It’s long been my contention that people are the magnet that makes airshows and aviation gatherings worth attending — not the aircraft themselves. Admittedly, I am in the minority with that opinion, but the idea seems to be re-enforced for me year after year. This year’s US Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Florida, was no […]
Opinion
Briefly, a showroom of Cubs
Imagine yourself in a dealership filled with new Cubs! That was the scene at Florida’s Spruce Creek Fly-In community recently. For a moment, the FBO morphed into a gleaming showroom of Cubs, both Legend and legendary. Stick-and-Rudder City! Paraphrasing that ‘70s pop song, there were big ones and tall ones and fat ones and small […]
Want to fly a jet?
After some years, I ran into John and Martha King of King Schools at the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Convention this fall and caught their Light Business Aircraft briefing on jet ownership. As usual they were frank, straightforward and fact-based. They told it like it is. It was refreshing, educational too. They know how […]
Dine with Patty Wagstaff
On Day 2 of this year’s Sebring US Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Florida, EAA Chapter 1240 is sponsoring a dinner featuring aerobatic expert Patty Wagstaff who will perform at the show … with such an airshow being a first for Sebring. Proceeds will support youth aviation education programs. The Sebring EAA chapter has engineered […]
Corkey Fornof: Flying with Fury
“I’ve known your name forever,” I told Corkey Fornof, star attraction of the “First Saturday” breakfast last month at LoPresti Speed Merchants in Sebastian, Florida. “Me too!” laughed the stunt pilot legend, showing off the long-awaited LoPresti Fury (nee SwiftFury) these days at airshows. The man is having fun. And can he fly! Everyone’s first […]
New chairs for House Aviation Committees
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Convening of the 113th Congress Wednesday, Jan. 16, brought new congressmen to the chairmanships of the primary committees with jurisdiction over most aviation matters. Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA) was confirmed as chair of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) was named chair of the Aviation Subcommittee. Both […]
Is this an airport?
According to the US Department of Transportation, the US and its territories have more than 19,000 airport, heliports, seaplane bases, and other landing facilities. That’s a lot of aviation. Or at least it’s a lot of potential aviation. Yet, there is a snag in that whopper of a figure we GA enthusiasts should take note […]
Respect for the seldom celebrated man
The odds are good you’ve never heard of Lon Cooper. There’s no reason you would have, really. But you should have. We all should have. At least we should have if life is fair, which it is not. So working on the theory that being late is better than nothing, allow me to make the […]
Stick wigglers vs. glass panel geeks
After flying more than 350 different aircraft models, I’ve become reasonably adept at what some pilots call “stick wiggling.” The reference is for all the actions you take to physically fly the plane. This is about what’s required on very basically-equipped ultralight aircraft that I still love to fly. Modern LSA, however, typically offer loaded […]