Well, I survived one more Oshkosh experience! As I have for just about every year since 1970, I journeyed to Oshkosh for the annual EAA aviation extravaganza the last week of July. As usual, there was a huge crowd of planes, campers and people on hand. I don’t have any sort of count, but let […]
Touch & Go
Flying the B-25
Last summer broken bones grounded me. This summer I am making up for lost time by not only doing as much flying as I can, but also flying as many airplanes from my “wish list” as possible. You already know about one of them – the DC-3 (Living the dream: Our reporter flies a DC-3, […]
Why do we call an ace and ace?: It was all a mistake in translation
Have you ever wondered why the more successful fighter pilots are called aces? It’s an odd story, which begins with a popular Frenchman of pre-World War I vintage. Roland Garros was a Parisian bon vivant who became entranced by flying in 1909, after seeing Alberto Santos-Dumont skimming madly among the city’s chimney pots aboard a […]
Seeing stars
OK, I’ll admit it. When I heard country music star Aaron Tippin was going to be in concert at Sun ‘n Fun, I was excited. Not just because I’m a fan, but because I knew I’d get a chance to sit down and interview him. That’s one of the perks of my job. I get […]
The FAA propaganda machine: Has you local newspaper fallen victim?
If you had any doubts as to whether the FAA was going to mount a full-scale attempt to secure increased general aviation funding for the Next Generation Air Traffic Control system, let me make it very clear: they are in full attack mode. How do I know that? Probably the most obvious reason I came […]
Full leather jacket: it’s much more than a fashion statement
“Why are you wearing that thing?” “That thing” is my leather A-2 flight jacket, the one with all the patches. I wear it all the time, including at Sun ‘n Fun in Florida in April. I have a weakness for flight jackets. When I decided I was going to learn to fly, one of the […]
We are not alone
Anyone in general aviation who is unaware of the user fee proposals currently being debated in Congress must be singularly disconnected from aviation media. What most of us do not realize is that we are not the only people being threatened by user fees and increased federal fuel taxes. Tucked away in the administration’s FY2008 […]
The real fun at Sun ‘n Fun
A lot of my friends think I’ve got it made. After all, I not only get to go to Sun ‘n Fun and AirVenture every year, I get paid to go. They don’t know the half of it. Attending those shows, the premiere events of the air show season, are a great perk of this […]
Bigger than life: The world needs more characters like John Thun
My wife and I were cleaning out some boxes stuffed with old photos when we came across some pictures of the late John Thun. The pictures really set my mind whirling as I thought about this bigger-than-life character from the Tacoma, Wash., area, where we have made our home since 1970. When I mention John, […]