Believe it or not, I am not universally loved and admired. None of us are, really, so I’m sure you’re not exactly bowled over by this admission. But once you step into the political arena, you more or less guarantee that you’re going to become a target to at least a few folks. Know that […]
Opinion
Strong opposition to user fees repeated
Publisher note: This story was updated (see content in parens in the opening paragraph) September 18, 2012. WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Obama’s proposal to impose a $100 per-flight user fee (which as currently proposed on Page 31 here exempts, “All piston aircraft, military aircraft, public aircraft, air ambulances, aircraft operating outside of controlled airspace, and […]
Cirrus returning to LSA? Well, yes…for Icon
Icon Aircraft and Cirrus Aircraft recently announced a deal for the general aviation composite aircraft producer to build parts of the Icon A5 and the news introduced dates for the A5 to come to market. Several years ago I traveled to Cirrus’ Duluth, Minnesota, plant in the company of the Icon top leaders, including CEO […]
Remarkably priced, fully built & powerful CH-750
So, if you’ve been one of those lamenting the high cost of LSA, well, you have a few other worthy choices, but TennAir brings a new one.
The cost of certification
Again, I repeat, the preceding is merely a discussion, but one with many plot twists. It will certainly be interesting to watch how the FAA rules on either exemption mentioned above and how companies and organizations pursue their goals. More importantly, how will the market — that is, you pilots — demand each kind of certification? Only time will tell.
The saviors of general aviation
Guest Editorial By MITCH LATTING and JOLIE LUCAS Recently a critic of ours said that we “fly around the country acting like they are the saviors of general aviation.” As we thought about this criticism, we had to admit there is some truth to the statement. We so strongly believe in promoting general aviation, we […]
Bringing gridlock to the skies
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As members of Congress come back to their offices Sept. 10 after the August vacation, aviation interests will be eager to see what, if anything, is done about “sequestration,” which might cut $1 billion from the FAA budget. Money has been a major problem for years. After almost five years of trying, […]
Electric! Gorgeous! Freedom!…4th generation ULS
Randall Fishman virtually invented the electric aircraft. That’s a rather big statement, yet I stand behind it. Randall first showed a functional electric trike at Oshkosh 2007. He’s been on a tear ever since and his ULS is his present state-of-the-art, his fourth generation of electric aircraft design. I use three words to describe ULS […]
How to break-in your engine
I recently received a letter asking about engine break-in following overhaul. This is a subject that should be of interest to everyone, even though you may never actually have the opportunity to break-in an engine during your flying years. It makes no difference whether it is a factory new, factory rebuilt, factory overhaul, or an […]