In what is sure to provide more fodder for the ongoing debate over the future of leaded avgas, the Children’s Environmental Health Initiative, at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment in Durham, N.C., recently released a study “A Geospatial Analysis of the Effects of Aviation Gasoline on Childhood Blood Lead Levels”. In this research, […]
Opinion
LGB air quality to be studied, autogas cited as partial solution
According to an article in the Long Beach Business Journal, the air quality at Long Beach Airport (LGB) in Southern California will soon be the subject of a major study. As cited in the article, “A regional air pollution control agency in Southern California, in conjunction with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is planning […]
Ask Paul: What’s best? A flush or overhaul?
Q: I recently found paper towel bits and pieces in a Lycoming engine in an aerobatic airplane. The pilot said he saw the oil pressure go to “zero,” so he reduced power, and landed safely. Would you suggest a flush or overhaul? What’s the best way to go about this? ED NELSON, via email A: […]
Next step for Pilot’s Bill of Rights
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Pilot’s Bill of Rights is moving along through Congress after Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) recently introduced a companion bill to one introduced last year in the Senate by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), which now has more than 60 co-sponsors. The two bills are meant to improve the relationship between general aviation […]
Cloudy skies ahead for ethanol
On Dec. 31, 2011, the 45 cent per gallon federal “blender credit” for ethanol finally ended with little fanfare, as described in this article from U.S. News. Since fuel producers are still required to meet the RFS ethanol mandates in EISA 2007, the end to the credits will have no effect on the continued adulteration […]
A story that should have been told years ago
David Joseph Rushlow was an extraordinarily kind man. I never saw him without a smile on his face, and I never heard him say an unkind word to or about anyone. He often flew around with candy and a bag of toys for the airport kids in his Stinson 108, his Citabria, or the Stinson […]
Beauty and the bird: Do esthetics matter?
Even those who are not Apple fans agree the trend-setting California company’s focus on design beauty draws attention to its products. From its position near the back of the pack a dozen years ago, Apple has become the most valuable tech company in the world. Could this be due to its highly-refined sense of esthetics? […]
Microsoft embraces LSAs
Microsoft recently announced the return of Flight Simulator, once one of the best-selling games on computers. Well, in truth, it’s no longer called Flight Simulator, rather simply “Flight.” In 2009 Microsoft abruptly dropped Flight Sim, leaving only the techy X-Plane for digital joystick jockeys. It’s way above my pay grade to understand why the Microsoft […]
Fracking, Bakken, Marcellus and GA
Some of the best energy news in recent years is the discovery of massive oil and gas reserves in the Bakken and Marcellus fields, among others. Thanks to advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking), deposits once thought unprofitable have now created an economic boom in Montana, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and other places where […]