He’s been on the SUN ’n FUN board for years, but chairman for just 18 months. Robert C. (Bob) Knight is head of Knight Industrial Equipment (a long-time Lakeland Airport tenant), an airport board member and community leader. He’s been flying out of LAL since 1965. That A-36 Bonanza of his, which he calls “my lifeblood,” is on its fourth engine and third turbo-normalizer.
Profiles in Change: SUN ’n FUN’s new president
April 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment
At a time when our GA institutions seem in transition, plagued by leadership changes and questions of fiscal stability and stewardship, it seems SUN ’n FUN got a head start on fixes. Its new leadership is now in gear and beginning to roll.
A recent visit with new President John “Lites” Leenhouts was my second, but I came away even more impressed. [Read more...]
Airspeed, airlines and economics
April 8, 2013 by 12 Comments
This is Part 2 in a series
After the Interstates, it was low-fare post-deregulation airlines that challenged the economics of travel by everyday GA.
Everyday GA as transportation?
April 7, 2013 by 56 Comments
Many factors have challenged the typical GA airplane as a transportation mode.
I recall the early-1960s debate at my home field whether the new Interstate Highway System would be boon or bust for General Aviation, at least for the average Cessna or Piper. My conclusion then, as now: Both.
Gone but not forgotten
April 2, 2013 by 8 Comments
We lost some key “downtown” airports as the 20th Century faded into history. Famous campaigns fought to save them; local politicians with big plans “got” them — Chicago Meigs (10 years ago this month) and Bader Field in Atlantic City, N.J. They represented the height of GA utility. Now, in their absence, have politicians’ airport-killing schemes and dreams worked out?
Countdown to SUN ’n FUN
March 25, 2013 by 1 Comment
The Breitling Countdown Clock on the SUN ’n FUN website is ticking down as Lakeland-Linder Regional Airport (LAL) in Florida transitions into GA’s season-opener national fly-in/convention/airshow.
A pleasant Florida morning in late March revealed things falling into place. Piper Aircraft had its tent up already, as did the [Read more...]
Merger mania: EAA and AOPA?
March 6, 2013 by 17 Comments
With the announced resignation of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association‘s Craig Fuller and the departure last year of the Experimental Aircraft Association‘s new president, some are asking whether AOPA and EAA should merge. I think not.
Neither EAA nor AOPA members should support a merger concept based only on recent performance by either organization, both still in transition. Tom Poberezny and Phil Boyer were hard acts to follow.
Back to basics with the 3Rs?
March 3, 2013 by 38 Comments
New airplanes cost too much. Used aircraft prices have slumped. The fleet is aging. There’s a lack of new thinking in the industry. The pilot population is dropping. I think you’ve heard all this before. Now, an old friend has an idea. But I think I’ve heard it before.
The idea is the large-scale “remanufacture” of select used GA aircraft – new engines, interiors, avionics, wiring, etc. [Read more...]
New CEO for LoPresti as company shifts focus
January 29, 2013 by 2 Comments
Stunt pilot Corkey Fornof is looking for new opportunities and the LoPresti Fury won’t be flying airshows in 2013 as LoPresti Aviation attends to a fast-growing business in lighting for jets and turboprops.
Briefly, a showroom of Cubs
January 20, 2013 by 1 Comment
Imagine yourself in a dealership filled with new Cubs! [Read more...]
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