As a new year begins, it seems a good time to attempt to measure how the light end of aviation is doing. As 2014 was the 10th anniversary for Light-Sport Aircraft (LSA), it is doubly useful. We have various ways to assess growth in aviation … pilot starts, new certificates, new airplanes delivered, used aircraft sales, and magazine […]
Opinion
Ferry flight to Florida
Bay Bridge Airport, on Maryland’s Eastern Shore across the Chesapeake Bay from Annapolis, is a special place to fly. It’s even more attractive now with two flight schools specializing in light-sport aircraft (LSA). One recently posted an opportunity that can arise from time to time. When you see one like this, grab it if you […]
It’s called Expo, y’all
As I sit down to write this morning the thermometer is nudging its way toward 80°. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, and the breeze is slight enough to be refreshing without mussing even the most carefully coiffed hairstyle. Welcome to central Florida. This is winter at its finest. I mention this meteorological […]
The end of an era
WASHINGTON, D.C. — It was the best of times and the worst of times. Charles Dickens said that in “A Tale of Two Cities.” But I’m saying it now for me. The worst of times is that at age 92, I must give up writing for General Aviation News the happenings in the nation’s capital and the […]
What time it isn’t
In 1998 Charles Spence – our beloved Capital Comments columnist – was awarded Lifetime Achievement Awards from both the National Business Aviation Association and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. We played a part in making sure Charlie (as we call him) and his lovely wife Majel could be on hand to accept the awards […]
What is causing bent rods and sticking valves?
Q: I am acquainted with two IO-540 engines with 1,000-plus hours that have bent rods in the #5 cylinder and stuck valves in the #2 cylinder. One aircraft was manufactured in 2007 and the other in 2009. The oil has always been changed at 50 hours using Exxon Elite 20/50. Any particular thoughts? RICHARD WEICHMAN, via […]
Pilot reports: The beginnings
“After running the motor a few minutes to heat it up, I released the wire that held the machine to the track, and the machine started forward into the wind,” reported Orville Wright in the December 1913 issue of Flying magazine. Though possibly not the first pilot report in an aviation journal, it sure is a […]
Take it to the bank
A few decades ago, I became very interested in electronics. The home computer was just beginning to look like a viable product and it occurred to me that devices that used to be purely mechanical were rapidly transitioning to become computerized. Once gas pumps and grocery store checkout counters stopped clacking and banging in favor of […]
One dicey noise flap
A flying buddy emailed me about the big noise flap at East Hampton Airport near the tip of New York’s Long Island. In fact, I’ve been watching since The New York Times covered it this summer. Now, with federal grant assurances set to expire Dec. 31, there may be a tricky crossroads ahead for general […]