The LSA rule seems to favor new airplane designs over the old ones Bob Locher would like to see authorized (Letters to the Editor, LSA rule is discriminatory, Aug. 24 issue). While I agree with him that Sport Pilots and higher rated ones enjoying the new freedom of flying without an FAA medical certificate could […]
Opinion
The fight continues
WASHINGTON, D.C. — General aviation won major skirmishes in its user fee battle late last month , but the FAA reauthorization bill is a long way from completion. The House and Senate are not very far apart from deciding on a bill that would be favorable to general aviation, but the bill passed by the […]
Flying the B-25
I enjoy Meg Godlewski’s articles. I liked the one in the Aug. 10 issue about her flight in the B-25 (Flying the B-25). I was a B-17 copilot in World War II and flew 30 missions over Germany from England, with my last mission on March 30, 1945. After the war I was in the ferry command and […]
Flying the B-25, Part II
Meg Godlewski’s article in the Aug. 10 issue “Flying the B-25” caught my eye. I enjoyed it and had the same emotions Meg did when I was a 20 year old in 1944. I am sending a copy of my book, “A Drop in the Bucket,” in which you can follow through some actual missions […]
Do clothes make the controller?
“Cessna 123, cleared for takeoff, runway 13L.” Do you really care what the person issuing the instructions is wearing? I don’t. But apparently the FAA does. All across the country air traffic controllers are being disciplined for dress code violations. Some of the male controllers have rebelled by wearing dresses. Given the problems the FAA […]
The “Greenies” are coming and we’d better watch out
I don’t want to seem like an alarmist, but the new environmental religion has become a threat to aviation, and the threat is very real. Ten protesters at London’s Biggin Hill were arrested last month while blocking access to private aircraft, which make up most of the traffic at that historic airfield. They were protesting […]
Can I use a yellow tagged camshaft in my Wittman Tailwind?
I have a Lycoming O-320-D2A that will be going into a Wittman Tailwind. The crankcase and crankshaft are yellow tagged. The camshaft is really pitted and will need to be replaced. I imagine the followers will need replacing also unless refurbishing them isn’t a big deal. My question is this: There’s a possibility that I […]
A LESSON LEARNED
On a bright, Saturday morning not too long ago, my wife Kathy and I drove to our hangar at the Frederick Municipal Airport in Maryland. Since we were pressed for time, we decided just to make several takeoffs and landings in our Mooney Ovation 2000. During my pre-flight, I noticed that I had about two […]
QUIT WHINING ABOUT ETHANOL
There’s the problem with ethanol-based fuel! It may consume more energy in its production that it itself will produce. It may cost more than petroleum-based fuels it replaces. Taxpayers may have to continue subsidizing it until the public comes to its senses. However, until that happens politicians and newspaper editors, particularly here in the Corn […]