A story posted at the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald reports that Cirrus is laying off 32 employee from its Grand Forks plant, and another 26 at its Duluth headquarters. From the story: “We had been staffed to a level higher than current demand and (Wednesday’s) changes are not a reflection of reduced demand,” Todd Simmons, […]
News
Movie review: “Amelia”
With all the hype surrounding the new movie “Amelia,” I was prepared to encounter another aviation biopic that slaughtered the main character and violated the Laws of Physics when it came to aviation and what airplanes can actually do in the air. I am pleased to say that the Laws of Physics remained intact, but I […]
Is GA a threat?
Has the Transportation Security Administration received any direct threats involving GA? No, said Brian Delauter, the new general manager of general aviation for the TSA, at a forum on security at the AOPA Aviation Summit earlier this month. “We are a risk-based organization,” he said. “Is there a risk? Yes. A threat? No.” When something […]
Appeals court rules against CAF
In a judgment filed Nov. 2, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled in favor of the National Museum of the United States Air Force (USAFM) in the ownership dispute of a P-82 Twin Mustang. While the ruling supports the original judgment of the District Court in July, Commemorative Air Force […]
A guide to great plane-spotting sites
USA Today took a break from its recent airport bashing to run a guide to plane-spotting sites near major airports. It includes suggestions from readers for airports ranging from Washington, D.C., to Atlanta, to San Francisco. Check it out here.
A call to action: We can fight TSA
Think you can’t make a difference? You can — just ask the Transportation Security Administration. When the TSA introduced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would have required airline-like security on all GA aircraft weighing over 12,500 lbs. (known as the Large Aircraft Security Program or LASP), it was flooded with comments — more than […]
‘The worst is behind us’
The last year has been traumatic for GA: Orders have dropped precipitously, customers have cancelled orders, manufacturers and other companies have had layoffs, and the industry has been battered by attacks against business aviation and federal funding for GA airports. “We’ve been through a free fall,” Jack Pelton, Cessna Aircraft Co. chairman, president and CEO, […]
101-year-old pilot to give first-hand account of the beginnings of U.S.-Saudi relationship
Capt. Joseph Grant, a U.S. World War II pilot, will be in the Washington, D.C. area this week for the national book launch of “King Abdulaziz…His Plane and His Pilot,” by Michael Saba. Grant will provide a rare first-hand account of the history and the beginning of the diplomatic Saudi-U.S. relationship as the first pilot […]
Alphabet groups work together to defend GA
The opening session of the AOPA Aviation Summit earlier this month featured something that GA has not seen before: The leaders of all GA’s alphabet groups on the same stage. Previous rivalries were put aside as the leaders of those groups — the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, National Business Aviation Association, General Aviation Manufacturers […]