The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure has approved reauthorization of the National Transportation Safety Board, increasing funding each year over the next four, the reauthorization period. The bill now goes to the full House for approval. Funding starts at $117.4 million in fiscal year 2011 and increases to $124.2 million in 2014. These levels […]
Opinion
The parasol era
In a period in American aviation history when the biplane configuration was dominate, there was a slight aberration when the parasol became popular. From the start of the Depression until the mid-1930s, there was a strong spurt of interest that saw about 30 parasol designs certificated for production. With their wings placed above the fuselage, […]
Uh, can anybody help me…please?
Situational awareness is a big deal at the airport. Just as pilots need to have a clear picture of what’s going on around them in the ether, airport managers need to have a solid grasp of the condition of the field they are responsible for. Similarly, airport advisory board members, and their support staff, need […]
New blog debuts: Politics for pilots
The story is a familiar one. In fact, it’s nearly universal. The local airport is languishing. From the perspective of the municipality that owns the field, it’s an underperforming business entity populated by a collection of spoiled individuals who feel entitled and tend to be territorial. Taken from the point of view shared by so […]
Ask Paul: Use it or lose it
Q: I am considering buying a plane with a Lycoming 540 factory rebuilt engine. TSOH is 50 hours. The problem is the engine was installed five years ago with a new turbo and the owner has not flown it much since, although it has flown a few hours recently. There is a lot of chatter […]
Let’s go flying with Dynon’s SkyView
Talk about your “Wow! factor” — Paul Hamilton’s new video for Dynon Avionics really shows off the amazing capability of the company’s SkyView avionics system featuring synthetic vision. On his video, Paul takes you along for a flight during bright daylight (proving the screens are readable in direct light) and into the dimming sun over […]
GA to lose strong supporter in Congress
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Vern Ehlers, Republican Congressman from Michigan’s third district and a strong supporter of general aviation, will not run for reelection this fall. He has served 16 years in the House of Representatives and often been in the forefront of supporting general aviation. Ehlers has expressed openly in Congressional hearings that he had […]
More on passing gas
LETTER TO THE EDITOR My wife and I appreciated the article titled “Passing Gas.” Steve Hanshew was willing to cover the most important aspects of aviation fuels and the attempt by the Feds to remove 100LL from existence. I have been flying for over 52 years and have never suffered any ill effect from the […]
Austin crash stirs up GA’s critics
WASHINGTON, D.C. — After several years of making forward steps in building public and government support for general aviation, a single act by a disturbed individual saw the industry lose some ground and, again, bring the alphabet groups into an all-hands-on-deck mode of damage control. The individual who deliberately crashed his Piper Cherokee into the […]