“Lead in paint has been a well known public health problem for decades and that product was banned decades ago. No news about that,” said John Ryan, a reporter for Seattle’s KUOW, when I asked why his story focused on avgas rather than the “much bigger threat” of lead paint. “I think most people outside […]
Touch & Go
‘Crumbling paint a bigger threat’ than leaded avgas
“More lead goes into the air here at Boeing Field than anywhere else in Washington state,” says KUOW’s John Ryan reporting from Ruby Chow Park under the flight path of Seattle’s Boeing Field (BFI). In his story on KUOW titled, “Flying The Leaded Skies: Small Planes Still Pour Lead Into America’s Air,” Ryan takes us […]
Connecting flights
The end of the year is a time of reflection. As 2011 winds down, my family and I experienced an unreal 19-day stretch that put a great deal into perspective about life and aviation. Here’s a peek into a public journal: Nov. 10: My wife, Deb, and I were in the Indianapolis International Airport when […]
Paper charts still needed, but AeroNav is wrong
Does anyone dispute the need for paper charts for pilots? I hope not. Likewise, there can be no doubt about the rapid rise of digital chart usage. More and more general aviation pilots (and airlines and flight departments for that matter) are adopting “appified” navigation via [insert app here] on Apple’s iPad and a few […]
What’s wrong with user fees?
The Oct. 7 issue of General Aviation News included several articles warning against the dire consequences of user fees being proposed by our federal government. In a letter to the editor, Kevin Mossey even made the astounding claim that we “all need to sacrifice” by accepting higher fuel taxes. One can only imagine that he […]
50 years of safe flying
Ohio’s Tom Root was awarded the Wright Brothers “Master Pilot” Award in September. He applied for the award “based on a lifetime of single pilot/photographer with over 5,000 hours doing aerial photography.” The plaque presented to Tom was in “appreciation for your dedicated service, technical expertise, professionalism, and many outstanding contributions that further the cause […]
Beijing’s first GA firm
China Daily reported that the Beijing General Aviation Group (BGAG) has been co-founded by Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC) and Beihang University, in terms of capital ($15.7 million) and technologies, respectively. According to Wikipedia, BAIC is a state-owned automaker that manufactures Hyundai and Mercedes-branded autos for sale on the Chinese market. From the same China Daily […]
Healing continues for Reno survivor
“He’s doing alright. Doing pretty good actually,” said Tracy, the wife of Reno Air Races crash survivor Larry Cruz. (I wrote about him Oct. 9). He is still in Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center but now has his new hook. He’d like to get moved to the rehab floor, but he still has a lot of […]
Congress is listening… at least one member is
Congressman Todd Rokita (Indiana) is a commercially-rated pilot who shares my concern with regulatory bloat and responded to my editorial “Have you put on some weight?” I recently read your editorial in General Aviation News titled “Have you put on a few pounds?” As both a commercially rated private pilot and as a member of […]