This time of year I find myself doing a lot of intro flights. The first question people ask is, “is it safe?” I reply that I’m more concerned about my safety driving to the airport than I am in the airplane. Over the years I’ve learned that there is a fine line between making sure […]
Touch & Go
Time and talent
The church my family attends makes available to all comers a time and talent sign-up form. Our church, like most churches, has far more needs, and desires, than the paid staff can, or should, reasonably accomplish. As a result, we’ve created this sign-up form to tap the collective knowledge and labor base that is the […]
The other side of Summit
Picture this: 80 airplanes, more than 400 booths, and hours of seminars in beautiful Palm Springs, Calif. That pretty much sums up this year’s Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Aviation Summit. In the more than 10 years I have been working at General Aviation News, I have been to the annual event many times as […]
By the numbers
We all have a lot of numbers thrown at us every day. A few numbers I’ve heard in the last few weeks are worrying, but I’ve also heard some numbers that give me hope. From Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association President Craig Fuller at the Southeast Aviation Expo in Greenville, S.C., last month: Over the […]
Join the club
The subject of flying clubs and their relative merit has taken up space in this column before. I’m a believer. The idea of spreading the cost of ownership across eight or 10 or 12 partners in a flying club makes sense. And that’s to say nothing of the social aspects that can be so beneficial […]
Compatible use
Recently my wife, kids, Mom and I all flew to Des Moines, Iowa, for the wedding of one of my cousins. While in Des Moines, we drove east to Newton to see where my Mom grew up. On our way in, I drove past the town so we could visit the Newton Municipal Airport (TNU). […]
The saviors of general aviation
Guest Editorial By MITCH LATTING and JOLIE LUCAS Recently a critic of ours said that we “fly around the country acting like they are the saviors of general aviation.” As we thought about this criticism, we had to admit there is some truth to the statement. We so strongly believe in promoting general aviation, we […]
Shady Acres celebrates golden anniversary
SPANAWAY, Wash. — Shady Acres, a residential airpark, celebrated its 50th anniversary with a potluck party at the home of Rick and Bobbie Wicklander on Sept. 1. Current and former residents showed up, about 50 in all, for the celebration. Pictures and newspaper clippings were laid out for all to peruse. Shady Acres was created […]
Letter: KidVenture, 7-year-old key to getting AirVenture juices flowing again
Last week I wrote, “A suggestion for keeping the magic of AirVenture alive.” I’ve received a handful of emails thanking me for the post, some of which offered personal experiences. A few I’m still following up on, but following is what I received from Bill Middlebrook, president of Penn Yan Aero and longtime friend. Suffice it to […]