Clay Lacy was honored at NBAA2011 with the Meritorious Service to Aviation Award. From Mary F. Silitch’s story at AINonline, Lacy is quoted as saying, “at 12, I started working at Cannonball Airport receiving flight time for pay.” Historically, that was pretty common. Does anyone pay with flight time anymore?
Touch & Go
Meet Larry Cruz, Reno Air Races crash survivor
Meet Larry Cruz. Larry was at the Reno’s National Championship Air Races last month when The Galloping Ghost crashed. Actually, Larry was under The Galloping Ghost when it crashed. When the dust and debris settled following the horrific crash of September 16, Larry was barely conscious. Injuries included: a severed right hand, crushed right leg […]
A model for leaning the FARs
The bloat we’ve seen in the Federal Air Regulations is a hurdle to those interested in learning to fly. I’ve said it before. Now I’ve got proof. OK, so it’s not regulatory bloat, but it translates. In the September 2011 issue of the Avionics News, a story titled, “Lean & Mean” details how Duncan Aviation […]
‘Congress must now act responsibly’
By Ben Sclair The U.S. Senate passed legislation today (Thursday, September 15) that extends funding for the FAA four months and avoids a second partial FAA shutdown. The following quote on the topic blows me away. “It is a positive step for the country that the Congress has passed this historic combination of extensions, which […]
10-hour flight for EnergyOr UAV
MONTREAL — EnergyOr Technologies, a fuel cell energy developer, announced its fuel cell powered Faucon H2 UAV completed a 10-hour, 4-minute flight. From the press release, the Faucon H2 has a 3-meter (9.84 foot) wingspan, a 1.2-meter (3.93 foot) length and 9-kg (19.84 pound) mass and cruises at 65-100 km/h (40.38-62.13 mph). After reading the […]
Lake Tahoe Airshow pictures
LAKE TAHOE, California — Ed Rosiak, president of the California Pilots Association, attended Saturday’s (August 27) Lake Tahoe Airport‘s Airshow. Below are a few pictures from the ramp, and from Ed’s email to me, a few comments on the airport. “What is important to understand is that just a few years ago the South Lake […]
Mountain High supports civilian, military pilots
Mountain High Oxygen and Supply has built its 3,000th two-person O2D2 Pulse-Demand Oxygen Unit. I spoke with Mountain High’s Robert Jamieson who confirmed the first unit was shipped in 2008, and they’ve delivered about 1,000 units per year since. In fact, about the time the O2D2 came out, Jamieson mentioned that the Department of Defense […]
Have you put on some weight?
I have a copy of the Federal Aviation Regulations, published by Boeing Field’s Merrell Aviation in Seattle. It dates from 1965 and is deliciously compact. For example, Part 91 spans 21 pages ranging from 91.1 (Applicability) to 91.175 (Rebuilt engine maintenance records). Pulling just one section (91.5 — Preflight action) from 1965 reads as: Each […]
#OSH11 sales good for Kitfox, Wicks
“We expanded our booth this year, increased our inventory, and it sure paid off” said Scott Wicks, owner of Wicks Aircraft Supply of their presence at AirVenture Oshkosh. As a result, “sales were up 60% [measured in dollars] from 2010, which was also a record year.” John McBean from Kitfox Aircraft reported that deliveries for […]


