The Oct. 7 issue of General Aviation News included several articles warning against the dire consequences of user fees being proposed by our federal government. In a letter to the editor, Kevin Mossey even made the astounding claim that we “all need to sacrifice” by accepting higher fuel taxes. One can only imagine that he […]
Touch & Go
50 years of safe flying
Ohio’s Tom Root was awarded the Wright Brothers “Master Pilot” Award in September. He applied for the award “based on a lifetime of single pilot/photographer with over 5,000 hours doing aerial photography.” The plaque presented to Tom was in “appreciation for your dedicated service, technical expertise, professionalism, and many outstanding contributions that further the cause […]
Beijing’s first GA firm
China Daily reported that the Beijing General Aviation Group (BGAG) has been co-founded by Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC) and Beihang University, in terms of capital ($15.7 million) and technologies, respectively. According to Wikipedia, BAIC is a state-owned automaker that manufactures Hyundai and Mercedes-branded autos for sale on the Chinese market. From the same China Daily […]
Healing continues for Reno survivor
“He’s doing alright. Doing pretty good actually,” said Tracy, the wife of Reno Air Races crash survivor Larry Cruz. (I wrote about him Oct. 9). He is still in Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center but now has his new hook. He’d like to get moved to the rehab floor, but he still has a lot of […]
Congress is listening… at least one member is
Congressman Todd Rokita (Indiana) is a commercially-rated pilot who shares my concern with regulatory bloat and responded to my editorial “Have you put on some weight?” I recently read your editorial in General Aviation News titled “Have you put on a few pounds?” As both a commercially rated private pilot and as a member of […]
Flight time for pay?
Clay Lacy was honored at NBAA2011 with the Meritorious Service to Aviation Award. From Mary F. Silitch’s story at AINonline, Lacy is quoted as saying, “at 12, I started working at Cannonball Airport receiving flight time for pay.” Historically, that was pretty common. Does anyone pay with flight time anymore?
Meet Larry Cruz, Reno Air Races crash survivor
Meet Larry Cruz. Larry was at the Reno’s National Championship Air Races last month when The Galloping Ghost crashed. Actually, Larry was under The Galloping Ghost when it crashed. When the dust and debris settled following the horrific crash of September 16, Larry was barely conscious. Injuries included: a severed right hand, crushed right leg […]
A model for leaning the FARs
The bloat we’ve seen in the Federal Air Regulations is a hurdle to those interested in learning to fly. I’ve said it before. Now I’ve got proof. OK, so it’s not regulatory bloat, but it translates. In the September 2011 issue of the Avionics News, a story titled, “Lean & Mean” details how Duncan Aviation […]
‘Congress must now act responsibly’
By Ben Sclair The U.S. Senate passed legislation today (Thursday, September 15) that extends funding for the FAA four months and avoids a second partial FAA shutdown. The following quote on the topic blows me away. “It is a positive step for the country that the Congress has passed this historic combination of extensions, which […]