The Light Sport Aircraft industry has reached a milestone, reaching Special-LSA #100 in less than five years. According to LSA expert (and GAN columnist) Dan Johnson, the 100th LSA is Van’s RV-12. It received its approval July 21, one day after the fifth anniversary of the new rule announcement (July 20, 2004). Johnson, who is […]
Opinion
Ex-FBI agent nominated to head TSA
On the eighth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, President Obama announced his intention to nominate a former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent with airport police security experience to be the new head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), a moved met with pledges of cooperation from general aviation interests. Erroll Southers currently serves […]
Who should pay?
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: I recently completed my Experimental amateur homebuilt aircraft and was ready to have the Certification Inspection completed. I contacted my local Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) and requested to have one of the maintenance inspectors perform the inspection. The manager denied the request. I requested a written explanation for the denial, […]
Strong survive tough economy
SPLOG By DAN JOHNSON We continue to see the effects of the last year of economic turmoil in LSA market shares. An updated ranking of market share shows the top 20 (of 70 total) producers still represent almost 90% of total SLSA registrations. (For the record: Registrations on the FAA’s database are not the same […]
The Land of Perfect
SHORT FINAL By DEBORAH McFARLAND Like many aviators, I spend some of my free time cruising various aviation forums, and from past experience, I have learned to take what I read with a grain of salt. Recently, however, it has been kind of difficult to ignore some of the nonsense that makes its way to […]
Going after Joe Six-Pack
LETTER TO THE EDITOR Re: Ben Sclair’s Touch & Go column, “Let’s attract the money,” in the April 3 issue: Though I find much of what you say accurate, I don’t think it entirely covers or tenders a plan to fix the problems. As a longtime stakeholder, airport and flight school owner/operator, providing a number […]
Are controllers dead tired?
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Controller fatigue and on-the-job training are growing problems for air traffic control, according to a report recently issued by the Assistant Inspector General at the Department of Transportation. The FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association have been at odds for several years since the two have been unable to get […]
Growing the next generation
GUEST EDITORIAL By JAMAIL LARKINS We all remember our first flight — the feeling of seeing the world from a completely different perspective, the freedom of controlling an aircraft through the three dimensions of flight, the opportunity to make the world a smaller place by expanding our realm of possibilities. No matter what aspect of […]
Oil analysis saved the day
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Re: Paul McBride’s column, “TBO: 2,000 hour or 12 years,” in the June 23 issue: This is absolutely the best article I have ever seen on the subject. I started oil analysis every 25 hours the day I bought my used C-180. The original engine (which had a “log cabin overhaul” […]