The city of Chicago will pay a $33,000 fine, along with the repayment of $1 million in federal airport development grants, to settle claims stemming from the illegal closure and destruction of Meigs Field. On March 31, 2003, under the cover of darkness, heavy equipment operators acting on the orders of Mayor Richard M. Daley […]
Trials and tribulations at Taylorcraft Aviation
Troubles at Taylorcraft Aviation LLC have come to a head, with the company facing eviction, a mountain of debt and several lawsuits, judgments and liens, culminating in an auction of key equipment to satisfy one judgment. The company, which relocated from LaGrange, Texas, to Brownsville, Texas, about a year ago, faces growing debt as the […]
Discovery of Civil War-era graves alters consrtuction plans at NC airport
One of the challenges to building on an airport in an historically rich area is that occasionally airport projects are impacted when pieces of that history are literally uncovered. Such is the case at Craven County Regional Airport (EWN) in New Bern, North Carolina. Plans to construct new taxiways and hangars had to be curtailed […]
FAA to Bakersfield: What part of perpetuity don’t you understand?
The FAA has responded to a request from the city of Bakersfield to close Bakersfield Municipal Airport (L45). The answer was a resounding “No!” The FAA recently sent a 10-page letter to officials of the Southern California city, explaining why the airport, which has been owned by the city since 1985, will not be allowed […]
Florida’s Panama City Airport to relocate
The FAA has given approval for the relocation of Panama City-Bay County International Airport (PFN) in Florida. In a Record of Decision signed Sept. 15, the FAA selected a replacement airport site located approximately 20 miles northwest of Panama City, after ensuring the Panama City-Bay County Airport and Industrial District’s proposal met all environmental and […]
A dragon you don’t want to slay: Indianapolis man’s RV takes flight with the wings of a dragon
Larry Boggs from Indianapolis is used to having a crowd of people standing around his RV Super 8 at air shows. He’s also used to comments like “I think it bit me.” That’s because his RV sports a design of a dragon hatching out of an eggshell — a design so realistic that Harry Potter […]
From basket case to award winner: Charlie Brown’s Fairchild
There is something eminently satisfying about pouring time and energy into an aircraft restoration project then having that plane bring home an award from the first fly-in you take it to. Charlie Brown from Sand Point, Idaho, knows that feeling very well as his 1946 Fairchild 24 took home second place in the 1945-1955 Classic […]
“Flyboys” now in theaters
World War I flying saga gets thumbs up from Bob Hoover Pilots, as a rule, tend to be especially critical of Hollywood’s depiction of aviation. So imagine the delight of the actors and the director of “Flyboys,” a new movie about the Lafayette Escadrille, when living legend Bob Hoover praised the film after its debut […]
Flying the Evektor SportStar
“People are ready to buy,” remarked an EAA official at the Light Sport Aircraft Mall during last month’s AirVenture. And he was right. The “wait and see” approach that many flight schools took when the Sport Pilot/Light Sport Aircraft rule was finalized in April 2005 seems to have ebbed. Now many schools are shopping for […]