By JEB BURNSIDE. One of my earliest aviation memories is of a family holiday trip from our home in Illinois to Florida, spending the season with not one, but two, grandmothers and relations. Any Christmas dinner for 30 or so members of the same family won’t be without its drama, and I’m sure that one […]
Opinion
All pros, no cons
Regardless of what they fly, where they fly, or how they feel about flying, there is one thing all pilots have in common. We have a restriction that says we have to fly with a flight instructor now and again to demonstrate our proficiency. Most people think of that proficiency requirement as having to do […]
First woman to cross the continent by air
“Girl to Fly Across Nation” was how the Oakland Tribune reported the plan of Lillian Gatlin of San Francisco to make an aerial trip from coast-to-coast via air mail. It was her idea to do this in honor of mothers whose sons were aviators and killed during the First World War. Gatlin was consigned by […]
I’m already registered
The FAA has never shown interest in the airspace below the top of the 100-plus-foot tall evergreen trees that surround my home. They’ve never inspected. They’ve never inquired. Nothing. Why? In part because it isn’t “navigable” airspace. That all changed when the FAA recently issued an Interim Final Rule that states “anyone who owns a […]
In my opinion…
Recently, while covering the subject of Part 91 regulations with a crowd of general aviation enthusiasts, I posed this question: Let’s say you’re planning on making a day VFR flight from your local airport. You show up and preflight the airplane and everything looks great — except the attitude indicator isn’t working. Can you still make the […]
Global growth phenomenon
Now that 2015 has entered the history books, we will slowly begin to see statistics for the year. My guess is that most aviation media will completely miss one of the big picture perspectives. This oversight does not represent a knowledge failure, but instead reflects a U.S-centric focus on general aviation. In the world of […]
Not all doom and gloom
Doom and gloom too often find the spotlight. While some view the world through Eeyore’s sad eyes, many are too busy enjoying what life — and flying — have to offer. A FRESHMAN’S FIRST SEMESTER Swayne Martin is a freshman at the University of North Dakota (UND). He also happens to co-lease a 1968 Cessna 172I with […]
Are pilots lone wolves or domesticated dogs?
I recently read about a study involving dogs in homes, dogs in shelters, and wolves. The researchers rounded up 10 animals from each category and gave them each a puzzle box containing a food reward. The catch was that the box could only be opened with some persistence. Eight of the 10 wolves successfully opened […]
Change is in the air
Human beings are, by nature, a somewhat dull and pedestrian crowd. They tend to like the status quo and abhor change. If you know any human beings, you’ve no doubt noticed this characteristic of their personalities. Perhaps nothing illustrates this resistance to change the way the global cooling/global warming/climate change argument has. Had the earth’s […]