I wanted to take a minute to say thanks for the fine article you wrote for PilotShareTheRide.com (A new way to share an airplane — or at least a ride, May 19 issue). GANews has been very helpful to me this past year and I do greatly appreciate it. It has boosted my membership quite […]
Opinion
ATC: Are we headed for a meltdown?
WASHINGTON. —The FAA has spent more than $43 billion on the air traffic control (ATC) system over the past 25 years and plans to spend an additional $9.6 billion through fiscal year 2009 — and the system “”is not much different from that used in the 1960s,”” Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) said recently when opening […]
‘Prove it’ should be our call to Washington
Your article in GANews (Prove it! May 19 issue) was exactly what I always thought in regard to the politically correct way of disseminating information in today’s society. In college, I was required to take a class called “critical thinking” and found it very good as a tool in using caution in putting any stock […]
Ethanol: It’s misunderstood
I just read Mr. Visser’s article about ethanol and airplanes (Ethanol and airplanes: A good mix? May 19 issue). I agree that ethanol blended gas may not be the best choice for aircraft use. However, as an ex-farmer and now an aircraft mechanic, I have a slight argument about the general use of ethanol blended […]
Diesel engines and GA: A good combination?
QUESTION: What is the state of art and the development of diesel engines for GA? Why is it better to put a diesel engine on a GA aircraft than a conventional one? Alex Rougier Turin, Italy ANSWER: In the last issue, we started our discussion of this topic (Why is it better to put a […]
Column sadly shortsighted
Prove it! (Touch & Go, May 19 issue) OR WHAT, you’ll continue to stick your head in the sand? Tom Norton’s article ridiculing gloom-and-doom, Henny-Pennys may have been cute, but was sadly shortsighted. Whether one wants to accept what most scientists already understand about the limits of future oil and the causes of global warming, […]
Under construction: Airparks as a way to save airports?
I moved to the Tacoma, Wash., area in 1970 and almost since that first day I can remember threats being sounded about Tacoma Narrows Airport (TIW). The airport is located in the county across a bridge from the City of Tacoma, very close to the small community of Gig Harbor. Because the airport is owned […]
Read needs some help
Back a few years ago I worked with John Morse at the New Hampshire Highway Department design offices. One of the many stories I heard from him was the one about him being on an Atlantic Clipper (The flying palace, April 7 issue) in either 1938 or 1939. Taking off from San Juan, Puerto Rico, […]
Tell us the solution
Ben Visser’s article, Can you hear me now? Are cell phones bad news around fueling operations? (May 5 issue), is very timely with the new Light Sport Aircraft. I just purchased a Tecnam Bravo. The reason is that the Rotax engine really does not like leaded fuel and the manual says to use premium auto […]