Why Good Records Practices Keeps You Safe and Puts Money in Your Pocket
While there’s no shortage of exciting tech out there designed to keep aircraft flying safely, one of the most important unsung heroes in the safety world comes in the form of good records management. Yes, everything from logbooks, maintenance records, and your aircraft registration to your airworthiness certificate, flight manual, and ops books all contribute […]
Quick Tip: Flying with Autopilot in IMC
Flying in solid IMC is something just about every pilot has to deal with, especially in regions known for turbulent weather. No matter where you’re heading or what you’re flying, having a digital autopilot engaged can make the whole experience safer and more enjoyable. With an even bigger focus on safety in 2021, in each […]
Stories From SNA: OC Flight Instructor Recounts Emergency Landing at John Wayne
It was a beautiful sunny day on October 25th when Pacific Flight Aviation flight instructor Whitney Boes was preparing for one of her regular morning flights. The winds were calm and the airport was quiet. A good day to be in the air. After doing all the typical checks, she hopped into the cockpit, cleared […]
Listen, Cowboy: What You Do Before Takeoff Matters!
Partnering With the Right Avionics Shop is Crucial to Confident Preflight Check We know you’re good. You can fly the Swiss Alps at night with a compass and a stopwatch – that’s the level of aeronautical precision for which you were trained. You practice approaches on CAVU days and you chair-fly emergency checklists at home […]
Flying on Instruments: The Top 6 Ways Avionics Make IFR Flying Safer
Flying in IMC, descending blindly at 100 knots down to 200 feet AGL, makes us all sit up a little straighter. However, it’s not just the low approach in a storm that gets our hearts pumping, nor is it a traffic advisory when you can’t see more than three miles ahead that brings beads of […]
Letter from the CEO: Hindsight is 2020
They say hindsight is 2020. It’s an apt saying considering just how many of us were simply elated to put 2020 behind us. But in such a tumultuous year, several positives helped propel our industry forward. The periods of downtime early in the year turned out to be an opportunity for many of our customers, […]
LETTER FROM THE CEO 2020 Final Approach
This year certainly turned out to be a little turbulent to say the least. However, I can honestly say the challenges of the year have made us all stronger and ready for whatever 2021 throws our way. As we begin to enter one of the busiest seasons and the holidays approach, more people than ever […]
Disinfectant Kills Viruses But the Wrong One May Just Kill Your Instrument Panel
We’re all for great hygiene when it comes to flying. And especially now, it’s always a great idea to disinfect an aircraft both before and after your trip. However, if there’s one tip we can give you on this, it would be to make sure you are using the right cleaning solution. An aircraft renter […]
Case Study – A Pilatus Makes the Move
To Display and Nav/Comm Touch Screen Technology A few months ago, a customer reached out to us about some potential upgrades to his Pilatus. At the time, he had an aging Garmin G600 system on the pilot’s side, but nothing on the copilot’s side. The goal was not only to replace the aging system with […]
Take Advantage of Higher Altitudes
RVSM Opening New Avenues of Opportunity With the challenges COVID-19 continues to impose on the travel industry, we’re seeing a lot less commercial travel right now. Thousands of commercial flights that once filled the skies have been grounded. While that’s not so great news for the commercial industry, it’s actually creating some unique opportunities for […]
Window of Opportunity
Honeywell Offering Unprecedented Deals on Display Upgrades until Dec. 31 If you still have an old cathode ray tube (CRT) display in your aircraft and have been considering an upgrade, now is the time. After the end of the year, Honeywell will no longer be repairing your CRT unit due to availability in the supply […]
Now A Technician is Just One Click Away
We may service airplanes, but at the end of the day our business isn’t just about servicing things, it’s about serving people. To do it right, you really have to focus on both. Because of that, we’re always looking for ways to elevate our business and make our customer experience more enjoyable, productive and convenient. […]
Upcoming Events / Cancelled Events
Due to COVID-19, most live events have been cancelled for 2020: Annual Catalina Fly-In rescheduled for July 17 – 18, 2021. Oshkosh rescheduled to July 26 – Aug 1, 2021.
Fun Airport Codes
Now that summer is in full swing, many of you with green thumbs will be out gardening and getting ready to celebrate your next harvest. Here are a few garden-themed airport names that should help inspire you: PEA Penneshaw Airport in Ironstone, Australia YAM Sault St. Marie Airport, Canada NUT Nutuve Airport, Nutuve, Papua New […]
Aviation Stories
Pilot stories that are almost too crazy to believe Phil Rasmussen was one of the few American pilots to shoot down a Japanese plane during the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He was flying an obsolete plane in his pajamas. In 1953, No Kum-sok, a North Korean pilot, defected to South Korea with his MiG-15. He […]
Aviation Trivia
Think you know aviation? See if you can guess the answers to some of our quirkier aviation trivia. 1) In 1987, American Airlines saved this much money by removing just one olive from each salad served in first class: A) 11,000 B) $22,000 C) 32,000 D) $40,000 2) How many liters of water does the […]
Cocktail ‘Merica Margaritas!
