Our choices can lead us to amazing destinations…or nowhere. “This kind of flying,” was Bill Langdon’s answer to my asking, “What kind of flying do you mostly do?” We’d just lifted off from the back country mountain strip at the Minam River Lodge en route to nearby Joseph, Oregon, with a load of trash. [You […]
‘FIFI’ dustup leaves more questions
The truth is out there… somewhere. Last week, a proposed amendment to the House’s National Defense Authorization Act caused a bit of a firestorm. The proposed amendment from Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio) would “bar the Department of Defense from loaning or gifting any U.S. military aircraft or parts to any entity except those that would put the […]
The Minam Airlift
Serendipity can be a marvelous thing. Rumor had it that the Minam River Lodge, which dates to 1950 and is completely surrounded by the 560-square-mile Eagle Cap Wilderness in northeast Oregon, was to be auctioned off. The last operating wilderness lodge in eastern Oregon, there are only two ways to gain access to the lodge […]
Mogas sales on ‘temporary hold’ at Sonoma Jet Center
Sonoma Jet Center (SJC), located at Charles M. Schulz – Sonoma County Airport (STS) in Santa Rosa, Calif. reported in March they were selling ethanol-free 91 octane unleaded gasoline for aircraft use. According to SJC general manager, John Bridi, “a temporary hold has been placed on sales.” Paperwork and permitting appear to be the cause […]
Seattle looks to protect floatplanes
The City of Seattle is considering development restrictions near South Lake Union to preserve floatplane operations, according to a story in the April 13-19 issue of Puget Sound Business Journal. Kenmore Air operates as many as 100 flights a day, in the busy summer season. Proposed requirements include: Establishing a flight corridor southwest of the lake, […]
MMA and Cylinders?
Leave it up to the good folks in at San Antonio-based ECi to write a post for their website titled, “Cage Fighting for Cylinders“. In the post, ECi’s Tim Moreland acknowledges that “ECi has gotten a black eye for some cylinder failures so we went to the gym to toughen up.” Using the growing popularity […]
F-22 Raptor to fly at Rocky Mountain Airshow
A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor will fly at the August 24-26 Rocky Mountain Airshow in Broomfield, Colorado. F-22 demo teams will make just 20 appearances worldwide in 2012. The 10th annual air show will include aircraft ranging from WWI replicas to state of the art technology. Fireworks follow a Hot Air Balloon Glow and the twilight […]
Fat Head enters UAS marketplace
The UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) market is coming. There is a lot of work yet to be done, but it’s coming all the same. Late last month, Wichita-based Fat Head Solutions announced its hung out its shingle in the UAS market and, “will provide low cost, high value, and complete subsystem solutions for small unmanned aerial […]
Dual AF-5600 in new Sportsman panel
AURORA, Ore. — “Over the last five years we [Pacific Coast Avionics] have completed more than 80 panels for Glasair Sportsman customers in the Two-Weeks-To-Taxi Program,” said Dewey Conroy, Pacific Coast Avionics (PCA) vice president and chief operating officer. PCA is the exclusive panel builder for the Two-Weeks-to-Taxi program, with a variety of options, but […]