Special to GAN By DON PISCHNER My day with Denny Hague: He’s a former Air Force Officer, aviator, fighter pilot, and hero with an outstanding career who has participated in several astounding exploits. During Vietnam, he flew 189 combat missions. He and two fellow airmen flew cover for military pilot Bernie Fisher, who’s life-saving bravery […]
Rich Suicidal Idiots
GUEST EDITORIAL By THOMAS P. TURNER Rich, suicidal idiots — that’s what most people think about general aviation pilots. In many ways we bring these perceptions on ourselves. If we are to improve the public’s opinion of personal aviation, these are the stereotypes we need to address and, if possible, refute. Rich As a “personal […]
Safety is your decision
By DALE FORTON. How do you want your aircraft maintained? Good enough or airworthy? Your answer should be airworthy of course. Fortunately I have found that aircraft mechanics do not tolerate good enough — but we do not get to make that final call that sends the aircraft upward into flight. We are rarely there […]
General aviation airport inspections and the TSA
By DAVE HOOK. In my previous post I covered what an agent of the TSA could “request” of a general aviator. Because the article was so regulation intense, I sent an early draft to the TSA’s Office of Strategic Communications and Public Affairs for comment. They afforded me the courtesy of a review with useful […]
Speak up now to protect historic flights
By HUNTER CHANEY, Collings Foundation With the sun glinting off the polished canopy, Bud Day grasped the yellow boarding ladder of his F-100F “Hun” and proceeded to make the long climb to the cockpit. Strapping into the ejection seat, he scanned the tarmac below. He had done this countless instances before — counting down the […]
Of airport BBQs and the TSA
By DAVE HOOK. I am partial to barbeques, so when I received a recent invitation to go to a local airport and enjoy a free barbeque lunch and escape the office, I jumped at the opportunity. I had the pleasure of enjoying my pulled-pork sandwich and iced tea with some local aviators that call the […]
The transition to ADS-B
By JEFFREY BOCCACCIO. This is the tenth in a series of articles looking at the impact of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) on GA pilots. ADS-B is the system that literally allows NextGen to become “The Next NextGen.” It stands for Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast. But what does that all mean? Automatic: This basically […]
From Kiev with love: Flying the Aeroprakt LSA
BY J. DOUGLAS HINTON With the meltdown of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine gained its independence, causing private enterprise to bloom, including Kiev-based Aeroprakt company, founded the same year and bolstered by an investment by Saudi Sheik Hussein. The result was several Light-Sport Aircraft, principally the Aeroprakt A22-LS. Designed by Yuri Yakovlev, the LSA […]
Charles E. Taylor…Who is he?
By DALE FORTON. Born on May 24, 1868, Charles E. Taylor grew into a career as a machinist. In the 1890s he settled in Ohio with his wife who had friends there. In 1901 two brothers who owned a bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio, decided they needed someone they could trust to run their shop […]