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 […]
Opinion
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 […]
Rotax lifts TBO to 2,000 hours
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 […]
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 […]