Touch & Go

It is probable that you’ve never heard of Charles Lanier Lawrance, and that’s a shame. You know a lot about Wilbur and Orville Wright, of course, and you’re beginning to know about Charles Taylor, who was their mechanic and engine builder, and thus the world’s first A&P. You know somewhat less about Glenn Curtiss than […]

“Prepare yourself.” You can add that phrase to the list of those I do not want to hear in or around an airplane. The mechanic uttered the warning just before he pulled open the hangar door and showed me a Cessna 172 that was heavily damaged by a windstorm that battered the Pacific Northwest on […]

For three decades I’ve been tracking residential airparks all over the United States and, to some extent, around the globe. We’ve developed a website, LivingWithYourPlane.com, which contains an extensive database on airparks as well as a host of other information. (A caveat: Most airparks are operated by residents who are volunteers in their homeowner associations. […]

Are THEY trying to close your airport? THEY must get around and be great in numbers because during AOPA Expo in Palm Springs last month I heard all about the ubiquitous THEY who are trying to close airports in several states. The first thing I asked when greeted with this statement was “Which they is […]

There probably isn’t an airport in the world that didn’t get a visit or a phone call from its local newspaper or television station in the wake of the crash of an SR20 in New York City on Oct. 11. The crash killed Yankee relief pitcher Cory Lidle, 34, and Tyler Stanger, 26, a flight […]

All the usual suspects have responded to the crash of Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle’s Cirrus into a New York apartment building, Oct. 11. Politicians, newspaper reporters and editors, and television talking heads jumped right in with their standard anti-aviation paranoia. A notable exception was New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is a pilot. Bloomberg, who […]

Do you believe me when I write that among the top publications I receive, the Federal Air Surgeon’s Medical Bulletin is not one of those that regularly receive high priority? Believe me, I don’t read this 12-page quarterly bulletin on an even irregular basis. However, the other day I saw a copy at the office […]

“Another five minutes and I am going to shut us down!” my copilot declared in frustration as we sat at the hold short line of Alpha Nine, waiting our turn to take off from King County International/Boeing Field (BFI). It was a late afternoon in August. We had the windows and the vents open and […]

The next time you hear someone disparage aviation, point out that everyone depends on it. Don’t believe that? Think about it. The food we eat now comes from all over the world. Delicate fruits and vegetables don’t arrive by slow boat; they are flown in, fresh daily, from places such as Chile, the Netherlands, Israel, […]