R. A. “Bob” Hoover will forever cast a huge shadow over all of aviation. His recent passing (October 25) at the age of 94 sent a shockwave through the broader aviation family. From Airailimages: “Fifteen hundred friends of Bob Hoover gathered at Clay Lacy Aviation in Van Nuys, California, on 18 November for a heartfelt send-off and […]
3 steps to save your airport
Does anyone not believe a vibrant aviation ecosystem starts at the airport? If our airports cease to exist, aviation ceases to exist. It really is that simple. Like too many airports around the country, Arcadia Airport (X06) in Arcadia, Florida, was struggling after years of neglect. The Arcadia City Council established the Arcadia Airport Advisory […]
Pairing travelers with operators will increase airport value
General aviation pilots know the attraction of private aviation. Go where you want, when you want. Fellow earthlings without a pilot certificate have fewer options. Car, bus, train or airline. That’s about it. FlyOtto, from the creators of OpenAirplane, give our non-pilot neighbors the same flexibility we pilots enjoy. Even better, it’ll bring business to […]
ADS-B validation report data shows amazing detail
For aircraft owners taking advantage of the FAA’s $500 ADS-B Rebate, there is a five-step process you must follow. Each of the five steps are rather logical: Decide: Select equipment for purchase and schedule installation; Reserve: Reserve your rebate, which requires a Reservation Code; Install: Install your ADS-B equipment; Fly and Validate: Fly in ADS-B airspace to validate […]
The easiest certificate ever
It has been a LONG time since I’ve added a rating or certificate to my pilot qualifications. But I’ve just added the easiest certificate ever. If I understand it correctly — and that’s a big if — I’ve just earned a Remote Pilot Certificate with a Small Unmanned Aircraft System Rating. How easy was it to add […]
The genesis of ‘Hold my beer, watch this’?
“The New York Times called it a ‘fine landing’ and reported it had been widely called ‘a feat of aeronautics.’” A friend passed the story to me from the popular Imgur website. According to the June 4, 2016 New York Times story, Thomas Fitzpatrick landed a stolen plane “on St. Nicholas Avenue in northern Manhattan,” […]
Good job, just not good enough
Good news everyone, NTSB Chairman Christopher A. Hart says we are doing better. “Even though the fatality rate in 2015 was the lowest it has been in many years,” said Hart when the 2015 aviation accident statistics were released, “376 people still lost their lives.” If you click through to the “Data & Stats” link […]
New York to Oregon in a Super Breezy
Washington’s Sanford Reim is flying a Breezy – N800PY – from Penn Yan, New York, to Hillsboro, Oregon. Reim launched on Friday, Sept. 9 and as of Sept. 14, he’d made it to Billings, Montana. You can follow along via his SPOT. Reim stopped in Albert Lea – his home town and where he learned to […]
10,000 hours is much more than a lot of hours
Rich Stowell recently logged his “10,000th hour of total flight time.” For those who haven’t heard of Rich, he’s a flight instructor from Cascade, Idaho. He’s written a trio of books focused on stall/spin awareness and emergency maneuver training. I found out about Rich’s milestone via Facebook. He wrote it took “almost 34 years to the […]