When the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 (PBOR2) was introduced, much ink (physical and digital) was spilled on the many shortcomings of Senator James Inhofe‘s proposed legislation. Many complained about the initial limitations of only being able to carry one passenger to no more than 10,000 feet in VFR only conditions using a driver’s license […]
Touch & Go
Maybe we can register common sense
Here we go. U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and FAA Administrator Michael Huerta announced Oct. 19 “the creation of a task force to develop recommendations for a registration process for Unmanned Aircraft Systems.” The task force will be comprised of “25 to 30 diverse” industry representatives. “Registering unmanned aircraft will help build a culture of accountability and […]
Have an opinion? Of course you do. You’re a pilot
The wide range of opinions in the aviation community is something I continuously marvel at. Take our continuing coverage on the update of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 legislation. The comments vary widely, both in scope and tone. “After patiently waiting these last few years to hear what the people we trusted have come up […]
Salem airspace do-over: Care to comment?
The FAA posted a notice of proposed rule making (NPRM) regarding Salem, Oregon’s McNary Field (KSLE) Class D and E airspace to the Federal Register on May 1, 2015. On Aug. 20, the proposed rule became final. No one noticed. This happens all too often. I’d hazard a guess that most of the time, it […]
You should subscribe to the Federal Register
You should subscribe to the Federal Register. If someone in the greater Salem, Ore.-area had been subscribed to the Federal Register, they might have seen a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) titled, “Proposed Amendment of Class D and Class E Airspace, Revocation of Class E Airspace; Salem, OR” scroll across their email inbox on May […]
‘Higher, Orville, higher!’
Spoiler Alert: The final paragraph of The Wright Brothers is my favorite. “They took off, soaring over Huffman Prairie at about 350 feet for a good six minutes, during which the Bishop’s only words were, “Higher, Orville, higher!” “They” were Orville Wright and his father Bishop Milton Wright. The Bishop was eighty-two years old at the […]
Around the field at AirVenture Oshkosh
I’ve often found that AirVenture is like drinking from the proverbial firehose. Until I look back through my notebook, the show is a bit of a blur. We’ve reported many of the storylines from the show, but I found a few nuggets in my notebook I think are worth sharing: Epic Aircraft is fully on […]
FAA hiring: Fly the diversity-friendly skies
By WILLIAM HAMILTON Satire: Just as your aircraft reaches, say, 30,000 feet on your airline flight, say, from Denver to Chicago, the Captain says, “Hello. This is your Captain speaking. Welcome aboard Olympic Mountain General Airlines. Okay, I know some of you call us: OMG! But, seriously, passengers who studied urban sociology in college may […]
You can help rekindle the magic of airplanes
I suggest you make plans to see Living in the Age of Airplanes. Better yet, take some non-pilot friends and go see it together. Then go out to dinner so you can talk about the movie. Living in the Age of Airplanes is from the director that made 2005’s One Six Right, Brian J. Terwilliger. […]