Last summer broken bones grounded me. This summer I am making up for lost time by not only doing as much flying as I can, but also flying as many airplanes from my “wish list” as possible. You already know about one of them – the DC-3 (Living the dream: Our reporter flies a DC-3, […]
Opinion
IF IT AIN’T BROKE DON’T FIX IT
Concerning your article on Lockheed Martin’s debacle on our flight service stations (Frustrations abound on FSS, June 8 issue), I, being from the country and spent a lot of time hunting, had an old saying: “Don’t shoot a running dog” or in city-folk’s language: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” We had an operating […]
UNLEADED AVGAS: YOU’D HAVE TO BE INSANE TO OPPOSE IT
Your fuel and lubricant expert Ben Visser recently wrote in his column that it would be insane to try and develop an unleaded replacement for 100LL (Unleaded avgas: You’d have to be insane to try to develop it, June 22 issue). What’s to develop? Leave out the lead and 100LL automatically becomes 95UL. Since virtually […]
KUDOS FOR OUR OIL & ENGINE EXPERTS
Just thought I would drop you a note. I have been reading your articles in Visser’s Voice and Ask Paul and enjoying them. Keep up the good work. Our 41 PA31s are running well at the moment. DOUG CHANDLER Ameriflight
A sigh of relief – and a warning: House passes FAA reauthorization bill without user fees
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Passage by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee of the FAA Reauthorization legislation — without user fees — brought some level of relief to the general aviation community, but also a warning that user fee opponents cannot let their guards down. Introducing the bill, Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.) said projected growth of […]
A hard-won tribute: Painting captures a moment in time when a B-29 crew finds a safe haven
Aviation art often tells the story of a particular aircraft by depicting a specific moment in time. It can tell whatever the artist wants it to say – the beauty of flight, the horrors of war, or those last exhausting, but exhilarating, moments of flight when man finally returns to Earth after a very long […]
A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME?
First let me say how thoroughly I enjoy your magazine. With a 71-year affiliation with a general aviation company, among many other endeavors, my personal underlying efforts have been to foster among the general public a better understanding of general aviation and how it differs from “aerial mass transit,” i.e., scheduled airlines. There are some 12,000 plus airports in the nation, […]
FLABOB ON LOOKOUT FOR ROTATING BEACON
I was glad to see your story in the June 22 issue about the salvation of the historic Avenger Field rotating beacon by the good people at Lee Bottom Field (WASP airport beacon saved from dumpster). If anyone knows of another no-longer-needed rotating beacon, Flabob Airport in Riverside, Calif., is looking for one. We have an […]
Why do we call an ace and ace?: It was all a mistake in translation
Have you ever wondered why the more successful fighter pilots are called aces? It’s an odd story, which begins with a popular Frenchman of pre-World War I vintage. Roland Garros was a Parisian bon vivant who became entranced by flying in 1909, after seeing Alberto Santos-Dumont skimming madly among the city’s chimney pots aboard a […]