One of the greatest challenges at an airport is creating open lines of communication between airport tenants and the airport sponsor. In today’s busy society it can be difficult to get the parties in the same room for a discussion, much less on the same page. One way to facilitate communication is to have conversations […]
When you touch down, expect a bill: Pilots surprised by retroactive landing fees at Boeing Field
How would you like it if you landed at an airport and five months later got a surprise bill from it? That’s what is happening to GA pilots who have landed at King County Airport/Boeing Field in Seattle in recent months. According to a King County Airport official, landing fees have been in effect at […]
LSAs flock to the Sunshine State: But where was the sun?
Of all the things that can make a dent in an air show’s attendance, weather probably is the biggest one. A cold front kept people away on the first day — and the last day — of the fourth U.S. Sport Aviation Expo, held Jan. 17-20 at Sebring Regional Airport in Florida. When the temperature […]
Northwest Aviation Conference celebrates 25 years
The Northwest Aviation Conference and Trade Show celebrates its silver anniversary this month. Part trade show and part educational conference, the show is slated for Feb. 23-24 at the Puyallup Fairgrounds near Tacoma, Wash. The 25th anniversary event boasts a variety of seminars, including certificate renewal clinics and lectures on several topics, such as avionics […]
Quest makes first Kodiak delivery
Quest Aircraft delivered its first Kodiak to officials from Spirit Air on Jan. 25, in a presentation at Quest’s headquarters in Sandpoint, Idaho. Spirit Air, which plans to use the Kodiak for flights into the Alaska wilderness and Idaho back country, and for commuter and small package runs, was the lead commercial customer for the […]
Financial woes at Adam Aircraft: Company lays off 300employees as it tries to raise more capita
Adam Aircraft laid off 300 people in January in what is described by company officials as a “strategic adjustment.” The company, based in Englewood, Colo., manufactures the A500, its distinctive centerline piston twin, and is in the process of certifying its VLJ, the A700. A few days after the layoffs, Adam Aircraft President Duncan Koerbel […]
BRS logs 208th life saved
A pilot experiencing a probable control surface failure deployed a Ballistic Recovery Systems whole aircraft parachute at Laurel, Maryland, near Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5, becoming the 208th save documented by the use of the parachutes. The plane, a Slipstream Genesis, a fabric and fiberglass homebuilt, “rolled over on its back and headed straight down,” […]
MIT creates oil-repelling materials
Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have designed a material that can repel oil. According to researchers, the materials could be used to help protect parts of airplanes that are vulnerable to damage from being soaked in fuel, like rubber gaskets and o-rings. “These are vulnerable points in many aerospace applications,” said Robert Cohen, […]
Congressional impasse on FAA funding holds AIP grants hostage
The fall-out from the Congressional impasse on the pending FAA Reauthorization continues. That’s because grants from the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) cannot be released by FAA officials until the legislation is passed — or Congress gives FAA officials “contract authority,” which would allow them to start parceling out the grant money to airports. “A continued […]