With Oshkosh in full swing, the eyes of the aviation minded are on Wisconsin. But here in central Florida there is one city commissioner who has just become a major fan of aviation, thanks to a husband and wife who restored a Stearman and shared the excitement with him. I love it when the fever […]
Building a more aviation friendly future
Success is an elusive goal. In order to be truly successful you have to first define what success is. It’s only with that definition in hand that you can establish a plan to achieve the goal. Jumping to Step 3 without first taking Step 1, and Step 2, is a sure path to failure. Unfortunately, […]
Yes, we can reach out and make a difference
A question I recently found in my e-mail inbox intrigues me. “So how do we, as aviators, get the general population to engage?” Steve, from Midway, Georgia, poses this query. And in doing so he puts his finger on what is arguably the greatest challenge to pilots and aviation enthusiasts in the political arena. Because […]
An unexpected IA
I stopped into the hangar looking for the IA. So it was no great surprise to be directed to a back room, where the wing of a Cub sat on sawhorses. The bright yellow finish indicated that it was in the final stages before being mounted back on the airplane. I’ve met several Airframe and […]
A few words in the first person
One of the great advantages of a blog is the immediacy it offers both the reader and the writer. Unlike a traditional article published in the hard-copy version of a publication, the blog format allows for rapid feedback from readers, in the form of comments and e-mails. In my case, I can tell you with […]
Know when to crow
To at least some degree we pilot types have gotten a bad rap. More often than not I find that we’re characterized as whiners, babies, rich guys who want everybody else in town to pay for their playthings. And while I disagree entirely with that perspective, I can completely understand how we came to earn […]
When thumb twiddling makes sense
As anti-intuitive as it may seem, there are times when sitting back and twiddling your thumbs is the best course of action. At least for a little while. That’s certainly true when working to affect change at an airport. Government works slowly much of the time. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In many […]
Keeping the peace
John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County, California, is not your typical airport. At least it’s not the typical airport I come in contact with. Bracketed on both ends of two parallel runway by highways, and surrounded by densely packed commercial and residential neighbors, noise is the enemy of airport operations. As it must be. […]
Learning the ropes from a seasoned pro
In 2001 a fellow by the name of Sam Hoerter published the second edition of “The Airport Management Primer.” This document is chock full of interesting observations and unique insights. It is an absolute goldmine of information that is pertinent to the management and operation of airports large and small. For an intellectual assault on […]