Are Light-Sport Aircraft truly coming of age? I think so and, while I’m biased by my closeness to the industry, I have observed three noteworthy changes from summer to the recent AOPA Aviation Summit. Starting shortly before and at AirVenture, conversations with numerous established flight schools identified an impending purchase or two of LSAs to […]
Opinion
Senators push for lame-duck passage of FAA reauthorization
The FAA might get reauthorization after all this year if two powerful senators of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation have their way during this lame-duck session of Congress. Senators John (Jay) Rockefeller (D.-W.Va.), chairman of the full committee, and Byron Dorgan (D.-N.D.), chairman of the aviation subcommittee, say the FAA has been without […]
FAA proposes photos on pilot certificates
The FAA wants your opinion on whether photos should be on pilot certificates. The FAA announced the proposal Thursday, Nov. 18, and set a deadline of Feb. 17, 2011, for submitting comments. Under the current proposal, a new pilot certificate would cost $22 and be valid for eight years. At the end of that time […]
Flight Service? It’s right there, next to Home Depot
Drew Steketee was president of BE A PILOT, senior vp-communications for AOPA and executive director of the Partnership for Improved Air Travel. He also headed PR and media relations for Beech, GAMA and the Airport Operators Council International. On the fifth anniversary of contractor-operated FAA Flight Service, many commented on either program success or loss […]
A new age of business travel
Dennis Parks is Curator Emeritus of Seattle’s Museum of Flight. The period after the end of World War II saw a rapid growth in the use of corporate-owned aircraft for executive transportation. That need was fed mainly by conversions of small transports and high-speed wartime medium bombers, but in the early 1950s serious thought was […]
Security measures must constantly change, TSA administrator tells senate panel
Transportation security is constantly evolving and aviation can expect more changes as terrorists probe for ways to cause destruction and technology perfects ways to keep ahead of them, John Pistole, administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, told a Senate Committee Wednesday, Nov. 17. The possibility of more security actions affecting general aviation became apparent early […]
Change is afoot at the GA Caucus
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. In all the hubbub that filled our televisions and newspapers following Election Day, there was very little said about the General Aviation Caucus. That’s no surprise really. Most Americans […]
The Price Is Wrong
Allow me to pontificate. As a full-time, dedicated, hustling, busy aircraft broker, I have come to certain conclusions about aircraft valuation, which I am happy to share with you.
Go ahead and fly
Michael Kraft is senior vice president and general manager of Lycoming Engines. By MICHAEL J. KRAFT, Guest Editorial Lycoming started 2010 with the objective of raising awareness of the issues surrounding a transition from 100LL to an unleaded alternate. As 2010 rolled out through Aero Friedrichshafen, Sun ‘n Fun and AirVenture, the news stories, convention […]