WASHINGTON, D.C. — March is a windy month. That is expected to be especially true this March in the nation’s capital, with much activity, conflict and confusion as lawmakers try to sort out the nation’s fiscal problems. All this activity brings to the forefront several issues that general aviation groups have been wrestling with for […]
Opinion
Sequestration’s effects on general aviation
Any sequestration that goes into effect won’t be felt entirely until April 1 because furlough notices must be given one month in advance. Will sequestration last that long? Or longer? Few even hazard guesses at this time, but if it does, what will be the effect on general aviation? The Budget Control Act of 2011 […]
Republicans say claims of sequestration effects on aviation not backed up by facts
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Announcements by members of the president’s administration about sequestration’s effect on the FAA and aviation are not backed up by facts, says Congressional Republican members of committees in both the Senate and House. “Before jumping to conclusions that furloughs must be implemented, the administration and the agency need to sharpen their pencils […]
Context is hard to find when the numbers are this big
We are all encouraged to “Write Congress” to support [fill in the cause here] from time to time. Often, the intention of the person seeking help is honorable. A post I just read on the Facebook page of Kyle Franklin from Franklin’s Flying Circus is a good example. It is a plea with the best […]
Pilot saves $1,500 annually with mogas
Last June, Cessna 150 owner Mark “Prigs” Priglmeier, president of EAA Chapter 551 in St. Cloud, Minn., estimated that he’d save around $800 annually using mogas. He just sent us the following description of the actual savings from 2012, which were nearly twice his original estimate: “For the year ending 2012, I burned a total […]
SBO adds mogas
Pilots in east-central Georgia have reason to fly more in 2013 since the East Georgia Regional Airport (SBO) in Swainsboro added mogas recently. Contrary to claims from Michael France, director of regulatory affairs for the corporate FBO lobby NATA, that “fuel suppliers believe the market does not support the costs associated with making mogas or […]
Florida ethanol repeal bill moves forward
From GAfuels reader Drew Hatch of Ft. Walton Beach we learned that HB4001, a bill sponsored by Florida State Representative Matt Gaetz to repeal the state’s ethanol mandates, is moving towards a full debate. According to his comments that appeared this week in an article in CapitalSoup.com, “HB4001 has officially cleared the House Energy and […]
An American dream
Livio Gustavo Suarez was 25 years old when he decided to follow his vision of a better life. His native Uruguay did not offer the freedoms he dreamed of and heard about in the United States of America. Government regulations all but bankrupted his import-export business and his marriage did not survive the trauma. When […]
Consequences and public funding
While reading “Inclined to Liberty” by Louis E. Carabini, it struck me that chapter 29, The Hazard of Equalizing Consequences, describes what one often sees at publicly-funded general aviation airports in my home state of North Carolina. Taj Mahal-like, LEED-certififed terminals bristling with solar panels at rural airstrips where more coyotes walk the ramp than […]