Great aerial adventures followed in the wake of World War I as aviation tried to find its post-war role. It was a period of conquest of the oceans and continents — the NC-4 across the Atlantic via the Azores; Alcock and Brown’s first non-stop flight from Canada to Ireland; the R-34 airship’s first round-trip flight […]
Opinion
Beware the “sound bite” solution
GUEST EDITORIAL By MICHAEL KRAFT, senior vice president and general manager, Lycoming Engines I commend Janice Wood for taking on the avgas issue (“Preparing for the end of 100LL”) and reporting objectively the comments made at this year’s AOPA Aviation Summit in Tampa. The past and present story of 100LL has technical, political, economic and historical […]
Questions erupt for Remos; new investment heralded
SPLOG By DAN JOHNSON After announcing the selection of the Remos GX as the 2010 giveaway airplane, AOPA leaders are surely breathing a sigh of relief now that Remos has issued a reassuring statement. Earlier rumors threatened to cast doubt on those who participated in the sweepstakes announcement (including yours truly). Along with others in […]
The reason we fly is what is important
LETTER TO THE EDITOR I am responding to Charles Spence’s request for comments about a name for GA that describes how we use our airplanes without separating the reasons for flight (Is there a better name than general aviation?). At first glance this request sounds like an oxymoron — a self-contradictory idea. On closer examination, […]
No. 41: A father passes on his passion for flying — and his license number
SHORT FINAL By DEB McFARLAND Pickens County Airport in Jasper, Georgia, is a nice airport, but it’s not particularly known as a hub of aeronautical excitement. However, every now and then we have a visitor who attracts notice. Such was the introduction of pilot and veteran, Jesse William Lankford Jr., who recently attended our annual […]
Time for a new name?
LETTER TO THE EDITOR Re: Charles Spence’s Capital Comments, “Is there a better name than general aviation?“: I absolutely agree. General aviation does not cut it. The word general is equal in context to “average” — and nothing wants to be considered average. I would look to boating as a comparison. There is no such […]
EPA predicts E15 approval in 2010 despite widespread opposition
As reported by the New York Times, despite widespread opposition and scant results from ongoing testing of vehicles burning E15, the EPA is already predicting it will approve lifting the current limit of ethanol in vehicle fuels from 10% to 15% by the end of 2010. Admitting that vehicles built before 2001 would need to […]
E15 still not ready for prime-time, EPA says
In an article appearing recently in the Raleigh News & Observer, the EPA has stated that more testing is needed before E15 can be used in automobiles. This article also comments on the fuel’s use in other vehicles, however does not mention aircraft. From our perspective, the EPA makes light of hundreds of strong, well-founded […]
Climategate scandal widens
21st Century science should be good science, but it isn’t. Climategate scientists prove that money talks. This opinion piece from the Wall Street Journal documents how man-made global-warming theorists have been manipulating data in their efforts to maintain funding of pet projects. Given that such theories provide a fundamental justification for the pursuit of “renewable” […]