John Bradberry from Sulphur Springs, Texas sent me an email recently with a very specific request. I’m hoping someone from our readership can assist him. “On Thursday, May 19, 1938, Texaco Airplane #21 piloted by Roy Harding landed at six towns in Northeast Texas, picked up mail pouches at each stop, and returned to Dallas Love Field in […]
Touch & Go
A sweet deal
Psst. Hey buddy…you wanna buy a new Cirrus? I’ll make you a sweet deal… Jamail Larkins and his team at Ascension Air are anything but shady characters, but they will make you a sweet deal on a 2012 Cirrus SR22T GTS. How does $9,440 down and $2,043.18 a month grab you? At a recent Open […]
Shades of grey
General Aviation News columnist Dan Johnson recently wrote about LSAs vs. Cessna 150s. The post discusses the pros and cons of a new Light-Sport Aircraft versus the venerable Cessna 150. Dan was a long-time 150 owner and is “the man” when it comes to new LSAs, so he’s as much an expert on both — […]
Rich Suicidal Idiots
GUEST EDITORIAL By THOMAS P. TURNER Rich, suicidal idiots — that’s what most people think about general aviation pilots. In many ways we bring these perceptions on ourselves. If we are to improve the public’s opinion of personal aviation, these are the stereotypes we need to address and, if possible, refute. Rich As a “personal […]
Government like (using) aircraft
The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) hired NEXA Advisors to produce at study titled, “Government Use of Aircraft: A Taxpayer Value Perspective.” Spoiler alert: government personnel, at all levels of government, like using aircraft to do their job and find value in doing so. Imagine that. The quotes in the 24-page study are good reading. They include: […]
Do something
We donated a gift subscription to the Friends of Oceano Airport (FOA) for their May 12 Oceano Airport Celebration silent auction. In today’s mail I received a thank you letter from FOA organizers, Mitch Latting and Jolie Lucas. From the letter, “we’ve gathered funds which will help us continue to promote and protect this ‘little slice of […]
Drones getting easier to fly in U.S.
A May 31 story by Sarah Childress on the Frontline website is titled, “It’s Getting Easier to Fly Drones in the U.S.” The story links to a few videos posted by the Mesa (Arizona) County Sheriff’s Office showing how they use their UAS. Childress also links to the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s “Lists of Drone Certificates” […]
Saying goodbye to a mentor
I was sitting in the terminal building in Orlando on my way home from SUN ’n FUN when my cell phone rang. “Meg, this is Peggy Boyd…” she began. Peggy is the wife of Dean Boyd, my friend and aviation mentor of some 20 years. The tone of her voice told me before she got the […]
Wanna go for a ride?
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — Whenever someone asks…”Do you wanna go for a ride?”… I hope your default answer is yes. AeroMark‘s Thomas Hoff grabbed my elbow, pointed at Addison Pemberton’s Boeing Model 40C on his ramp and asked, “You wanna go for a ride?”. Uh, YEAH… Five minutes later, me, Tom and Ivy and Ginny […]