371 ForeFlight Aircraft Insurance Comparison Tool with Connor Hailey
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Release Date: 02/26/2025
399 Crash Survival: How Pilots Can Be Found Faster with Cyriel Kronenberg + GA News
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Max talks with Cyriel Kronenberg, Vice President of Airports and Air Traffic Management at uAvionix and a volunteer with the Civil Air Patrol’s National Radar Analysis Team (NRAT), about one of aviation’s most overlooked safety questions: if you survive a crash, how quickly will you be found? How Long Searches TakeCyriel explains that while ADS-B has shortened search times, the reality is sobering. Without a flight plan, overdue aircraft may not even be reported missing for hours. Average search times have historically stretched from 18 hours with a VFR flight plan to more than 60...
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398 9/11 from the Air: NYPD Chief Pilot Ken Solosky Remembers + GA News
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Max Trescott talks with Ken Solosky, the NYPD's Chief Pilot on 9/11, about his experiences managing helicopter operations on one of the most catastrophic days in American history. Though Ken wasn’t flying at the moment of the attacks, he was on the ground coordinating the NYPD’s aviation response. He recounts how what began as a seemingly routine aircraft accident quickly escalated into a full-blown national emergency. The aviation unit scrambled a standard rescue package—Bell 412s with divers and crew chiefs, and patrol helicopters—only to face total communication breakdowns. Cell...
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397 APR Key Explained: GPS Approach & Autopilot Errors to Avoid with DPE Jim Pitman
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Max talks with airline pilot and Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) Jim Pitman to clear up a persistent avionics myth: that pressing the APR (Approach) key activates a GPS approach. In reality, APR is part of the automatic flight control system (AFCS)—not the GPS navigator. Its function is to arm the flight director’s lateral and vertical capture modes so the autopilot (if engaged) can follow the approach path. You can also view a . Just look on the page for August 15, 2025 video. And while you're on that page, please sign up to support the show. Jim’s “apples vs. oranges” analogy...
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396 How All Pilots Benefit from New MOSAIC Sport Pilot and LSA Rules with Sean Elliott + GA News
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
In this episode of the Aviation News Talk podcast, Max Trescott talks with Sean Elliott, Vice President of Advocacy and Safety at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), about the FAA’s groundbreaking MOSAIC final rule—and how it benefits all pilots, not just sport pilots or Light-Sport Aircraft owners. Sean explains that MOSAIC replaces the old, restrictive Light-Sport Aircraft definition with a performance-based standard, removing the long-standing 1,320-pound maximum takeoff weight limit and focusing instead on a clean stall speed (VS1) of no more than 59 knots CAS for sport...
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395 NYPD Pilot Ken Solosky on 9/11 — Listen Now on the Rotary Wing Show
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Ken Solosky was the NYPD's Chief Pilot on 9/11, responsible for coordinating helicopter operations during the most devastating day in modern American history. In this short teaser, you'll hear a preview of our in-depth interview with Ken, including why rooftop rescues at the World Trade Center weren't attempted and how the team coped with confusion, misinformation, and tragic loss. The full episode is available now on our new podcast: . Listen and subscribe in your favorite podcast app, by clicking on the link above, and then click the Follow button in the upper right. Or, you can...
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394 Pasadena PD Helicopter Crash Analysis and Cirrus SR22 Safety Lessons
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Max talks about a dramatic ground collision between two Pasadena Police Department helicopters and the wide-ranging lessons pilots can draw from it. On November 17, 2012, two Bell OH-58 helicopters collided at the Pasadena PD Benedict Heliport when one returned from a flight and struck another that was sitting on the pad with its rotors turning. Six people suffered minor injuries, but the accident destroyed both aircraft and revealed systemic issues far beyond a single pilot error. Max uses the NTSB report and audio clips from the Rotary Wing Show—where host Mick Cullen interviewed Dan...
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393 Bonanza Ruddervator Crisis Solved: $500K Prize Spurs Certified Replacement
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Max talks with Tom Turner, Executive Director of the American Bonanza Society’s Air Safety Foundation, about an extraordinary initiative to preserve the operational future of the iconic V-tail Bonanza aircraft. When Textron Aviation quietly stopped producing the magnesium ruddervator skins—a unique flight control surface used only on V-tail Bonanzas—it left over 5,000 aircraft potentially grounded due to a lack of repair parts. Even minor damage could make these aircraft unrepairable. To solve this crisis, the ABS Air Safety Foundation awarded the $500,000 Maciel Ruddervator Prize...
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392 ForeFlight’s Dynamic Procedures: Interactive Approach Charts on the Moving Map
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Max talks with Cole Crawford from ForeFlight about the company’s latest innovation: Dynamic Procedures. Built to replace the static, legacy approach chart paradigm, Dynamic Procedures enables pilots to access IFR approach information dynamically, contextually, and interactively—right from the ForeFlight map screen. Cole explains that most pilots spend their time in ForeFlight’s moving map, but approach procedures often pulled them out of that environment into static “plates.” Dynamic Procedures changes that by embedding approach information into the map itself, using a smart...
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391 Should You Learn to Fly in a Bonanza? Max Trescott and Tom Turner Talk Training Options + GA News
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Max Trescott teams up with Tom Turner—executive director of the American Bonanza Society’s Air Safety Foundation—to help listener Marc Brodecki weigh options for earning his private pilot certificate. Marc, a 39-year-old aerospace engineer in Los Angeles with glider experience, is evaluating three flight training options: a nearby tailwheel-focused school (that includes a Stearman), a larger flight school at Torrance using Sling aircraft, or buying and learning in the Beechcraft Bonanza he eventually wants to own. Tom provides extensive guidance on Bonanza ownership. He discusses...
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390 Electric Airplane Test Flight: Max Trescott Reviews the Bristell B23 Energic
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Max Trescott takes listeners inside the cockpit of the future in episode 390, as he shares his firsthand experience flying the fully electric Bristell B23 Energic trainer and talks with executives from H55, the Swiss company behind its electric propulsion system. This in-depth episode explores the technical, operational, and strategic aspects of electric flight training aircraft. The B23 Energic is a joint project between Czech aircraft manufacturer BRM Aero and H55, the latter founded by the team behind the Solar Impulse aircraft that flew around the world on solar power. Max discusses...
info_outlineMax talks with Connor Hailey from ForeFlight about their new aircraft insurance comparison tool, designed to help aircraft owners evaluate their insurance policies. The tool allows users to upload their current policy, which is analyzed using AI to extract key details. Pilots can verify and adjust their information, including certificates, ratings, and flight hours, which ForeFlight Logbook can auto-fill. The tool then compares the extracted policy details against an aggregated range of similar policies, showing whether the premium is fair.
The tool is currently only available to U.S.-based aircraft owners, though future plans may include expansion to renters and those seeking quotes before purchasing an aircraft. ForeFlight intends to keep this web-only tool free for all users, with no current plans to integrate it into the ForeFlight mobile app. While the tool is still in beta, its primary goal is to help pilots make informed decisions about their insurance costs and start productive conversations with their brokers. ForeFlight is focused on refining the tool and adding more features rather than monetizing it.
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