Among the many things taken for granted today is long-distance travel by jet airliners. So common is long-distance air travel that there have even been around-the-world races for general aviation aircraft. One forgets that regularly scheduled intercontinental commercial air travel only came into being after World War II. The roots of long-distance flight lie in […]
Opinion
By the numbers
We all have a lot of numbers thrown at us every day. A few numbers I’ve heard in the last few weeks are worrying, but I’ve also heard some numbers that give me hope. From Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association President Craig Fuller at the Southeast Aviation Expo in Greenville, S.C., last month: Over the […]
The other husband
“It’s funny how things evolve. If you’ve ever noticed, change is seldom abrupt. Instead, it comes like spring, in small, barely perceptible stages, until one day you look around and realize your world is green again. That’s the way it was with Boonie. One day, Charles Watson Darnell, known about town simply as Boonie, was […]
Experiences in other nations raise concerns about proposed user fee
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congress and the president have big taxation problems to resolve before the end of this year, so there will no doubt be a lot of discussion about aviation user fees. On Dec. 31, all the “Bush” tax cuts will expire, the debt limit will need to be increased, and payroll tax cuts […]
Join the club
The subject of flying clubs and their relative merit has taken up space in this column before. I’m a believer. The idea of spreading the cost of ownership across eight or 10 or 12 partners in a flying club makes sense. And that’s to say nothing of the social aspects that can be so beneficial […]
GAN’s own Jamie Beckett wins AOPA’s Let’s Go Flying Award
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) has named Jamie Beckett, our Politics for Pilots blogger, recipient of its 2012 Let’s Go Flying Award, for his efforts in promoting and defending general aviation. The award was presented Thursday during the AOPA Aviation Summit in Palm Springs, Calif. Beckett’s love of aviation began early as the […]
Bringing the cost of flying down
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Manufacturers of general aviation airplanes, users of those airplanes, and the FAA are taking steps to reduce the costs, complexity, and time involved in certification in an effort to reduce prices and stem the decline in general aviation flying. Recently, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association held […]
The race to euthanasia
I received an email over the weekend that stunned me. I don’t use that term lightly, either. I was truly shocked. The opening sentence read, “The fact is GA is just about done for.” That got my attention. Not only is that a sentiment I disagree with entirely, it is a position that I cannot […]
Compatible use
Recently my wife, kids, Mom and I all flew to Des Moines, Iowa, for the wedding of one of my cousins. While in Des Moines, we drove east to Newton to see where my Mom grew up. On our way in, I drove past the town so we could visit the Newton Municipal Airport (TNU). […]