SPLOG By DAN JOHNSON No one doubts the leading position of Rotax engines among LSAs. Of course, most European producers use the Austrian brand, but so do many U.S. builders, even Van’s Aircraft. However, despite their dominance, some GA pilots have scoffed at the brand, saying it isn’t a “real” aircraft engine partly as it […]
Opinion
GA responds to Haiti crisis
General aviation at all levels marshaled forces to take aid to the survivors of the massive earthquake that hit Haiti earlier this month. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) went into action immediately, making contact with key government officials to arrange that emergency flights from anyplace in the U.S. could be taken to an […]
There’s a ‘map’ for that
SPLOG By DAN JOHNSON If you study FAA’s registration database as I do, you’ll quickly discover that Flight Design and its various CT models have a strong presence in the USA — and the world for that matter, with 1,500 flying, according to the company. Since CT was first certified in April 2005 — the […]
How do I control this thing?
“Wright’s new control” was the heading of a 1914 report in the “New York Times.” It stated that Orville Wright had introduced a new system that would make it “easier and safer to fly.” In the new controls the usual lever was replaced by an automobile-type steering wheel in combination with a lever that made […]
Southers withdraws from TSA nomination
President Barack Obama will have to look for a new person to nominate to be administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) after Erroll Southers withdrew his name from consideration. Southers cited distractions caused by his position regarding possible unionization of TSA employees and other issues relating to his nomination. Southers had been nominated last […]
My man and his other love
SHORT FINAL By DEB McFARLAND Today, the man I married nearly 30 years ago, the man who suffered through my flight training and later patiently taught me to fly his Luscombe 8A, retired. After 35 years of service to the federal government, my best friend has come home to stay. It’s not a coincidence that […]
Confirmation of new TSA director delayed
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Errol Southers was nominated last August by President Obama to be director of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), but his confirmation has been delayed in the Senate, meaning the agency that deals directly with aviation security has been without a leader for nearly six months. Couple this with the security confusion following […]
Land use studies not the enemy
LETTER TO THE EDITOR from ROBERT HOM, Eagle River, Wis. I guess I am a little sensitive these days reading about airports in national publications; whether they have an obvious anti-GA airport slant as USA Today, or in the pro-airport General Aviation News. But, I do feel a couple of comments are warranted with respect […]
Neither rain nor sleet could stop Air Mail fleet
A 1961 British book on the development of air transportation includes a chart on early scheduled air services, which includes the operations of the U.S. Air Mail Service from 1918 till 1927. It may seem unusual to see the Air Mail Service listed here, but as it operated more than 200 aircraft, you realize it […]