Plans to demolish Buchanan Field Airport (CCR) in the San Francisco Bay area and replace it with an urban village have been withdrawn because developers were not able to find suitable land for a replacement airport. Redeveloping the property, which included creating a community with 6,000 new homes, was first suggested by Shapell Industries in […]
Pilots pitch in for hurricane relief
Pilots from all over the United States are donating their time, airplanes and resources to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. Shortly after the magnitude of the disaster became known, aviation organizations were deluged with requests from pilots who wanted to know how they could help. Most were told to contribute money to the Red Cross […]
One sky, one voice
It is all one sky. No matter how you use it, or what your involvement with it, all of aviation’s many segments fly through or in some way make use of the same sky. The implication, then, is that all of us – private pilots, airlines, business aircraft owners, agricultural services, fuel companies, weather services […]
An exceptionally naive point of view
Why did you post this letter, “Eliminating the terrorist threat,” in the Aug. 5 issue? This person’s point of view is obviously exceptionally naive. Effectively, he’s saying that if we were just to come home and be nice so will everyone else. Is it really necessary to post such an absurdity? Please confine yourselves to […]
A new definition of airport needed
I just finished your article “To save our airports” (July 22 issue). It is frustrating that politics saps so much joy from everyday GA operations. After following this subject for years, including leaseholder issues, business growth and finance problems, stability and viability in GA, community relations and “good neighbor” operations, I have come to believe […]
Paradise Lost
Thank you for the article discussing homeowner associations (Are homeowners’ associations a good idea, a necessary evil or a power grab? July 22 issue). Certainly there are situations, as discussed in the article, where HOAs and CC&Rs can be used to protect one’s property and property rights, however in both aviation and non-aviation related communities, the […]
Cousin to the Hughes Racer?
Have you ever seen a Harlow PJC-2? If you have, count yourself lucky. The low-wing single-engine design came about in 1940 as a class project. PJC stands for Pasadena Junior College in Southern California. The numeral two identifies the aircraft as the second design instructor Max Harlow had his students build. The airplane bears a […]
‘Reel’ pilots
Most people know Gen. Chuck Yeager as the man who first broke the sound barrier, but did you know he was also a movie pilot? Yeager flew one of the F-86 Sabre jets seen in the 1950 epic “Jet Pilot,” staring John Wayne. Produced by Howard Hughes, the film was shot over three years, from […]
Expect to keep a closer eye on the weather
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pilots may have to study more weather and show proficiency in flying by reference only to instruments during a biennial flight review if recommendations made by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are adopted by the FAA. Results of a study of weather-related accidents indicates a need for better testing of pilots, […]