The Pilots Bill of Rights, introduced by Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and recently passed in the Senate, is scheduled for a vote in the House of Representatives July 23. The bill is expected to pass, according to Washington insiders.
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The Pilots Bill of Rights, introduced by Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and recently passed in the Senate, is scheduled for a vote in the House of Representatives July 23. The bill is expected to pass, according to Washington insiders.
How can your airport fill up its empty hangars? Perhaps the most effective method would be to send a pilot or two into the local middle schools and high schools to tell a few stories, pop a slideshow up on the smartboard, and invite a whole bunch of the kids out to the airport. Let me provide a little context for that idea. It’s valid, believe me. But as fixes go, this isn’t a quick one — nor should it be.
Richard Epton has always had a fascination for military airplanes. He grew up on a dairy farm on the east coast of England and his father told him stories about all the airplanes, both English and German, that battled it out in the skies during World War II.
“My father told me stories of what it was like to see the Heinkels, Messerschmidts and Junkers during the war. Dad also took me around to the old military bases to see where the bombers had been,” Epton said. “One day we were out driving when we saw a Spitfire mounted on a post outside of a base. I said, ‘Dad if you sold a few acres of land we could buy one of those,’ and he said, ‘Son, I’ve seen thousands of them. They’ll never be worth anything.’”
The period for pilots to comment on the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and Experimental Aircraft Association medical petition has been extended to Sept. 14.
Boeing projects the world will face an unprecedented demand for pilots and aviation maintenance technicians over the next 20 years [Read more...]
Story and Photos By JEAN-PIERRE BONIN
I like to call myself an aviation freak.
Though I never became a pilot, I have been an aviation lover since I was a teenager, but it was not until some decades later that I stumbled into general aviation. In 2000, a neighbor began building a Ultravia Pelican Sport 600 kit plane in his garage and that was the start of a whole new era for me.
From an aircraft photographer, attempting, like others, to upload some pictures to websites like Airliners.net, I slowly began to widen my interest (and contacts), making me a more complete aviation photographer. Through the last 10 years or so, I have witnessed the true Spirit of Flight as pilots, owners, mechanics and just “plane” volunteers have shared their passion with me.
The Aplomado Falcon is regaining a foothold in parts of Texas where they disappeared more than a half-century ago. On July 1, biologists began releasing captive-bred Aplomado Falcons to the wild for the first time at Mustang Island State Park. The birds were flown to the park by volunteer pilots with LightHawk.
A report by Matt Thurber at AIN Online features a new company, OpenAirplane, which hopes to develop a standardized checkout for rental aircraft. Owners Rod Rakic and Adam Fast hope this will encourage more people to fly. The report quotes some interesting figures from a company survey: 96% of respondents said they would fly more at locations away from their home airport if the checkout process were simpler; and more than 50% said they don’t rent away from home because of complicated checkout requirements.
Sitting across the table from a distinguished looking airline pilot who is both youthful and highly experienced, I can’t help but reminisce about the old days. As we chatter away about scheduling, performance, weather issues, family, and mutual friends, I can’t help but remember that this is the man who taught me to fly.
It was this specific individual who introduced me to the secret of doing a decent turn-around-a-point. He walked me through hold entries and my very first ILS approach, not to mention the significantly more challenging and far less precise NDB. He even accompanied me on the trip that resulted in my multi-engine instructor certificate being issued, even if we did participate in sinking a Seminole in a mud hole in the process.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pilots will get better notices to airmen (NOTAMs) and more equitable treatment from the FAA during any enforcement actions against them as a result of passage of a bill introduced by Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), which was passed June 29 by the Senate and sent to the House, where similar legislation had been introduced.
© 2013 General Aviation News
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