darkened as Airline Flights Resume

Now that airlines have been given the green light to fly again in Europe, there’s been a mad dash by passengers and the airlines to get back into the air again. Yesterday, I posted photos I took while making a low pass in a Cessna 180 over Dublin International Airport and its grounded airliners. Today, I was fortunate to be at Dublin International again and take a photo as the green flag was waved and airliners took to the skies again. If you look closely, you’ll see that my flight is not among the departing aircraft darkening the skies of Dublin. But if you have to get stuck somewhere, you won’t find a nicer, friendlier place to be than in Ireland!

Volcanic Ash Clouds Present Unprecedented Opportunity for General Aviation Pilots and Runway Repairs

The volcanic ash clouds creating havoc for the airlines in Europe are also creating unprecedented opportunities. With air traffic interrupted, workers are patching runways and as one blogger proposed, general aviation pilots are making low passes at airports they rarely get to fly over. I know, as yesterday I made a low pass of the Dublin International Airport in Ireland—and I wasn’t the only one doing it!

On Tuesday, Irish airspace was...

iPad and iPhone Aviation Apps for Pilots and Airline Passengers

After the weekend iPad frenzy, people seem evenly split: 50% of online comments are positive while the other half question the need to carry around yet another electronic device. Yet posts by pilots are all positive if not exuberant. Blogger Greg Hughes posted on Why the Apple iPad Tablet will find a home in my airplane cockpit (and in my life). And on Twitter, zpower said “just realized what an amazing kneeboard the ipad makes for pilots. airport directory, checklist, and so on. game changer there.” Full disclosure: I sell iPhone/iPad apps that are GPS Guides for the Garmin 430 and other GPSs.

When the iPad was announced in January, it was unclear whether...

New NTSB 830 Rules May Increase Reports of Near Mid-Air Collisions

The pilots of United Flight 889 initiated the report of their near mid-air collision with a Cessna 182 near San Francisco last week. New NTSB rules may make those reports more common, so don’t be surprised if the number of reported near mid-air collisions rises in the coming year.

All pilots are required to receive ground instruction on...