What a tragedy regarding the Grumman American accident in the Accident Reports in the March 23 issue. Somebody turned this guy loose in an airplane that he couldn’t control and he kills himself with two friends or family — and instead of flying the airplane as it gets too slow, he’s on the radio!
“What’s new in training … Flying the looking glass” in the March 9 issue was interesting. We’d like to add the King Schools’ “Flying the Garmin G1000″ to your “Check these out, too” sidebar.
I just read “Got an older airplane? Rumors abound that maintenance shops refuse to work on them” (Feb. 2 issue). In the fourth paragraph, your writer states that you have “found no confirmation that shops have turned away older airplanes…” I am not sure which shops you may have called, but it appears not the right ones.
The article on older aircraft getting turned down for service is timely. This morning KCAC — Kansas City Aircraft out of OJC in Olathe, Kan., turned me down. We needed an inspection on our 1977 Navajo.
Re: Tom Norton’s article on Charles L. Lawrance, (Paul Revere’s horse: Charlie Lawrance and his engine that changed aviation, Jan. 19 issue), the name of Paul Revere’s horse was Brown Beauty.
In reading the article by Charles Spence in the Jan. 5 issue concerning EPA’s fuel rules (“Capital Comments: The latest on NAVAIDS, user fees and fuel rules”), I am reminded of a comment by the famous film comedian of the 1930s and 1940s, Groucho Marx. He said of government, “Politics is the art of seeking trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.” What else needs to be said to explain the absurd solution that bureaucrats can find to remedy non-existent problems?
Several months ago you did an article on the Symphony 160 (Symphony 160: The next generation trainer, July 7, 2006). I meant to write this back then, but it slipped my mind until reading about the company’s bankruptcy a few days ago (Bankrupt: Tiger and Symphony close doors, Feb. 2).
As a World War II Tac Recon pilot with the 64th TRG, 9th AF, ETO, I caught the misidentification of the so-called P-38 that Bill Lear Jr. was flying on page 46 of your Jan. 19 issue (Art Report: “Bill Lear and surplus WWII aircraft — what’s the connection?”). No gun ports on the nose, plus more important, you can see the window on the right side and — looking through that window — apparently another on the left which allowed their big cameras to shoot oblique pictures left and right and finally the tear drop item under the nose. I don’t remember exactly what it was (I think radar) but I do know it was involved in high altitude photography and was not on any P-38 I ever saw. All together that tells me the plane is an F-5 — the unarmed photo recon version of the P-38. Oh yes, they also had a window on the bottom of the nose for their vertical camera.
Remember the relief we felt within the aviation community back in 1998 when the state of Washington passed a law requiring all communities to develop zones to protect airports from encroachment by incompatible development? Here is a big red flag, folks. You had better check what your local governments have done, because we found that the city government of Shelton feels it is above the law and has yet to fulfill this requirement.
The General Aviation Airport Coalition has initiated a petition on the White House website that, if signed by 25,000 people or more by May 16, 2012, will elicit...
Air Racers 3D, the first IMAX movie devoted to the Reno Air Races, is rolling out across the country at select IMAX theaters, including the Naval Aviation Mus...
Really? Are there only 3,035 general aviators out there who are against paying a $100 per flight user fee? Click here to sign the petition. If you’re not a...
This May 2010 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn fro...
This May 2010 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn fro...
