Can Congress agree on anything? WASHINGTON, D.C. — Aviation is getting a double whammy in the increasing struggles over budgets, with the first being reauthorization of the FAA, followed by the President’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2012. Neither seems to be approaching anything near agreement between the House and Senate. The FAA, which has […]
Opinion
Tips to install an oil cooler
Paul McBride, an expert on engines, retired after almost 40 years with Lycoming. Q: We have a Citabria 7ECA with a Lycoming O-235-C1 engine. We live in East Texas, where summers are very long and very hot. Even with an external oil filter with a blast air tube, the oil temps push 220°+ on normal […]
Aviation double header
Professional sports created the term “double header” to refer to two games played back to back. For the most part in aviation, show producers work hard to secure a part of the calendar where they don’t compete with other shows. Indeed, the work schedule of many recreational aviation professionals revolves around four major shows: The […]
When opportunity knocks…do something
Jamie Beckett is a CFI and A&P mechanic who stepped into the political arena in an effort to promote and protect GA at his local airport. He is also a founding partner and regular contributor to FlightMonkeys.com. It seems like an obvious axiom of business. When opportunity knocks, answer the door, say “Hello,” invite it […]
The year of the ELSA?
Dan Johnson, president of the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association, is an expert on Light Sport Aircraft. One of the “diamonds in the rough” of the LSA movement has been the kit LSA or Experimental LSA or simply ELSA. For the first five years of Light-Sport Aircraft, fully manufactured Special Light-Sport Aircraft dominated the sales figures. […]
GA responds to Japanese disasters
WASHINGTON, D.C. — When the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) immediately went to work providing information on its website informing members how they can meet the severe logistical challenges of moving their personnel and equipment out of the ravaged nation. The website carries as much current information that […]
FAA launches GA safety improvement plan
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The FAA will undertake a new program to raise interest in general aviation safety with the central elements being to gather more information on causes of accidents, conduct meetings on the subject throughout the country, and zero in on where accident rates are higher than the norm. The goal is to reduce the rate […]
In search of the illusive octane
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. By Dean Billing, director, Aviation Fuel Club First, let […]
Internet forum sets off rant
Deb McFarland is the proud owner of Lester, a 1948 Luscombe 8E, and part of the “Front Porch Gang” at Pickens County Airport in Georgia. I was going to write about something pleasant this month but a comment, casually stated as fact on an Internet forum, really cooked my goose and has become the basis […]