GA News Today

BLOGS

• Air Safety eJournal

  • Do Not Fly Zenair CH601XL and CH650!

    The more thorough review on the Zenair CH601XL and CH650 is now complete by FAA. Based on what we have learned at this point, the prudent action would be to not fly the aircraft until FAA’s recommendations have been fully complied with. For those just joining the conversation, the S-LSA, and E-LSA [...]

    Do Not Fly Zenair CH601XL and CH650!

  • Runway Safety – Again!

    As you may have noticed, last week was AOPA Summit in Tampa, Florida. The weather was Chamber-of-Commerce perfect and there were literally hundreds of aircraft that flew in. All the local airports were busy and obviously we’re always concerned about safety. Runway safety, while not the most exciting subject, is one [...]

    Runway Safety – Again!

  • Hypoxic but saved

    Lack of oxygen causes brain fade or incapacitation. It happened again last week when the pilot of a Cessna 400 mentally dropped out but fortunately his daughter, who was not a pilot, was able to talk to ATC. The Corvallis was cruising at FL230 and had been cleared to descend but the pilot didn’t respond. ATC [...]

    Hypoxic but saved

• Reporting Points

  • Skywriters and banner-towers, meet your competition

    The Washington Post’s TV columnist, Lisa DeMoraes, was patting herself on the back last month after ABC canceled plans to promote its new television series, “V,” by hiring skywriting airplanes to fly over 26 landmarks–among them the Statue of Liberty and Santa Monica Pier–in 15 cities in a four-day stretch. (Presumably the skywriters would etch the [...]

    Skywriters and banner-towers, meet your competition

  • How to discourage a potential student

    A potential student with money in hand was discouraged by a Florida flight school.

    How to discourage a potential student

  • Bahamian chocks of my own!

    Poor me, I never win anything…sniff, sniff. So imagine my surprise when the Bahamas Tourist Office (BTO) held an impromptu ceremony and gave me some very special chocks. The BTO has been promoting its new “Gateway FBOs,” which are at select airports in Florida. The Gateway FBOs are set up to provide all sorts of [...]

    Bahamian chocks of my own!

• Let’s Go Flying

  • In Community

    Last month a friend in Minnesota sent me an e-mail. “I saw an ad in Barnstormers last week about a Kolb MarkIII for sale in southern Oregon,” he wrote. “But now I can’t find the ad. Do you know anything about it?” I live in northwestern Oregon – hundreds of miles away. But only two [...]

    In Community

  • Flying (Soaring) on the Cheap

    The country's in the midst of the "Great Recession" and it costs $250 to fill the tanks on a light airplane.  You need some time in the air for "mental heath" but the cost is daunting.  What's a person to do? As a poor college student in the fall of 1959 I faced the same problem.  [...]

    Flying (Soaring) on the Cheap

  • Sharing Aviation

    Sharing aviation with someone, now that's a rewarding experience! I recently had the opportunity to design and lead an after school aviation program for middle school age kids appropriately called "The Future Pilot Flight Academy." I've always had a huge passion for aviation and try to be an ambassador wherever I go. Seeing a group of [...]

    Sharing Aviation

• AOPA Now

  • AOPA LIVE and the Best of the AOPA Aviation Summit

    It has been a week since I left Tampa and the AOPA Aviation Summit.  But, with some down time today, I enjoyed replaying some of the highlights thanks to AOPA LIVE.  We have so many program segments available…check it out…just CLICK HERE.

    AOPA LIVE and the Best of the AOPA Aviation Summit

  • Where Engine Out is Not an Option

    A visit to Tucson this past week meant that I could finally accept the invitation from Phil Kislak to go for a glider flight. Phil is part of the fine people who make up the Tucson Soaring Club.  The group operates the El Tiro Gliderport and owns all the club buildings and equipment, but leases the [...]

