OSHKOSH — While riding the tram back to show center from the seaplane parking area, I met Graham. He was interested in taking a seat in my row, yet I was unwilling to give up the outside seat, because I was taking photos of the people and airplanes on Wittman Regional Airport as the tram […]
Opinion
Reflections of an AirVenture refugee
The truth is simple, and weird. I am a refugee. Not by force, or circumstance, or because I am caught between two warring factions that are sworn to smite me should I show my face. No, it’s nothing so dramatic as that. I am a refugee by choice, as are thousands of others who are […]
Will Congressional shoot out cause FAA shutdown?
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Will the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives blink before midnight Friday so another temporary extension can be passed and prevent a closing of the FAA over lack of funding? That’s the question many in all phases of aviation are asking here as the deadline for the end of the 20th temporary […]
Summertime…and the flying is easy
Summer is here, the rainy season is history in most parts of the country, and the flying is easy and fun. While aircraft used in transport have to soldier on through winter’s cold and other inclement weather, sport or recreational flying is done when it’s fun… naturally. And, of course, summer means EAA AirVenture Oshkosh […]
Fly Unleaded to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
Amidst a stream of reports on aircraft on display at this year’s EAA AirVenture Oshkosh powered by batteries, sunlight, hydrogen, ethanol, bio-Jet-A, cooking oil, algae, etc., hundreds of planes will once again arrive in Oshkosh — with little fanfare — burning a low-cost, lead-free aviation fuel approved by the FAA in 1982 and available in […]
Roughing it, en masse
I was a very experienced camper when I was a kid. That’s not so much because I was a naturally adventurous youngster. The Boy Scouts showed me how to camp, explore, and make it back safely. I lived in New England then, and I have fond memories of waking up in a toasty warm sleeping […]
Ethanol-free autogas returns to upstate New York
The GAfuels Blog is written by two private pilots concerned about the future availability of fuels for piston-engine aircraft: Dean Billing, Sisters, Ore., an expert on autogas and ethanol, and Kent Misegades, Cary, N.C., an aerospace engineer, aviation sales rep for U-Fuel, and president of EAA1114. According to this recent article in the Watertown Daily […]
A long hot summer
WASHINGTON, D.C. — “Long hot summer” in Washington is more than a description of the humid weather. This year it refers more to political struggles and how they are affecting general aviation. Opposing goals by the President and the Republican-controlled House of Representatives are causing all special interest groups — including aviation — to ratchet […]
EU climate impact report casts shadow over biofuels
The GAfuels Blog is written by two private pilots concerned about the future availability of fuels for piston-engine aircraft: Dean Billing, Sisters, Ore., an expert on autogas and ethanol, and Kent Misegades, Cary, N.C., an aerospace engineer, aviation sales rep for U-Fuel, and president of EAA1114. Results from an internal EU study on biofuels, recently […]