Is the Federal Aviation Authority (yep, you read that correctly) trying to connect with you?
After all, they’re trying to connect with me. Check out the following screenshot of an email that just arrived to my inbox. [Read more…]
Concern for the bottom line hurts general aviation
When I got out of college in 1967 and started work, most companies were run by technical people who supported research and development.
In the lab we were allowed a lot of latitude to work on related projects that may not have an immediate payout.
This lasted for a few years, but with the change in economy, many companies started to shift more and more to the “Business School” model. If it had settled to a happy medium that would be good, but that did not happen. The business-types took over more and more companies. This resulted in the near failure of several car companies and others.
Some companies have shifted back, but the general rule in the business world today is that the bottom line is the only concern. This has hit the general aviation world in many ways. [Read more…]
Video: One of us has to fly this airplane…
When I was 15 years old I was approximately as smart as a sweet potato. That’s not flattering, but it bears a reasonable resemblance to the truth. What’s worse is that the sweet potato was in general more useful than I was.
You can ask my mom. Even as kind and generous as she is, she’s likely to confirm the above description as bring fairly accurate.
Thankfully, the years have been kind to me. I straightened up, found my calling, and got to be pretty good at telling a story, flying an airplane, and finding people who were willing to pay me to do one or both of those things.
Interestingly enough, everything I’ve done professionally, with real enthusiasm, turns out to be the same things I used to do with great zeal as a hobby. [Read more…]
A drool-worthy collection of LSA seaplanes
SUN ‘n FUN 2018 ended a record event on a Sunday. Traveling home Monday, I had less than a 24-hour turnaround before jetting across the Atlantic for Aero Friedrichshafen 2018, which started Wednesday. As on a roller coaster, all I could do was hold on tightly.
For an aviation buff, the month of April is something like being a kid in a candy store. So many fun airplanes. So few days to absorb the images, stories, people, and excitement.
Sandwiched in the partial day between getting home from SUN ‘n FUN and blasting off to Europe, one more cool thing happened: A gathering of Light-Sport seaplanes. [Read more…]
Sal’s back — let’s celebrate
Something happened over this past weekend that could be seen in one of two ways. It was either a perfectly ordinary event that is hardly worthy of notice to anyone but those directly involved, or it was a remarkable achievement deserving of applause.
I’ll let you decide.
The story involves my friend who, for the purposes of this story, we’ll call, Sal. Here’s the scenario: Sal got up, packed a few necessary items into the car, drove about an hour to an airport, pre-flighted and prepped an airplane, then flew solo for more than an hour.
As I said, it’s either a perfectly ordinary event hardly worth our noticing, or a remarkable achievement. Personally, I tend to side with the latter. [Read more…]
Are you sure we aren’t moving?
During SUN ‘n FUN I had an opportunity “fly” ALSIM’s AL250 flight simulator.
Stepping into the cockpit of the AL250 brought me back to the 1980s when I attended the University of North Dakota and flew countless hours in Frasca simulators. [Read more…]
That’s a Standard, not a Jenny
Popular history has a way of making icons of some aircraft and almost ignoring others.
In the case of American World War I biplane trainers, the Curtiss JN-4 and JN-6 Jenny series of biplanes are undisputed icons of their era.
But there was another American trainer of 1917-18 that all too often gets lumped in with the Jenny in well-meaning but erroneous photo identification. It is the J-1 Standard biplane.
Its general configuration bears some remarkable similarities to the Jenny, but there are also some salient differences. [Read more…]
Aviation City rises and shines
Summer comes early in South Florida. Temperatures rise into the 80s and 90s while much of the north is still contending with melting snow, cold wind-driven rain, and yet one more oil delivery to keep the furnace running.
It’s on such a day that I sit at a picnic table across from George Chase, president of the Friends of Arcadia Airport. He’s not just the president, though. He’s truly the driving force behind the organization. For all the volunteers and community involvement he’s been able to garner over the years, nobody — and I mean nobody — puts in the hours or the effort George has.
The fruits of that labor are clearly evident to anyone wandering to the north side of this rural, non-towered airport. Behind the T-hangars sits a pilot shelter. This is where George and I are passing the time on a warm Spring morning. [Read more…]
One tricked out Maule
In the business world, it doesn’t get any better than hearing a client is happy. Really happy. [Read more…]
Airspace has never been more valuable, and will never again be this cheap
Lately, I’ve had two images stuck in my head. The first is an Interstate highway overwhelmed by gridlock. The second is a graph of the population of the United States. [Read more…]