Rhett Ross, president of Teledyne Continental Motors (TCM), will be the featured guest speaker at the regular bi-monthly meeting of the Atlanta Aero Club scheduled for March 12. His topic will be the challenges ahead for general aviation piston aircraft. Ross, who became president of TCM in 2007, has 21 years of mechanical and nuclear […]
News
Discarded ELTs could prompt massive searches
The Civil Air Patrol and AOPA are teaming up to remind pilots to dispose of their old emergency locator transmitters (ELTs) properly. Many pilots are upgrading to the more capable 406 MHz ELTs, even though, strictly speaking, 121.5 MHz ELTs still meet the FAA’s regulatory requirement. The possibility exists that a discarded 121.5 MHz ELT […]
User fees in Obama budget proposal
President Barack H. Obama’s proposed budget is calling for aviation user charges starting in 2011, writes Warren D. Morningstar of AOPA. The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the proposal on Feb. 26 and, although there is not much detail, the document makes it clear that the administration wants to replace some […]
TSA airports initiative raises major concerns
As more details of new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) airport-security programs come to light, a troubling picture of yet another unnecessary threat to aviators’ freedoms is emerging. Airport-security directives that the TSA has been holding close to its vest are starting to provoke strong objections from EAA, AOPA and other general aviation groups. Although TSA […]
‘Paper Airplane Guy’ at Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum
John Collins, known as the Paper Airplane Guy, will present a special demonstration and sign books on Saturday, Feb. 28, at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. at the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. The presentation is free with museum admission. Collins, who has been featured on CNN, Discovery Channel’s “Next Step” and CBS’ “This […]
McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center offers free admission
The new McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord, N.H., officially opens Friday, March 6. Admission is free for the opening weekend, courtesy of Northeast Delta Dental. For more information: StarHop.com.
‘Dead Downwind’ author to speak
Bill Riddle, author of the novel “Dead Downwind,” is scheduled to speak at the Pacific Aviation Museum, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. and March 1 at 2 p.m. He will be signing books at both times. Riddle, described as “a spellbinding storyteller” by the museum’s KT Budd-Jones, will talk about Cdr. […]
TSA says mule skinners need background checks, too
Two mule skinners, who are seasonal workers dressed in colonial garb at a historical park which has one boat pulled by two mules, are being subjected to nonsensical TSA rules similar to those currently threatening general aviation, according to Mike M. Ahlers, writing for CNNPolitics.com. A federal anti-terror law that requires many pilots, truckers, ship […]
Fuel-efficient aircraft authority Bernard Carson dies
Bernard H. Carson, whose “Carson Speed” formula defines the speed at which an airplane maximizes speed and minimizes fuel consumption, died Feb. 15 at Annapolis, Maryland. He was 75. Dr. Carson was a professor of aerospace engineering at the U.S. Naval Academy for 31 years, educating generations of Naval Aviators. He was instrumental in building […]