Forty years and more than 8,000 airplanes flying easily makes Van’s Aircraft the most prolific kit aircraft supplier in the history of aviation. Does anyone in flying not know about the RV-series? What everyone may not know (or remember) is that Van’s entered into a deal with Synergy Air to fully build an initial run […]
Opinion
Critical thinking
There is a important difference between critical thinking and being critical. Knowing that difference can be the deciding factor in whether you are successful at affecting change or become an ineffectual aggravating irritant. Now that I have your attention…it will come as no surprise to learn I have a tendency to critique almost every aspect […]
I do not consent to searches
By DAVE HOOK. When did American citizens give up Fourth Amendment rights just because they became pilots? Over the past year, there have been numerous reports of searches of private aircraft without warrants. The accounts described by the pilots also suggest that insufficient cause was given by the law enforcement agencies conducting the searches. This […]
The show must go on
GUEST EDITORIAL By PHILIP HANDLEMAN Sequestration is forcing the Pentagon to slash $41 billion this year on top of the $487 billion reduction in defense spending already mandated over the next 10 years. Resultantly, a cruel triage within the Defense Department has taken hold. Communities across America are waking to the reality that their scheduled […]
Is FAA demand double taxation?
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Each year the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture Oshkosh attracts more aircraft, pilots, and aviation enthusiasts than any other aviation gathering in the United States, but this year EAA is facing paying the FAA an estimated $500,000 for doing its job. Payment is necessary, say FAA officials, because sequester has cut off necessary […]
The new FAA: Nimble
[Start sarcasm]: The FAA has seen the light. With its budget challenged by sequestration, FAA brass came up with a “pay for play” program to extort — er… I mean bill — the nation’s fly-ins for traffic control. This is a great thing. You see, FAA leadership has realized now what uncertainty means. So in the future, when ICON […]
The FAA’s broken record?
As General Aviation News reported yesterday, the FAA has issued a long-anticipated request for proposals for a lead-free drop-in replacement for avgas. As described in the agency’s press release from June 10, “The Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today asked the world’s fuel producers to submit proposals for fuel options that would help […]
Beyond the bumper sticker
Periodically my eye is drawn to a bumper sticker while I’m out driving. Many are aviation oriented — or at least many of the stickers I see are. The slogans are familiar to you as well, I’m sure: “I’d rather be flying.” “My other car is an airplane.” “I love jet noise.” They’re all positive […]
Florida and Maine pass symbolic anti-ethanol laws
In moves that are largely symbolic, Florida and Maine recently passed laws aimed at providing more ethanol-free options at the pump. As described in the marine publication Trade Only, “It’s one more mandate off the books,” state Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, who has been trying to achieve the repeal since he took office […]