Although I am a huge and unrepentant advocate for general aviation, my first exposure to flight involved a big aluminum tube powered by four round engines. Eastern Airlines was the carrier. Bradley Field in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, was the departure point. Gainesville, Florida, was the destination, with a change of airplanes in Atlanta. I was […]
Opinion
“The solution is simple”
“If we truly want to fix the real problems facing the FAA today, the solution is simple,” claims Oregon Representative Peter DeFazio. Really? “Congress can and should pass targeted reforms.” Cool. That is simple. Umm. So… why haven’t you passed “targeted reforms” Rep. DeFazio? After all, you’ve served as a member of the House Transportation […]
End of an Air Force: Germany after World War II
At war’s end, statistics showed the race to produce German jet fighters like the Me 262 was ramping up.
Can you rebuild a narrow deck engine into a wide deck?
Q: I’d be most grateful if you could advise whether it would be feasible to take a narrow-deck Lycoming 360-A1A and rebuild it as a wide deck 360-A1A, with a new crankcase and cylinders. What parts could be reused otherwise? Mark Holmes A: Mark, you asked for my advice regarding taking a Lycoming 360-A1A series narrow-deck […]
From here to there and back again
My friend Eirlys is a youthful ball of fire. She’s just 18 years old. As of last week she’s now an official high school graduate, with a diploma to prove it. If all goes well, and weather permitting, she’ll be a brand new private pilot by the end of next week. She’s really something. I ran […]
Horrific story of survival leads to ELT
As the saying goes, “aviation regulation is written in blood.” In the case of the emergency locator transmitter (ELT) regulation, I suppose it would be more accurate to say “written in horrific survival.” I just finished Ross Nixon’s detailed and informative book, “Finding Carla,” which tells the nightmarish story of 15-year-old Carla Corbus, her mother […]
First VFR flights to Cuba
After the last guy in office decided Cuba could be visited by Americans, a growing flock has been doing so. Europeans have been going for a long time; now Yankees can, too. One thing no one has been doing is flying VFR to Cuba. According to John Craparo, this was the first time in at […]
If at first you don’t succeed…
In 1992 I stumbled across the first airplane I ever seriously considered buying. I was a hard-working CFI back then. My income wasn’t going to set the world on fire, but maybe, just maybe I could find a way to buy the classic T-craft with the faded “For Sale” sign behind its windshield. Even though […]
The FAA gets its knuckles rapped
The FAA’s drone registry is unlawful. So says the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Way back when the 2012 FAA Modernization and Reform Act was passed, the legislation stated “that the FAA ‘may not promulgate any rule or regulation regarding a model aircraft.’” Circuit Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh wrote, “Statutory interpretation does not […]