The truth is out there… somewhere. Last week, a proposed amendment to the House’s National Defense Authorization Act caused a bit of a firestorm. The proposed amendment from Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio) would “bar the Department of Defense from loaning or gifting any U.S. military aircraft or parts to any entity except those that would put the […]
Opinion
Flying on wings of Mercury
Though Hammondsport, N.Y., is synonymous with the name Glenn Curtiss and well known as the home of the Curtiss Aeroplane Co., after World War I Hammondsport also became the home of another aircraft manufacturer — Aerial Service Corp. Aerial Service Corp. was conceived and formed in early 1920 by former members of the Curtiss company. […]
Winners and losers
Regardless of what kind of business you are in, there is one common component that has massive influence on whether you experience economic success or disaster. That component is known as the customer. Yep, customers are the magic elixir of business, regardless of whether you’re selling toothpaste, muscle cars, or flight lessons. In the end […]
An ally in the fight for general aviation
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Since 2007, the Alliance for Aviation Across America has been spreading the word about general aviation to elected officials, the media and, to some degree, the general public. It is proving to be a strong part of general aviation’s continuing struggle to gain recognition and to prevent burdensome regulations, taxes, and restrictions […]
The engines of AERO Friedrichshafen
Your blogger is attending the AERO Friedrichshafen show in sunny southern Germany. Among the hundreds of exhibits are many new aircraft engines, some with names like Continental and Lycoming most Americans would recognize, but others that are relatively unknown in the U.S. While a full report will have to wait until next week, one thing […]
Looking for Clint Eastwood
Folks haven’t seen us around the airport much for the past few weeks. An early and long spring has put the Old Man into a planting and building fervor. You name the vegetable and it’s probably planted in our garden. It’s really nice to have fresh produce, but many of the vegetables he planted in […]
LSA news from Sun ’n Fun continues
Splogger (Sport Pilot Blogger) Dan Johnson continues his recap of Sun ’n Fun, with this installment reporting some news from the show: The 10-year-old committee (F37) that worked with ASTM to write LSA certification standards had its first-ever meetings at Sun ’n Fun. I was unable to attend due to other duties, but the volunteer […]
A word of advice: Be polite for a better outcome
When viewed from a comfortably detached perspective, the ironies of life can be entertaining. Let’s face it, we all get a lot of good stories from the oddities that happen all around us. Then again, those same ironies can be an infuriating series of experiences if seen from a viewpoint that includes personal involvement. Consider, […]
More LSA news from Sun ’n Fun
Splogger (Sport Pilot Blogger) Dan Johnson continues his recap of what he found interesting at this year’s Sun ’n Fun. Today: Cool fly-in stuff: I visited with Mark Ausman of Vertical Power. I never fully grokked their product line of electronic circuit breakers, but I’ve got it now and understand the enthusiasm airframe makers and […]