On May 15, the City of Santa Monica’s longstanding effort to ban category C and D aircraft from operating into Santa Monica Airport was blocked again, this time by an FAA hearing officer whose 116-page ruling on the FAA Part 16 dispute between the city and the agency stated, among (many) other things: “The ordinance […]
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TSA security badge rule starts June 1
A Transportation Security Administration directive mandating badging at airports serving commercial air carriers is scheduled to go into effect June 1. The controversial new requirement expands the airport identification process to include private aircraft owners, GA maintenance providers, FBO employees, flight instructors, flight school students and other airport tenants needing unescorted access to the airport […]
TSA urged to withdraw badge requirement
The TSA should withdraw its security directive mandating badging at airports serving commercial air carriers, and consult affected parties and find a sensible alternative instread, general aviation leaders said on May 19 in a joint letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. AOPA President Craig Fuller and leaders of other trade associations […]
1940s World War II Ball slated for Boulder Airport
A 1940s World War II Ball is slated for Saturday, June 13, at Colorado’s Boulder Airport (BDU). Aircraft expected to be on display include the British World War I Fighter SE5 from the Hells Angels Flying Team scene in the movie “The Aviator,” a BT13, a Staggerwing, and the “Pacific Prowler” B-25 Mitchell Bomber. The […]
Origami enthusiast breaks paper plane flight record
Takuo Toda, head of the Japanese Origami Airplane Association, set a new world record recently with a 27.9 second flight. Toda’s record-breaking paper plane was made from one uncut sheet of paper, because professional origami airplane modelers would never stoop so far as to use scissors. Toda’s greatest ambition is to launch a paper plane […]
State officials express LASP concerns
The Arkansas Department of Aeronautics Aeronautics Commission has approved a resolution expressing “serious concerns” about the TSA‘s proposed LASP rule and its potential impact on business aviation. In addition, members of the Minnesota State House of Representatives and the Minnesota State Senate have sent letters to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano voicing their […]
CBS shows ‘true face’ of business aviation
CBS News aired an unusually positive segment about business aviation during the May 16-17 weekend. It explained to viewers the true story about the industry’s value to citizens, companies and communities across the United States. CBS featured comments from Wes Stowers, chairman of Stowers Machinery Corporation, a Knoxville, Tennessee-based Caterpillar dealership that relies on a […]
Bolen tells Senate: Planes=Gains
NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen took the No Plane No Gain message to a hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety and Security last week. At the hearing, which was focused on Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization and system modernization, Bolen reminded the panel: “Business aviation means jobs – good jobs – more […]
Congressional GA Caucus growing
Since the April 20 launch of AOPA‘s GA Serves America campaign and the formation of the General Aviation Caucus by Reps. Allen Boyd (D-Fla.) and Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich.), the message that GA is an important economic asset and vital component of the transportation system is spreading throughout Congress, according to a May 18 news release […]