My associate in Europe, Jan Fridrich of the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association (LAMA) Europe, has been the source for a database search for many years as I seek to report light-sport aircraft (LSA) market share statistics in the USA. He scours the FAA registration information and laboriously assembles the numbers. As he and I work […]
Opinion
Top 5 Reasons to Get Airborne
I’ve never really understood why it’s true, but people seem to like lists for some reason. They’re forever buying magazines and clicking on hot links that will take them to The Top 3 Retirement Destinations in America, or The Top 5 Cars For 2016, or The Top 10 Reasons You Should Shop at Ralph’s. It’s […]
Is this converted engine reliable?
Q: We recently bored a Lycoming 290-D2 engine to accept 320 cylinders (low compression) with 8.5:1 pistons. The engine has all new bearings and valves, and everything has been magnafluxed, balanced, etc. We retained a very good 290 D2 crankshaft. From experience, would you say it could make a reliable engine? Gilles St Pierre, AVIATION BSL (Canada) A: […]
Thank you Dee
It should go without saying that aviation means a little (or a lot) more in Alaska. But it’s so much fun to talk about. My wife, Deb, and I just returned from Anchorage and the 19th annual Great Alaska Aviation Gathering. Once again, the FedEx Maintenence Hangar at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport was packed to the […]
United we stand, divided we … you know the rest
The difference between a mob and a group is subtle, but it’s there Often the distinction rests on the organization of the gathering and the leadership that officiates over it. Even with the best of intentions, a peaceful, seemingly docile group of people can be stirred into near hysterics with little more than a rumor […]
The assistant principal
By JEB BURNSIDE. Most people have what it takes to become a pilot — some don’t Several people in my southern hometown’s high school were interested in learning to fly. Either the local Civil Air Patrol’s composite squadron — my chosen path for primary training — or the Reserve Officer Training Program (ROTC) provided relatively inexpensive […]
Can I use these cylinders?
Q: I have several wide deck cylinders (for a Lycoming) 360 but the deck is a little bit thinner than normal and the deck looks like it is milled or radiused around the attach nuts area on the deck. I’m not sure where I got them from, but are they early style wide deck? Can I mix […]
A farewell to Bob Lock
Bob Lock was a good ol’ boy, in the best sense of the word. You may have known him. If not, you almost certainly know someone who did. Aviation is a tight-knit, fairly small community of individuals who somehow manage to cross paths with one another somewhere or other as they walk along the road […]
Why do we lie?
We pilots of a certain age were taught in school that George Washington never told a lie. Teachers drove the point home with a story about America’s first president and a certain felled cherry tree. I’m not sure why a lesson about being honest had to involve George Washington. Maybe it was to make the […]