I don’t want to seem like an alarmist, but the new environmental religion has become a threat to aviation, and the threat is very real. Ten protesters at London’s Biggin Hill were arrested last month while blocking access to private aircraft, which make up most of the traffic at that historic airfield. They were protesting […]
QUIT WHINING ABOUT ETHANOL
There’s the problem with ethanol-based fuel! It may consume more energy in its production that it itself will produce. It may cost more than petroleum-based fuels it replaces. Taxpayers may have to continue subsidizing it until the public comes to its senses. However, until that happens politicians and newspaper editors, particularly here in the Corn […]
A LESSON LEARNED
On a bright, Saturday morning not too long ago, my wife Kathy and I drove to our hangar at the Frederick Municipal Airport in Maryland. Since we were pressed for time, we decided just to make several takeoffs and landings in our Mooney Ovation 2000. During my pre-flight, I noticed that I had about two […]
Would you like mustard with that?
Each Saturday, Sporty’s Pilot Shop at Clermont County/Sporty’s Airport (I69) in Batavia, Ohio, welcomes visitors with a cookout. Guests are invited to chow down on hot dogs and do a little shopping. Since they started serving up the dogs in 1992, they’ve fed a lot of hungry aviators. How many you ask? Earlier this summer, […]
A cure for traffic jams
Would you rather have a Cessna 172 orbiting above you or be parked in traffic on the interstate for several hours while law enforcement officers investigate an accident? The Wisconsin State Patrol has a pretty good idea what the answer is. The agency uses a 2001 Cessna 172SP for, among other things, accident investigation. According […]
Can I use a yellow tagged camshaft in my Wittman Tailwind?
I have a Lycoming O-320-D2A that will be going into a Wittman Tailwind. The crankcase and crankshaft are yellow tagged. The camshaft is really pitted and will need to be replaced. I imagine the followers will need replacing also unless refurbishing them isn’t a big deal. My question is this: There’s a possibility that I […]
There are no simple answers to complex problems: And no magic pill for unleaded avgas
In my last column I berated the author of a letter to the editor about a simple solution to the unleaded fuel crisis (The definition of insanity, Sept. 7 issue). In my last column I berated the author of a letter to the editor about a simple solution to the unleaded fuel crisis (The definition […]
September 2005 Accident Reports
The owner/builder’s inadequate fuel tank inspection during construction, which resulted in fuel contamination and subsequent fuel starvation.
The Albatross Lady: Julie Fetco and her flying yacht
Her name is Julie Fetcko, but those who have met her at air shows call her “The Albatross Lady.” She and her husband, John, own and fly the spectacular Grumman Albatross of that name, turning up at air shows and fly-ins all across America, summer after summer. They bought the Albatross as a “flying motor […]