Another one managed to slip by my radar. I follow LSA closer than most, yet I can barely keep track of all the approvals. No wonder I frequently get calls asking me to unravel the puzzle of LSA makes and models. Better late than never, welcome the Predator powered parachute to our SLSA List of […]
Opinion
Be specific when talking to the press
During a recent newspaper interview about the management of the local airport, the reporter stopped me and asked for clarification. “I’m sorry, “ he said, “What’s an FBO?” “FBO stands for Fixed Base Operator,” I answered. “The FBO is the primary business on most general aviation airports.” The reporter appeared curious, so I expanded on […]
Will Congress ever agree on an FAA reauthorization bill?
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Since Sept. 30, 2007, the FAA has been operating under short-term reauthorization bills — and the Congress just rushed through a 15th temporary funding bill on the final day before starting its August recess. This latest extension runs until Sept. 30. The last time the House and Senate agreed on long-term reauthorization […]
Fields of Dreams: Saved but not immune from the times
As pilots now of a “certain” age, we look back on airports that were part of our lives. This is the second post in a series of three. There’s nowhere like Van Sant Airfield in Pennsylvania’s historic Bucks County. Fifty miles north and decades away from big-city Philadelphia, Van Sant salves my soul with old […]
Fields of Dreams: Not its ‘old self,’ but going strong
As pilots now of a “certain” age, we look back on airports that were part of our lives. This is the third of a three-part series. “Recession? What recession?” So said Mike Gilbert, Gold Seal CFI for Aviation Adventures at Leesburg Municipal (excuse me, Executive) Airport. Yep, they changed the name and, perhaps, for good […]
Yet another FAA extension
Congress is giving the FAA another short extension, this time until Sept. 30. The FAA has been operating without extended authority since the last authorization expired in 2007. That authority was passed in 2003 and Congress has been unable to agree since that time, passing extension after extension to keep the FAA funded. Included in […]
One thing leads to another, and another…
With Oshkosh in full swing, the eyes of the aviation minded are on Wisconsin. But here in central Florida there is one city commissioner who has just become a major fan of aviation, thanks to a husband and wife who restored a Stearman and shared the excitement with him. I love it when the fever […]
Fields of Dreams: Dreams have changed
As pilots of a “certain” age, we look back on airports that were part of our lives. This series starts with three. My first was a little grass field in New Jersey. Twin Pine was down home, midway between the state capital and Princeton, the college town. I started as line boy there in ’65. […]
User fees redux?
Another indication that communications in the nation’s capital should be improved is the Department of Transportation’s proposed five-year plan in which the agency sets out its goals through 2015. General aviation is all but forgotten, except for pushing again the idea that the current funding of the FAA should be something other than fuel taxes. […]