The first time I took the aircraft controls away from a copilot, it was from a Marine Corps aircraft commander. He’d flown in Iraq. He’d balanced his Sikorsky CH-46 Sea Knight transport helicopter — a twin-rotored behemoth — off the edge of a San Francisco high-rise while troops “on exercises” stormed out the back. Me? […]
Opinion
Our contradictory spectacle
It was an epiphany. Not to the extent of Archimedes jumping from the tub and running through the streets naked. For one thing, I was having lunch, not a bath. For another, I was not naked at any point during this story. And as many will attest, my running days are far behind me. Still, […]
China to have effect on GA manufacturing
WASHINGTON, D.C. — China will have a greater effect on the manufacture of general aviation aircraft than it will on commercial airliners, a Senate committee was told Thursday at a Congressional hearing discussing. domestic challenges and global competition in aviation manufacturing. Although most discussion during the hearing centered on manufacturing of large aircraft, production of general aviation […]
What’d you say?
Several years ago I had the great pleasure of being a restoration specialist at Tom Reilly’s Warbird Museum in Kissimmee, Florida. It was there I got to put my Airframe and Powerplant certificate to work rebuilding a B-17, maintaining a trio of B-25s, beginning the restoration of a P-40, and generally fiddling with some really […]
Why hasn’t FAA acted on ADS-B loan guarantee for GA?
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Why has the FAA not taken action on implementing a loan guarantee program for general aviation to prepare for the mandate for ADS-B equipment three years after Congress passed a law approving it? That is a question Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), who chairs the Committee on Small Business, asked in a recent […]
Flying the Searey
I’m retired, so officially every day is a day off. But I do a lot of writing and lately, I’ve been looking for a little more fun in my new home state of Florida. Last week, I kicked around some boat clubs and breezed through the sailboat ads. Then, my EAA chapter emailed that Searey […]
Ask Paul: Tips to troubleshoot high oil temps
I suggest you check the actual oil temperature in the engine oil sump using a laboratory type, glass bulb thermometer.
Celebrate ourselves
When Orville and Wilbur Wright wandered out onto the dunes of Kill Devil Hills to make their first powered flight, there were no crowds of well wishers cheering them on. Reporters were elsewhere covering stories that seemed more important than two odd ducks trying to do the impossible. Their greatest moment happened in almost complete […]
Texas search group to continue using drones despite FAA court win
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The FAA says a recent court decision regarding the use of drones has no bearing on the agency’s ability to regulate the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), but a Texas organization that brought the action plans to continue using UAS without approval from the government office. Texas EquuSearch had sued the FAA seeking to overturn […]