Getting back to the main point, if you don’t remove the piston from the cylinder, then you don’t have to worry about disturbing the marriage I spoke of, and honing and installing new rings is not required.
Opinion
Controllers say realignment OK if they are part of plan
WASHINGTON, D.C — Congress is taking a look at the FAA’s plans and efforts to consolidate air traffic control facilities and the controllers’ union says it supports the changes, but only if safety, efficiency, and service are improved. Paul Rinaldi, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, told the House Aviation Subcommittee that facility […]
FAA study: GA airports a national asset
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nearly 50 years ago I wrote a magazine article titled “Airports are for people who DON’T fly.” The FAA’s recently released 18-month study of GA airports has information documenting that claim, which people who don’t fly should know. The study tells of the many different functions at these airports that advance the […]
Pipistrel finalizes a new LSA trainer
Engineers at Pipistrel must not sleep in too often. This company, which won the NASA efficiency challenge several times — in 2011 taking home a $1.35 million cash prize — just unveiled a full-size version of a sleek four-seat design called the Panthera. Now on the other end of the spectrum comes its Alpha Trainer, […]
Airshows, spectators, and the inimitable Fred Rogers
If you’re reading this post, you can be fairly sure that you’re an aviation enthusiast. You might be a pilot, but you might not be, too. Believe it or not, there are massive numbers of people scattered across the globe who are aviation enthusiasts, yet who don’t personally feel the need to grasp the controls […]
FAA forecast: Spot on or improbable?
As the Light-Sport Aircraft industry ramps up for a summer of flying and the season’s biggest celebration of flight, AirVenture Oshkosh, I am still analyzing the FAA’s recently issued 20-year forecast for aviation, which shows growth prospects for LSAs, while predicting a decline in the total number of piston-powered aircraft. Viewed from a distance, this might […]
LSAs vs. Cessna 150s
The downside for LSA: They aren’t as well known, they cost a lot more (new always does), and the mechanics don’t know them as well.
The conundrum of community
We who write about general aviation have a tendency to use a particular term to describe the lot of us. It is fairly common for us to describe the collective bunch as “the aviation community.” The intent is to bond us together, at least in the reader’s mind. And in many cases the term is […]
Welcome to Sling
Have you been thinking that it’s been some time since a new Special LSA was announced? While the torrid pace of yesteryear has abated, it ain’t over by a long shot. I know of at least a dozen aircraft still in progress to achieve SLSA status. Now, welcome to Sling, SLSA #125. Back on April […]