I was recently poking around the FAA website when I came across the Airport and Airway Trust Fund Fact Sheet for fiscal year 2016. It was like re-reading a section of the FARs after too many years. The trust fund was created in 1970 to fund aviation programs with aviation-related excise taxes on passengers, cargo, […]
Touch & Go
Alaska aircraft registration proposal is a tangled web in the making
“Oh, what a tangle web we weave when first we practice to deceive.” To be honest, I have no idea if this line from Walter Scott’s poem “Marmion” is apropos to the proposed aircraft registration discussion currently taking place in Alaska. But it was the first thing that popped into my head after reading through […]
No more zero days
New year, new calendar, clean slate. Turning over a calendar seems to create in many of us the desire to do — and be — better. Sadly, all too soon, we fall back into our regular ruts and habits. But this year will be different, I hope. A friend of mine sent me a link […]
Are you dripping fuel? Do you know where your log books are?
When I sit back and look at the world, I find it a fascinating place. For me, the most interesting details relate to people. Specifically, their actions and reactions. If we slow down enough, there are a great many lessons to be learned from our fellow citizens of earth. Mark Howell is a pilot, mechanic, […]
‘Medicine has been my life, but flying is my passion’
I believe there are multiple paths in life. Whether the topic is spiritual, technical, flying, driving or any other matters not. There are multiple ways to accomplish nearly anything. When it comes to flying, the paths to aviation and within aviation are myriad. Victor Vogel was a medical school professor for 25 years and did […]
Hangar Flying is just what the CFI ordered for those dark winter nights
It seems like only yesterday my family and I were lounging in Hawaii soaking up the sun. It was July. Today, we’re starting to plan for Thanksgiving and beyond. Where has the time, and the Hawaiian sunshine, gone? Sigh. Fear not, warmer temperatures and far off adventure are near. Just grab a book and off […]
Do you have what it takes to set a world speed record?
On Sept. 2, 2017, Steven Hinton flew “Voodoo” – a highly modified P-51 Mustang – over a 3-kilometer course in Central Idaho at an average speed of 531.272 mph. That speed is the fastest ever achieved for a piston engine propeller-powered airplane. Voodoo’s record attempt was made as an “Aeroplane” in Class C-1 (Landplanes), in […]
Do you know where your wing spars come from?
I don’t know about you, but I don’t often think about where my food comes from. Sad, really, but truthful. I suppose I don’t really think about where most of the “stuff” I consume comes from — including parts and pieces of aircraft. For Ron Piercy, a fishing trip to southeastern Alaska five years ago […]
8 things you might not know about a remote tower system
Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport (FNL) is the busiest non-towered airport in Colorado. Air traffic is a busy mix of commercial air service, military operations and a wide variety of private aircraft. FNL will also set the standard for remote tower systems in the United States. In late July, the Federal Aviation Administration selected Ottawa, Canada-based […]