On Memorial Day I had a chance to visit Icon Aircraft and spend some time with CEO Kirk Hawkins. We met seven years ago — just after the Sport Pilot/Light-Sport Aircraft (LSA) rule was released — near the beginning of his ambitions to create an entirely clean-sheet LSA amphibian. Recently, Icon released a video to […]
Opinion
Mind your manners
Years ago when I was writing a weekly column for a local newspaper, a reporter asked me, innocently enough, “Where do you get your ideas from?” He meant well. As a reporter he wasn’t paid to be creative. His bread and butter came from being accurate. That was his comfort level and he did his […]
NTSB studies how to improve general aviation safety
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In spite of improvements to commercial and corporate aviation safety records, the general aviation accident rate has been stubbornly resistant to safety initiatives, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board said as she opened a two-day gathering to evaluate the current state of GA safety and consider if something should be […]
Evektor wins EASA Type Certificate
The rush is on in Europe, at least for the best-prepared of LSA producers. EASA, the European Aviation Safety Agency, has accepted ASTM standards as a means of certifying light aircraft in the European Union, but put its own stamp on this approval. Those wishing to sell an ASTM-compliant SLSA in Europe have some extra […]
Mr. Murphy and his laws
I didn’t make the Lady Taildragger Fly-In held in Savannah, Tenn., the first weekend in June, and from the comments on the website and the texts from my friend and fellow pilot, Sharon Tinkler, it was a roaring success. Kudos to founder and organizer of Ladies Love Taildraggers, Judy Birchler, and Savannah-Hardin airport manager Montille […]
The Shuttle ‘has wings’ with the public, why not GA?
East Coast folks and TV viewers everywhere flocked to watch the Space Shuttles fly into Washington and New York recently. Some Washington friends took the day off. AAA even published safety tips to avoid distraction if you saw a Shuttle overhead while driving. The public was fascinated. So why is our flying now so seemingly […]
Shades of grey
General Aviation News columnist Dan Johnson recently wrote about LSAs vs. Cessna 150s. The post discusses the pros and cons of a new Light-Sport Aircraft versus the venerable Cessna 150. Dan was a long-time 150 owner and is “the man” when it comes to new LSAs, so he’s as much an expert on both — […]
The closing of Mattituck
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: I believe it was in 2003 that my brother told me about a program called the Mattituck Engine Workshop sponsored, as you can guess, by Teledyne Mattituck Services. It was free and all you had to do was to get there. The program took a group of people, put them in […]
GA gets attention in FAA administrator hearing
The FAA “completely understands the importance of general aviation,” Michael Huerta told a Senate committee Thursday, June 21, in his hearing for nomination to be FAA administrator. He has been acting administrator since the resignation of Randy Babbitt after his arrest for driving under the influence. In his opening statement, Heurta asked the rhetorical question […]