Congressman Todd Rokita (Indiana) is a commercially-rated pilot who shares my concern with regulatory bloat and responded to my editorial “Have you put on some weight?” I recently read your editorial in General Aviation News titled “Have you put on a few pounds?” As both a commercially rated private pilot and as a member of […]
Opinion
Occupy General Aviation
You’ve seen them on the news. They’re mostly young, but a broad spectrum of age brackets is evident in the full group. Often angry, frequently lacking focus, they have successfully done something the general aviation market has been loathe to do — attract massive media attention. On that score they’re winning the battle. First it […]
Controller error report tells only a partial story
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Air traffic controller errors on and around airports have increased sharply in recent years, but data gathered by the Government Accounting Office (GAO) doesn’t tell the complete story. Mistakes by controllers handling arrival and departures have nearly double in the past three years. Runway incursions at airports with control towers increased more […]
Flight time for pay?
Clay Lacy was honored at NBAA2011 with the Meritorious Service to Aviation Award. From Mary F. Silitch’s story at AINonline, Lacy is quoted as saying, “at 12, I started working at Cannonball Airport receiving flight time for pay.” Historically, that was pretty common. Does anyone pay with flight time anymore?
A campaign begins
Readers write to me from time to time. I’m glad they do. The wonders of the computer age allow us to communicate with each other more easily and productively than ever before. Email doesn’t cost a thing, and with the ability to attach photos, as well as links to videos or other content, means that […]
NextGen: Over budget and behind schedule
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Cost overruns, time delays, and management mistakes are all causing the NextGen program to be at risk. That, in brief, was what members of Congress heard from witnesses at a recent hearing of the Aviation Subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Two government watchdogs particularly were critical of the […]
Meet Larry Cruz, Reno Air Races crash survivor
Meet Larry Cruz. Larry was at the Reno’s National Championship Air Races last month when The Galloping Ghost crashed. Actually, Larry was under The Galloping Ghost when it crashed. When the dust and debris settled following the horrific crash of September 16, Larry was barely conscious. Injuries included: a severed right hand, crushed right leg […]
Blakesburg: A field of family
A couple of months ago I was in a particularly optimistic mood and booked us a couple of days at the world’s biggest fly-in in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Almost immediately, I realized that trip wasn’t going to work. Even if we drove and weather was no issue, Keely had band camp one week, there was a […]
It’s a new world
I’ve always believed that much of General Aviation’s success in our time is a legacy of World War II. Aviation was a hero, if not “the” hero, of the war. Pilots were idolized. And everyone saw a bright future and new horizons for “The Air Age.” I find a potent artifact of this gospel in […]