Summer is already upon us. It’s a celebratory time of year that calls for some light and flavorful refreshments to go with it. Nothing better to celebrate another day of independence with than a red, white, and blue margarita! This is one slushy drink you’ll be saluting all summer long! INGREDIENTS Red Layer 3 cups […]
Featured Employee Mike Bilby
If you’ve ever been to our shop, chances are you’ve run into Mike Bilby. Mike is one of our technicians bringing to the table a wealth of passion, expertise, and experience on which our clients rely. Mike’s story began 25 years ago with small aircraft. First it was Raytheon’s avionics wire shop and the 1900D […]
Miss Haps Weather: The Covid Triple Threat
Every cause needs a champion. Meet “Miss Haps” – our very own Sultana of Safety, Queen of Caution and Princess of Preparedness. Each issue she’ll tackle a different safety issue in her own unique style. THE COVID TRIPLE THREAT We talk a lot about safety. But in the COVID-19 world we currently live in, the […]
Ask Mike Bilby
Q: Hey Mike. I hear the new digital autopilots are pretty great in terms of their capabilities. But how are they in terms of affordability? This is actually a question we get a lot at the shop. Pilots and owners often share stories with each other about their new “toys”, and they’re impressed by some […]
As The World Moves To 5g, The Aviation Industry Has Ligado In Its Crosshairs
The FCC has been getting an earful about Ligado Networks’ proposed high-speed broadband cellular network. If it moves ahead, the network will be operating near frequency bands currently used by GPS and satellite communications networks. The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) recently joined a petition backed by heavyweights such as the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA); […]
Business Aviation Rounding The Covid Corner
According to the latest numbers, the U.S. business aviation sector is riding a bit of a comeback wave of sorts with some estimates predicting 100% gains for June and July month over month. While we’re still a long way off from the kinds of stats we saw during pre-pandemic times, there is room for hope. […]
Case Study
INTRODUCTION Leading Edge consulted with a long-time customer with a Beechcraft Baron B55 who was looking for a more robust and long-term autopilot solution for his 47-year-old aircraft, with some very specific requirements and objectives. Our sales team quickly honed-in on the customer’s needs and selected the Garmin GFC 600 autopilot as the appropriate choice. […]
When Safety Meets Celebrity
What Famous Crashes Can Teach Us About Reducing Our Risk of Accidents Let’s be honest. America has a fascination with celebrity. Whether we’re talking about actors, athletes, business titans, or social media influencers, we tend to follow their every move. So when we suddenly lose one of them in a catastrophic plane crash, it hits […]
The Ultimate Summer Checklist
Top 5 Things You Need in the Cockpit to Keep you Cool, Clean, and Fresh We all know summer is traditionally one of the busiest times to fly. But while summer brings the opportunity for warm-weather getaways, it also brings a lot of extra heat to the cockpit. To ensure you arrive cool, clean and […]
Letter From CEO: If 2020 is the Vision Year, Then All Eyes Are on Safety
When it comes to aviation, trends come and go. But there are some things that never go out of fashion. For us, that’s safety In a year that’s already seen the FAA’s ADS-B mandate, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the infamous Kobe Bryant crash, the whole entire world – not just our industry – is thinking […]
Upcoming Events
March 5-7, 2020 International Women in Aviation Conference Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort Lake Buena Vista, FL March 24-27, 2020 Citation Jet Pilots Owner Pilot Association The 63rd Annual AEA International Convention & Trade Show Nashville – Gaylord Opryland Hotel March 12-15, 2020 Citation Jet Pilots Owner Pilot Association CJP Regional Event, Charleston, SC […]
Airport Code
Tis the season! So, what better way to celebrate than to give a shout out to our favorite wintry-themed airports! SNO Sakon Nakhon Airport (SNO), Sakon Nakhon, Thailand ICY Icy Bay Airport, Icy Bay Alaska BRR Bara Airport, Eoligarry, United Kingdom (GB) FRO Floro Airport, Floro, Norway ELF El Fasher Airport, El Fasher, Sudan
In Loving Memory
January 26th was a sad day for Orange County. For a moment, it seemed as if the whole world stopped as we learned that a total of nine people lost their lives as a helicopter went down in the hills above Calabasas. Kobe Bryant and his daughter; Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, his […]
Fun Facts About Aviation
Fun Aviation facts: https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/weird-airplane-flying-facts More people die from plane exhaust than plane crashes Although commercial plane crashes tend to get a lot of media coverage, they’re actually quite rare. Fewer than 1,000 people die in plane crashes each year, including small planes. But MIT released a study that found 10,000 deaths a year are attributable […]