I’m a long time reader of GANews, and I’ve even had an article or two published by your paper. I was dismayed by the cavalier attitude of your article recently about Sport Pilot medicals (Pilots still frustrated by Sport Pilot medical, Oct. 21). In particular, it starts off with, “It’s always better to ask forgiveness […]
Opinion
Should engine break-in after an overhaul be as fast as possible?
QUESTION: After an engine overhaul, it is recommended that the engine be run at high power settings for 50 hours during the break-in period and oil consumption, etc., is to be monitored. My question: Is there any advantage or requirement to putting these hours on as fast as possible or can this be spread out […]
NTSB’s ‘most wanted list’ tackles runway incursions and deicing
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently reexamined its “”Most Wanted List”” of safety improvements and retained two items of importance to general aviation: runway incursions and icing. The board’s public hearing revealed there is an average of three operational errors a day at the nation’s towered airports and one severe incident […]
You can get your medical back — just ask Jules Bresnick
In 1997 I suffered an angina attack and subsequently underwent a four-way heart bypass operation. My recovery was normal and I regained my third-class medical certificate in less than a year. Over the years I’ve written about my medical problem several times because I wanted others facing a similar situation to recognize that their flying […]
A holiday gift idea
I renewed my subscription to GANews on Oct. 20, 2005. One of my hangar flying cronies told me if I failed to do that, the airport wouldn’t let me read their free copy anymore! I just couldn’t take that chance because someone usually steals the free copy from the pilots’ lounge anyway. (The thief normally […]
Bad idea
I couldn’t help but notice in the Oct. 21 issue that CFI Tom Thibodeau was standing directly under one of the Super Cub’s prop blades (Teaching kids to fly Alaskan style). Bad idea! Instructors should make it a point to remind students (and themselves, in this case!) that one should never stand underneath or so […]
Sam Lyons’ latest tells a wonderful story of two American icons
Should a plane be painted in its natural environs – playing tag with clouds or hopping over trees and meadows? What about painting it forlorn looking, like a sad-eyed puppy dog, on the ramp waiting for its master to take it for a hop? Or maybe it should be shown perched expectantly on a catapult, […]
Feds get serious about security matters
Washington, D.C. — Recent developments in the Washington area demonstrate just how serious the government is about security matters. A major announcement was made about reopening Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to general aviation after its closure following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The media carried stories about flights returning. The first general aviation flight […]
Time to get real: Zealous regulators are hazards to aviation
In olden times – that’s 60 to 70 years ago – wrist watches with glow-in-the-dark radium numbers were popular. Whether we wore a Timex or a Rolex, that’s what we wanted. In those days, many aircraft instruments glowed in the dark. That, too, was accomplished with minute amounts of radium-226. Thousands of World War II […]