    Where Engine Out is Not an Option

  • New Message on User Fees: They’ll Be Dead on Arrival

    There is a remarkable new development occurring around the anticipated aviation User Fee promised by the Obama Administration in next year’s budget proposal.  Leaders in Congress were reported last week to be circulating a letter to The President suggesting the $9 billion User Fee proposal is not wanted nor warranted and would be rejected by [...]

    New Message on User Fees: They’ll Be Dead on Arrival

• Frugal Flier

  • Gotcha covered – Protecting your investment

    A hangar is the best way to keep an airplane out of the elements. But what if none is available, or affordable? What can aircraft owners do to protect airplanes living outdoors? Canvas canopy covers, and even whole-airplane covers, are a compelling option. A new canopy cover made to protect all windows and doors in a [...]

    Gotcha covered – Protecting your investment

  • A light bulb goes on: warming up to a good idea

    Starting a cold-soaked piston aircraft engine can seem cruel and abusive. The battery protests, the starter groans, cylinders fire reluctantly, and the needle on the oil pressure gauge takes its time coming to life. All that metal-on-metal contact during the first few seconds of cranking can cause significant wear—some say as much as hundreds of hours [...]

    A light bulb goes on: warming up to a good idea

  • DIY oil change

    After a long trip to and from AOPA Expo, the 2008 Get Your Glass Sweepstakes Archer was due for some TLC that included an oil change. But Jiffy Lube doesn’t do airplanes. And many FBOs regard such mundane service items as obstacles that get in the way of larger, more complex, and more lucrative projects. [...]

    DIY oil change

• Let’s Go Flying Sweepstakes

  • College Park Airport’s first 100 years

    Only 33 nautical miles away from AOPA’s headquarters, College Park Airport’s (CGS) 100th Anniversary AirFair was the nearest event for AOPA’s 2009 Sweepstakes Let’s Go Flying Cirrus SR22. The Aug. 29 event was the first centennial of any airport anywhere, as College Park in suburban Washington, D.C., is the world’s oldest continuously operating airport. And airport [...]

    College Park Airport’s first 100 years

  • Where might the Cirrus show up next?

    A quick call to friend and fellow pilot Tom Linton on Saturday, August 22, confirmed his participation in our all-day aviation immersion experience. I picked him up less than 12 hours later on Sunday morning and we headed to Maryland’s Frederick Municipal Airport. The Let’s Go Flying Sweepstaks Cirrus SR22 was [...]

    Where might the Cirrus show up next?

  • Getting there is half the fun–and most of the challenge

    Crossing two Great Lakes, a right hook into Canada, and a safe arrival at OSH Getting to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, from the Mid-Atlantic by Cirrus requires answering one central question: whether to fly over Lake Michigan, or around it? Flying over the lake means being out of gliding range of either shore for about 20 minutes – [...]

    Getting there is half the fun–and most of the challenge

• AOPA’s Hover Power

  • Lyn Burks

      Lyn Burks has a passion for the helicopter industry. His aviation career began in early 1991 at the age of 23. Although he was a U.S. Marine from 1985 to 1989, he is civilian trained in Robinson Helicopters. During his initial years in the industry, he worked full time for a municipal fire rescue department. [...]

    Lyn Burks

  • Rotor downwash

    Jim Thomas asked, “Are the hazards of a helicopter rotor blast taught to new students?” The answer is sometimes and sometimes not. Being dual rated, I understand the affect the rotor down wash can have on an airplane. As an instructor, it is always something I teach to students. Wind direction and strength must be considered [...]

    Rotor downwash

  • Bad ideas

    There are some things that helicopter pilots do that are just not smart. For example the pilot of a Robinson R22 Beta landed in a field to pick up some equipment and while he was there he decided to hot refuel. The pilot’s father drove a pickup truck equipped with an auxiliary fuel tank under [...]

    Bad ideas

• Aviation eBrief
  • FAA computer outage renews calls for system upgrades
  • EAA relaunches search for association president
  • Lawmaker asks Lockheed to review layoffs at Illinois airport