It’s rare to find a pilot who doesn’t have an aviation-related nickname. If your best buddy is named “Snake” you, by default, become “Mongoose.” If you insist on chair flying and visualizing instrument approaches before you execute them, your witty CFI might bestow the moniker “Zen” upon completion of the check ride. For the members […]
Talk about a bad landing!
Have you ever mistaken a taxiway for a runway? Even the guys that drive the big iron can make that mistake – especially at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. In the last four years eight airline crews have mistaken Taxiway Tango, which measures 9,500 feet x 100 feet and runs parallel to the runways, for a runway. […]
Love is in the air
For Mike Nass and Wendy Forseen, finding the perfect place for their June 18 wedding involved some flight planning. The couple got married aboard a historic DC-3 owned by Prairie Aviation Museum in Bloomington, Ill. The ceremony took place in the air as the DC-3 flew over the couple’s hometown of Clinton, Iowa. “It was […]
Mooney at full throttle
Mooney is back — and better than ever. The 60-year-old company, which emerged from bankruptcy just a few years ago, is “running at full throttle,” according to Gretchen Jahn, CEO of the Kerrville, Texas-based company, which is on target to more than double its 2004 sales. Last year, the company delivered 36 airplanes. Already this […]
Like-minded souls
Were you part of the annual migration of aviation enthusiasts to Oshkosh for EAA AirVenture? Pilots joke that attending the event at least once in your lifetime is required by the Code of Federal Aviation Regulations. In the regular world just a fraction of the population are pilots. During Oshkosh, they are in the majority. […]
How should aircraft engines be preheated?
I just read Paul McBride’s response to John Folinsbee in the April 22, 2005, issue (What led to camshaft damage?) I know this is a huge subject with no easy answers. May I give some information about engines and preheaters that we have observed and which might help your readers understand? Contrary to what you […]
Eliminating the terrorist threat
It is encouraging to read letters like “A different view” and “more tolerance” in the July 8th edition, regarding the Washington, D.C., ADIZ. I couldn’t agree more. The entire “Patriot Act” should be repealed. It is a most egregious and dangerous step toward a Fascist government. It was all prepared before Sept. 11, and rushed through in a […]
Do we really need to save airports?
I am an airport manager of a small airport in northern Oklahoma (O53), and I have to disagree that we need more airports (Join the campaign to save our airports, July 8 issue). It has been my observation in this part of the country that we don’t have enough airplanes and general aviation activities to […]
The few, the proud, the persistent…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Homeland Security Department has issued an Interim Flight Rule that will again permit general aviation aircraft to operate into and out of Reagan National Airport. Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, GA aircraft have not been permitted at DCA, which is located just across the Potomac River from downtown Washington. […]