Icon Aircraft has been (probably not too patiently) waiting for the FAA to answer its formal request for exemption to the Light-Sport Aircraft gross weight parameter for its Icon A5 (pictured). The Southern California company submitted a proper package to the FAA after carefully laying the groundwork by talking to key leaders in and out […]
Opinion
The ‘new’ SUN ’n FUN
This woman is lit! She’s electric. Lori Bradner, selected late last year — in lieu of a new Florida Air Museum director — is now SUN ’n FUN’s executive director of education. That’s right: SUN ’n FUN now highlights youth education and year-round engagement, not just an annual celebration of aviation’s glory. The entire team […]
Santa Monica stumbles…again
Earlier this month the city council of Santa Monica, California, decided to strike a blow for economic parity by instituting landing fees at the airport. As a former city commissioner of a small city that owns an airport, I can say this about their decision: It’s short-sighted. As an individual involved in economic development of […]
Reversed adventures
We have an agreement that if chores get too strenuous, projects get too overwhelming, or lists get too long, it’s time to hit the road. Sometimes, it’s just for the day, but every few weeks, we’ll do an overnighter, and every couple of months we do several days. We don’t go far; maybe a few […]
LSA video bonanza
We were busy at Aero Friedrichshafen 2013, knocking out more than 30 videos for your viewing information and entertainment. That’s more than seven videos per day and a sum of more than five hours total running time (more than three Hollywood movies in minutes of viewing time). With these and all the videos shot at […]
Connecting pilots to promote GA
By JEFF SIMON, Guest Editorial As hobbies go, flying has become a fairly solitary experience, at least in the air. The vast majority of general aviation flights are with a single occupant — the pilot. Added to that is the fact that flight hours have been in a steady decline for years, so we’re flying […]
Visiting Rotax and Pipistrel
We paid two memorable visits after AERO ended and I’ll tell you a little about each one … but first … While I was at Pipistrel in the office of boss Ivo Boscarol, he received word that Matevz Lenarcic had reached the North Pole on his flight reported earlier. Congratulations on this achievement; a long […]
Summer’s coming: Cool it, fellow pilots!
Across the northern U.S. states and across much of Europe it was a lousy, cold, snowy winter. It seemed everyone I spoke to at AERO in Friedrichshafen, Germany, complained about the crappy winter and their laments mirrored those from America’s northlands. However, the weather appears to be going directly from winter to summer. It was […]
The view from above
Being a pilot offers a special overview of your world and the events affecting it. It’s part of what makes flying special. This month’s devastating tornados call this to mind. Our airborne views of human civilization and nature’s ways are perspectives the Average Joe might not see in a lifetime. This month’s news from Tornado […]