Plane Answers

by Kent Wien (RSS feed) (8 hours ago)
I've always been a big fan of PBS's Frontline. It's obvious that they study a subject before they report on it. And as any pilot knows, that can be a rarity in the often hyped television coverage of the airline industry.
Frontline has tackled specific airline subjects in ...

by Kent Wien (RSS feed) (5 days ago)
As a pilot, I feel the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has failed me. They're tasked to investigate accidents and report on them so the aviation community can hopefully avoid similar mistakes. They also submit recommendations to the FAA for changes they feel will ...

by Kent Wien (RSS feed) (12 days ago)
Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away!
We've received a lot of follow up questions to the Plane Answers ...

by Kent Wien (RSS feed) (25 days ago)
Michael asks:
I am an aspiring airline pilot and I was wondering what were the steps you took to get hired with the airlines. So far I am 15 and starting my flight training with the Civil Air Patrol.
So you want to be a pilot? You've probably read the stories of the ...

by Kent Wien (RSS feed) (1 month ago)
Rich asks:
Hi Kent, I love your blog and it has really helped me to relax when flying. When I was a kid and used to fly it seemed as though the flight deck would regularly update passengers about what was going on with the trip, the plane, etc. Now it seems as though most ...

by Kent Wien (RSS feed) (1 month ago)
Nathanial asks:
Hi Kent,
My dad has been an airline pilot for a major carrier for over 25 years and also fly's the 757/767, he was also a naval aviator for 10 years before that. He talks about the difference in pilots that were trained in the military vs. the civilian ...

by Kent Wien (RSS feed) (2 months ago)
The culture in aviation has always been focused around how to make flying even more safe. The FAA, NTSB and even Congress are looking into ways to improve air safety after the 49 people were killed in the Colgan Air accident in February–the only fatal accident in the ...

by Kent Wien (RSS feed) (3 months ago)
tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.gadling.com/2009/11/11/plane-answers-5-things-to-look-for-on-your-next-flight/'; tweetmeme_source = 'Gadling';
O.K., I'll admit it. Flying has become a monotonous chore that few look forward to. As a frequent flyer, you're probably more ...

by Kent Wien (RSS feed) (3 months ago)
I've had a few questions come in concerning the rather egregious error made by the Northwest pilots last week. I hesitated to discuss the incidents, since there's absolutely no defending what they did. But when my own sister Kim, asks: "I would love to hear your opinion as ...

by Kent Wien (RSS feed) (3 months ago)
Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away! Justin asks: I have seen advertisements lately that have been ...

by Kent Wien (RSS feed) (3 months ago)
You'd like to choose the most eco-friendly airline, a company that goes above and beyond the others to fly efficiently, burn less fuel and maybe even offset its carbon. But does an airline like that exist? Airlines have gone to great lengths to operate efficiently in their ...

by Kent Wien (RSS feed) (4 months ago)
Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away! John asks: Hey, I was wondering what pilots do before a flight. How ...

by Kent Wien (RSS feed) (4 months ago)
tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.gadling.com/2009/10/05/plane-answers-why-cant-airlines-wait-at-the-gate-vs-in-a-queu/'; tweetmeme_source = 'Gadling';
Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about ...

by Kent Wien (RSS feed) (4 months ago)
Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away! Lee asks: Hi Kent - Two items, please... Silly question here, but ...

by Kent Wien (RSS feed) (5 months ago)
Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away! Alex asks: Hi Kent, I recently flew on a 737 and returned on a ...

by Kent Wien (RSS feed) (5 months ago)
It just might surprise you to know that when sitting on the ground, waiting out a line of thunderstorms, we don't have access to depictions of real-time weather updates. We can fire up the radar and look ahead for 40 or so miles, but there's just no way to know if a re-route ...

by Kent Wien (RSS feed) (6 months ago)
Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away! John asks: Are commercial airline pilots allowed to be flying for up ...

by Kent Wien (RSS feed) (6 months ago)
Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away! Ken asks: I hope this is the appropriate place to ask this question. ...

by Kent Wien (RSS feed) (6 months ago)
Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away! Jason asks: On a recent round trip on board 757-200s, when we would ...

by Kent Wien (RSS feed) (7 months ago)
Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away! Luke asks: I happened to catch a show the other night about the ...
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