Guest Editorial by BRENT OWENS When it comes to promoting aviation are we on the right track? If someone has never seen a light airplane before and decides that maybe this is something they are interested in, what is their first exposure? For many it will be via an Internet search engine or the newsstand. And […]
Opinion
Ask Paul: What’s causing intermittent roughness?
Q: I am an European-based A&P with a customer who is experiencing intermittent roughness and loss of rpm (200) typically close to the top of climb on a long climb out. The roughness goes away once it is throttled back, and it does not occur all the time. The snag can’t be produced on the […]
Yeah, that’s not there anymore…
Normally I write this column in my office in central Florida. I’ve got one at Gilbert Field in Winter Haven, and another in my home where I do a considerable amount of my writing. It’s just more comfortable there. Let’s face it, there’s no place as inviting or as comfortable as home — except perhaps […]
Pilots want mogas support from AOPA, EAA
There is a surprising gem among the results of the AVweb Avgas Survey published on Oct. 6. This statement really caught my attention: “Nearly two thirds of respondents told us they think AOPA and EAA should get more involved in trying to get mogas on more airports.” Five years ago, Barry DiSimone and I wrote […]
We remember the bad, forget the good
Although it is not scheduled to be released until January 2014, I have just finished reading “Fireball, Carole Lombard and the Mystery of Flight 3” by Robert Matzen. His research is impressive. Rather than dwell on the superficial or get bogged down on the sensational aspects of the story, Matzen treats the subjects like real […]
Dumb mistakes and dumb luck
The other week, we Florida east coast residents enjoyed a strong, refreshing breeze — welcome tonic after a long summer. The weatherman said it was out of the north, but flags on the beach weren’t parallel to the surf. Reminds me of a grim story from my flying career. Stay tuned. I’m fessing up! For […]
GA looks to debt ceiling date
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Oct.. 17 is rapidly approaching and even the experts with crystal balls can’t predict what the government will do. Unless Congress moves before then and passes some sort of funding bills, general aviation could suffer more than the few problems the partial government shutdown is now causing. Day-to-day flying under the current […]
Top reasons to buy an LSA
At this year’s Midwest LSA Expo, held Sept. 5-7 at Mt. Vernon Outland Airport (KMVN) in Illinois, I delivered a presentation called “20+ Reasons to Buy an LSA.” However, to handle the subject a little bit differently, I turned it into an audience participation exercise. As I presented each slide of a particular reason, I […]
Talk of privatizing ATC reappears
WASHINGTON, D.C — A wise person once commented that we learn from history that we learn nothing from history. Nothing could be more accurate than the current flap over privatizing the air traffic control system. More than two dozen industrialized nations have turned air traffic control over to private or semi-private organizations. None of these […]