Jamie Beckett is a CFI and A&P mechanic who stepped into the political arena in an effort to promote and protect GA at his local airport. I spent Friday and Saturday last week moderating a special event at Fantasy of Flight, the site of Kermit Weeks’ personal aircraft collection, in Polk City, Florida. The two-day […]
Speaking of politics and pilots
Jamie Beckett is a CFI and A&P mechanic who stepped into the political arena in an effort to promote and protect GA at his local airport. It was my great pleasure to meet one of the gubernatorial candidates running in Florida, a few weeks ago. His name is Rick Scott. He’s been in the news […]
Building a winning team
Jamie Beckett is a CFI and A&P mechanic who stepped into the political arena in an effort to promote and protect GA at his local airport. Powerful allies can pop up out of the blue, if you’re open to recognizing the opportunity. Since my basic rules of advocacy lean in the direction of the more […]
Mogas for the masses — if you dare
Jamie Beckett is a CFI and A&P mechanic who stepped into the political arena in an effort to promote and protect GA at his local airport. Prepare yourself for a blatant plug. I’m going to suggest you click on a link that will take you to a General Aviation News blog post on the topic […]
Persistence pays off
Like so many GA airports, mine faced a problem that was brought into sharp focus by the recent capture in Santa Barbara of those two wily desperados, John and Martha King. If nothing else the incident made it clear that emergency response workers (including police, fire and EMT crews) do not necessarily have a clear […]
Airport security: It’s in your court now
The news is bad. When two of the nicest, friendliest, most competent people on the planet (and yes, I speak of John and Martha King) find themselves victimized by law enforcement based on sloppy investigative practices, you have no choice but to ask, “Who is safe from this sort of short-sighted, narrow-minded, over-zealous security that […]
Outsmarting the slur of “designed by committee”
It has been said that a camel is a horse designed by committee. That suggestion disparages neither the horse nor the camel, but it is not particularly kind to the abilities of the committee — and with good reason. A good horse is sleek, fast, powerful, and robust. A camel on the other hand is […]
The new voting block in town
Traditionally, aviation enthusiasts are an ignored minority population. That’s certainly true when election time rolls around. Politicians rarely show up at the airport trolling for votes, which is ironic since aviation enthusiasts tend to be well educated, socially aware people who have an interest in the long-term stability of the system we live, work, and […]
Be specific when talking to the press
During a recent newspaper interview about the management of the local airport, the reporter stopped me and asked for clarification. “I’m sorry, “ he said, “What’s an FBO?” “FBO stands for Fixed Base Operator,” I answered. “The FBO is the primary business on most general aviation airports.” The reporter appeared curious, so I expanded on […]