LAKELAND, Florida — John Best, Jr., one of the original founders of the SUN ‘n FUN Fly-In, passed away July 30, 2016. He was 79. Born in Bethesda, Maryland, he moved to the Lakeland area in 1963. The U.S. Air Force veteran worked as a Ford automotive mechanic. Besides being one of the original founders of SUN ‘n […]
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Fit to fly
By TOM DOUGLAS Seventeen minutes without a heartbeat set Jim Poling off in a new and life-fulfilling direction. “They say you can only survive 19 minutes with a shut-down heart, so it was a close call,” Jim related recently. “Even so, a stroke suffered on the operating table left me blind in one eye.” The […]
WASP celebrates 100th birthday
By Nancy Covert It was a story about Germany’s flying ace, the Red Knight (Snoopy’s infamous Red Baron), according to Dorothy Kocher Olsen, that piqued her interest in learning to fly. Olsen, who was resting up on a June Sunday morning for an afternoon celebration of her 100th birthday with a pair of sister flyers from […]
Living next to the airport
By JAMES J. PIEKLO You know the type. They move next to a railroad track or an airport then immediately start complaining about the noise. I happen to live directly under the flight path of Ocean City Municipal Airport (26N) in New Jersey, and I don’t mind the noise in the least. Our in-house VHF radio […]
Phillips 66 Aviation promotes three
Phillips 66 Aviation has named R. G. (Greg) Still Manager, General Aviation, U.S. Sales. Still will be based in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Still has more than 35 years of experience in numerous management and marketing roles in the industry, most recently serving as Branded Sales Manager, Wholesale. He’s also served as Manager, Wholesale Sales Mid-Con at ConocoPhillips, and […]
Another in the end of an era
I knew the day would come to talk about Charlie Spence. He was a signal force in General Aviation public relations. He was once my daunting competitor. Later, he was a warm and encouraging friend — as he was to so many. Charlie and I each held the same two top PR jobs in GA: From […]
Long-time GAN columnist passes away
Long-time General Aviation News columnist Charles Spence passed away at home June 23 after a brief illness. He was 94. Spence, who wrote the Capital Comments column for General Aviation News for more than 18 years, retired from that post in December 2014 at the age of 92. A passionate general aviation advocate, Spence’s lifelong […]
From shoe salesman to airport developer
Woody Lesikar of Houston, Texas, is this year’s recipient of the George Palmer Putnam Award, which recognizes support provided by a non-member to The Ninety-Nines International Organization of Women Pilots. Submitted by the Houston Ninety-Nines for his support of their chapter, Woody was selected as the epitome of an individual who gives his energy, time, […]
Sue Folkringa appointed to FABA board of directors
Sue Folkringa, a CPA with Wolcott & Associates, P.A., has been appointed to the board of directors of the Florida Aviation Business Association (FABA). FABA is a 70-year-old organization of general aviation related businesses and interested parties, advocating and combining resources on issues impacting aviation in the state of Florida. Folkringa is a Certified Public Accountant and […]