“I imagine it’s not very often you get mail from a prison,” Tim’s letter started. He’s right, we don’t get many letters from prison. We do have a dozen — perhaps more — General Aviation News subscribers who are currently incarcerated. “After getting a grace issue and letting my subscription lapse, I felt obligated to thank you,” […]
Opinion
Hey, wanna go flying?
There’s nothing unusual about seeing two guys in the early stages of middle age, looking over a fabric-covered airplane before launching off to seek out a pancake breakfast or watch the sunset over the hills. Nothing unusual at all. Yet there was something about the two guys on the ramp at Orlando Executive Airport that […]
Taxiway landings
Harrison Ford landed on Taxiway Charlie at John Wayne Airport last month. Everyone who knows I am a pilot and an aviation safety columnist contacted me as soon as they heard about Ford. My mother even chimed in, certain the actor should be stripped of his license, as this was his fourth accident. I explained […]
Financing your flight training
Most of us who fly came to the decision organically. Nobody forced us to fly. We wanted to. We yearned for the opportunity. We flew in our dreams and looked up to the heavens whenever the sound of an engine passed overhead. The decision was ours and we pursued it, each in our own way. […]
The dream of flight is universal
Humans have dreamed of flight for hundreds — if not thousands — of years. And today is no different from centuries ago. Want proof? BBC Culture’s Fiona Macdonald wrote a marvelous story about the making of the book, “Aeronautics in the Backyard.” “He [Zhang Dousan] retrieved an engine from the wreckage of a light aircraft destroyed in a […]
Shock treatment
Once upon a time, the producer of a yellow LSA taildragger installed the industry’s most powerful engine, resulting in a performance leader. This gambit succeeded handily and the builder enjoyed several strong years of sales. Others looked upon this success and saw that it was good. So, of course, being aviation entrepreneurs, others worked to […]
Could STEM prevent the next Santa Monica fiasco?
To say my “Don’t Cry for Santa Monica” column struck a chord would be an understatement. Sadly, I fear it struck the wrong chord. (And, for the record, I support the efforts of the National Business Aviation Association and others as they continue to fight SMO’s closure.) A sampling of comments taking me to task… “Ben’s attitude […]
There’s a bigger story behind SUN ‘n FUN than you know
Three weeks from this very moment, thousands of General Aviation News readers will be found not at home, but in Lakeland, Florida, at the annual SUN ‘n FUN International Fly-In and Expo. Their pilgrimage will begin shortly. Much is made of the economic impact this massive event brings to the city that says of itself, “Close […]
Of Wings & Things returns
This is the inaugural relaunch of a grand tradition, the wonderful and eclectic “Of Wings & Things” column created in 1972 by aviation historian and renaissance man Peter M. Bowers. For more than three decades, Pete blended a series of photographs with his encyclopedic knowledge of aviation to create an interesting story in each column. […]