If there is one constant in life, it is that change is inevitable. In the aviation industry, this often manifests as people leave one job to take another. Or, as in the case of JoAnn and Sandy Hill from Longmont, Colo., it can take the form of retirement after what most would agree is a […]
Touch & Go
Old Coot pilots come up with ideas for a new medical
Guest Editorial By John Christensen I recently attended my 50th high school reunion. I had a wonderful time reminiscing with classmates. As one would expect, the rather large crowd quickly organized itself into small groups, according to interests, past and present. I found myself embedded in a pod of old coot pilots. After the hangar stories, […]
‘He died doing what he loved’
Guest Editorial By THOMAS P. TURNER The pilot of a twin-engine airplane sped through a narrow mountain pass. Low clouds obscured the ridges and peaks; pine trees blurred past just a few hundred feet below, materializing from the mist, flashing dark green beneath the sleek airplane, and zooming into the cloak of mist behind with […]
Do you feel lucky?
Guest Editorial By STEVE BILL HANSHEW Pilots dread ramp checks. It’s a lot like a prostate exam in a flight physical — you don’t want one, but sooner or later you’re going to get one. No matter that it’s a part of an FAA inspector’s job to periodically audit any aircraft he or she chooses, […]
EAA vs. FAA: It’s complicated
To be honest, I’m a bit conflicted about all that’s been going on with the Experimental Aircraft Association and the FAA’s demand that the association cover some of the costs of air traffic control at this month’s AirVenture. Of course, EAA is much more than AirVenture. But once a year, it does host the mother […]
No medical required
Is this country great or what? I can rent a 30-foot-long CruiseAmerica.com motorhome, with no prior large vehicle experience, load it with six of my friends and family, and plow on down the road. The company website is filled with ways to maximize the enjoyment of the rental, and very little about safety and regulation. […]
The show must go on
GUEST EDITORIAL By PHILIP HANDLEMAN Sequestration is forcing the Pentagon to slash $41 billion this year on top of the $487 billion reduction in defense spending already mandated over the next 10 years. Resultantly, a cruel triage within the Defense Department has taken hold. Communities across America are waking to the reality that their scheduled […]
The new FAA: Nimble
[Start sarcasm]: The FAA has seen the light. With its budget challenged by sequestration, FAA brass came up with a “pay for play” program to extort — er… I mean bill — the nation’s fly-ins for traffic control. This is a great thing. You see, FAA leadership has realized now what uncertainty means. So in the future, when ICON […]
Apparently we do need this tower
The “Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013” (H.R. 1765) was introduced on Friday, April 26, by Rep. Tom Latham (R-Iowa). It was signed by President Obama on Wednesday, May 1. You see, Congress and the President can get things done…when they want to. The full title of the bill is “To provide the Secretary of Transportation with […]