LETTER TO THE EDITOR I think it is obvious that Ben Visser is a right-wing conservative and being more mainstream myself, I find many of his articles quite irritating. His recent article about global warming, however, was over-the-top and frankly offensive (Global warming debate stifles progress). His clumsy “shot-gun” analogy about the scientific data concerning […]
Opinion
Six miles up: Pioneering pilots risked life and limb to reach new heights
Suppose you are cruising along in an airliner at 34,000 feet, nestled comfortably in your seat in a heated, pressurized environment. Now image turning to look out of your window and, to your amazement, you catch a glimpse of a cloth-covered triplane with the pilot sitting in the open, wearing heavy coveralls, goggles, a leather […]
Aviation security remains in the spotlight
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Confusion, confessions, and condemnation marked hearings by two Senate committees on the same day over aviation security and the Transportation Security Administration. Erroll Southers’ withdrawal of his name to be administrator of the TSA added to the uncertainty of government actions following the embarrassing failure to recognize and stop the terrorist boarding […]
Why should the tail wag the dog?
LETTER TO THE EDITOR Re: Is there a better name for general aviation?: Why not call what we do just…aviation. I submit that it is easy to make the case for retiring that first, ambiguous, word. After all, whenever I am required to define the term general aviation to non-flyers, I always repeat the general […]
Sleekest Tecnam yet takes off
SPLOG By DAN JOHNSON Tecnam can lay claim to being the “largest LSA manufacturer” by virtue of producing more than 3,000 ready-to-fly aircraft (with approximately 120 of them flying in the USA as “official LSA” — the U.S. is a relatively new market the Italian company, which was formed in 1948). In my travels to […]
Ticket to ride…er, fly — maybe both
SPLOG By DAN JOHNSON You’ve surely seen news coverage of Terrafugia’s Transition, the “roadable” LSA from a brain trust of award-winning MIT engineers in Woburn, Massachusetts. This modern version of the well-worn flying car concept has attracted plenty of media attention, and deservedly so. I have been reviewing all their materials and I’m impressed with […]
Washington State bill may accelerate end of Mogas
By DEAN BILLING Washington State pilots should be aware of a bill in the Washington legislature that will have a detrimental effect on the availability of the rapidly disappearing ethanol-free unleaded auto fuel. The bill is ostensibly a bio-diesel bill. It is HB-2405, you can read it here. Buried in the bill are two sections […]
GAO says FAA not doing enough for regional airport planning
The national airspace system will face serious congestion in the near future unless the Federal Aviation Administration does more to utilize regional airport planning to help address system delays, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Commenting on the report, Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) said Next Gen “is not a silver bullet […]
RIP: Will 94 UL be DOA?
Here is a thought experiment about the future of avgas. The conclusion is fairly obvious if you do the numbers: The US consumed somewhere around 135 billion gallons of auto fuel in 2009. The last annual figures I have are for 2008 at about 138 billion and declining. General aviation consumes less than 300 million […]