What a way to start the year. Officials from Piper Aircraft called a press conference on the opening day of the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Florida, and, like no other I’ve seen after attending all six Expos, the media turned out in droves. Cameras clicked constantly, videos whirred, and recording devices captured every […]
Opinion
As Sebring goes, so goes Sun ‘n Fun?
SPLOG By DAN JOHNSON With the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo now history — but hoping to build on the strong beginning of the LSA-only event — preparations are underway for Sun ‘n Fun 2010, running April 13-18. Sebring, in January, has become the first airshow of the year and when it goes well, some feel […]
Chart-topping LSAs for 2009
If you refer back to earlier reports, you can easily see 2009 was a down year (no surprise, right?). General aviation was off more than 50% and Light Sport was down badly as well, with 42% less registrations than in 2008. With this post, we present our now-somewhat-famous chart. We hear from some who say […]
Airplane shipments down worldwide in 2009
Aircraft shipments and billings were down in 2009 from the year before and, for the first time, more than half the business jets went to customers outside of North America, with export billings accounting for more than half all aircraft sales. This was reported at the annual industry review held today by the General Aviation […]
A time to mourn and a time to dance
SHORT FINAL By DEB McFARLAND I am blessed that my aviation experiences have been nurtured in a strong community of good-hearted souls who share and foster the passion of flying. There is nothing finer than to plop down in a northern Alabama grass field on a warm Saturday and enjoy the camaraderie of friends and […]
Leave the politics aside
LETTER TO THE EDITOR What Mr. Mortensen demonstrated in his letter to the the editor (Global warming debate: Is it over?) was the role politics and emotion play in the global warming debate. The debate is not over when the underlying science of global warming is undermined by “e-mailgate” and some of the hyperbolic statements […]
An advocate in OKC
LETTER TO THE EDITOR I read with interest the article on special issuance renewals, “Waiting for a letter from OKC to fly again?”), where you state that it’s not as bad as a few years ago. As a pilot who has been on a special issuance for over 20 years, I would like to add […]
Mainstream Aviation
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Re: Is there a better name for general aviation?: I suggest “Mainstream Aviation.” On first consideration, one might think that commercial aviation better fits this moniker. But most of the thousands of passengers who fly commercially have no actual connection to or stake in aviation as a field of endeavor. They […]
EPA reduces cellulosic ethanol quotas, but not overall quotas
The EPA has finally announced the 2010 RFS standard, albeit several months late. While there is no change in the ethanol mandate increase — the gasoline industry must blend more than 12 billion gallons of ethanol in 2010, up from 10.5 billion gallons in 2009 — the real surprise is that the EPA is not […]