No, I did not leave a zero off in the title to this piece. Although general aviators have long joked about the lure of the $100 hamburger, I think it is time we downsized, right-sized, and economized our way into a larger population. So I recommend the $10 hamburger. It’s available for a tenth the […]
General aviation is awesome
Hurricane Sandy made a mess of the northeast last week. More than 20 states were lambasted by wind and rain, while snow piled up in West Virginia. From Georgia to Maine, weather that nobody was happy to see came their way anyhow. There will be more to come, too. There always is. It comes year […]
Don’t reinvent the wheel
In the great pantheon of mottos there may be none more pertinent than this: Don’t reinvent the wheel. It’s short. It’s pithy. It’s easy to remember. Maybe best of all, it’s true. So with that in mind, I will make this suggestion: If you are a fan of general aviation, if you believe human beings […]
Happenstance — Go get some
I was having lunch last week with a woman who works in the tourism industry. Here in Florida, tourism is a big deal, and so we have folks in the private sector, and the public sector, who are dedicated to making sure travelers know there is plenty to do when they get here. The list […]
Join the club
The subject of flying clubs and their relative merit has taken up space in this column before. I’m a believer. The idea of spreading the cost of ownership across eight or 10 or 12 partners in a flying club makes sense. And that’s to say nothing of the social aspects that can be so beneficial […]
The race to euthanasia
I received an email over the weekend that stunned me. I don’t use that term lightly, either. I was truly shocked. The opening sentence read, “The fact is GA is just about done for.” That got my attention. Not only is that a sentiment I disagree with entirely, it is a position that I cannot […]
Stand back, Jack
It goes without saying, of course, but every now and then it’s a good idea to stand down, relax, maybe even take a nap. No matter what you’re working on, or how important you perceive it to be, there is a point of diminishing returns if you push too hard. You’re only human after all. […]
Be persistent, but be there
Someone asked me recently what I would say if asked for advice about how to be a good advocate for general aviation. The answer is simple — and it doesn’t matter if the advocacy you intend to do is on behalf of general aviation, a local bowling league, or anything else. The advice is the […]
Wait your turn (or don’t)
The vast majority of us were raised by civilized mothers and fathers. That’s a good thing. We belonged to the Boy Scouts, or the Girl Scouts, or a sports team of some kind. And of course all of us had some sort of educational experience, which almost always consisted of at least one adult who […]