Lead fuel usage not known to non-aviators

Ben Sclair | People, Touch & Go | February 2, 2012

“Lead in paint has been a well known public health problem for decades and that product was banned decades ago. No news about that,” said John Ryan, a reporter for Seattle’s KUOW, when I asked why his story focused on avgas rather than the “much bigger threat” of lead paint. “I think most people outside the general aviation field would not know there is still a leaded fuel in wide use in this country,” Ryan continued. “And avgas lead is the number one source of lead in the nation’s air and with few people knowing about it, that combination makes it newsworthy in my eyes.”

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‘Crumbling paint a bigger threat’ than leaded avgas

Ben Sclair | Touch & Go | January 30, 2012

“More lead goes into the air here at Boeing Field than anywhere else in Washington state,” says KUOW’s John Ryan reporting from Ruby Chow Park under the flight path of Seattle’s Boeing Field (BFI).

In his story on KUOW titled, “Flying The Leaded Skies: Small Planes Still Pour Lead Into America’s Air,” Ryan takes us on a journey regarding leaded fuel.

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Connecting flights

Ben Sclair | Touch & Go | December 21, 2011

The end of the year is a time of reflection. As 2011 winds down, my family and I experienced an unreal 19-day stretch that put a great deal into perspective about life and aviation.

Here’s a peek into a public journal:

Nov. 10: My wife, Deb, and I were in the Indianapolis International Airport when we received the news that her Dad’s cancer had spread too far to continue the battle and doctors recommended hospice.

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Paper charts still needed, but AeroNav is wrong

Ben Sclair | Blogs, Touch & Go | December 20, 2011

Does anyone dispute the need for paper charts for pilots? I hope not. Likewise, there can be no doubt about the rapid rise of digital chart usage. More and more general aviation pilots (and airlines and flight departments for that matter) are adopting “appified” navigation via [insert app here] on Apple’s iPad and a few other tablet devices. How dare anyone stand in the way of this progress. Yet that is exactly what the FAA’s AeroNav (Aeronautical Navigation Products) division is proposing.

If you are unaware, AeroNav held a meeting on December 13 “for companies interested in distributing our digital product line in the future.” The meeting had a stated goal “to collaboratively discuss options for FAA’s AeroNav Products to develop a proposal to best distribute digital products.” That goal seems right enough… yet highlights from the meeting tell a much different story. Five of the nine bullet points from AeroNav’s meeting highlights mention fees and/or revenue.

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What’s wrong with user fees?

Kent Misegades | GAfuels, Touch & Go | December 4, 2011

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 works for the government, the only sector of our economy that has not experienced Great Depression-era unemployment the past three years.

In this same issue of GAN, LSA expert Dan Johnson reported that 122 new S-LSA models have been certified in the past six-and-a- half years. Congratulations Dan! Most of these aircraft come from European nations that have funded their aviation infrastructure through user fees for decades, hardly consistent with the gloom-and-doom predictions from our aviation alphabets.

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50 years of safe flying

Ben Sclair | People, Touch & Go | November 21, 2011

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.”

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Stop apologizing for GA

Ben Sclair | Touch & Go | October 27, 2011

Harrison Ford appeared before the Senate General Aviation Caucus Oct. 18 to discuss GA. From the AOPA.org story on the session, “Caucus co-chairs Sens. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) and Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) kicked off the session explaining that GA isn’t a luxury and, in some cases, is often a necessity. The lack of understanding of the role GA plays in the United States has placed it in jeopardy, they said.”

GA isn’t a luxury? Really? Of course it is AND there’s nothing wrong with that. Continue Reading »

Beijing’s first GA firm

Ben Sclair | Aircraft, Touch & Go | October 26, 2011

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.

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Healing continues for Reno survivor

Ben Sclair | People, Touch & Go | October 19, 2011

“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. Continue Reading »

Congress is listening… at least one member is

Ben Sclair | Touch & Go | October 19, 2011

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 Congress I share your concern with the regulatory bloat of the federal government. Continue Reading »