WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pilots appealing to the National Transportation Safety Board about certificate enforcement will have new rules under which to conduct their efforts as the NTSB announced on Friday, Sept, 20, a final rule to implement several changes in their procedures. The new rules are based on public comments received by the NTSB as […]
Opinion
Thank you for your service
If there is one constant in life, it is that change is inevitable. In the aviation industry, this often manifests as people leave one job to take another. Or, as in the case of JoAnn and Sandy Hill from Longmont, Colo., it can take the form of retirement after what most would agree is a […]
What’s causing Mooney’s rough-running engine?
Q: I bought an older Mooney with a Lycoming IO-360 with Bendix fuel servo. The engine starts to run rough once the last 1/2 inch of throttle is given. An induction leak cannot be located. Would a faulty sniffle valve be to blame? Any other possibilities? JAMIE RICHARDS A: Jamie, with regard to your older […]
Go west, old dude…
One of the great advantages of writing professionally is that we who scribble ideas down for others to read rarely have to face those others in person. We don’t have to worry about an errant idea sending you to the refrigerator to ferret out some overly ripe fruits or vegetables that you can hurl in […]
A Pink Aeronca? Not your imagination…Hers!
This is a tough one to write. But let’s take it from the fun part and get to bad news later. It’s about Elaine Huf, a lady who contacted me years ago about buying and restoring an Army/Air Force L-16. How it ended up pink is the fun part. Back when I was hunting L-16s, […]
NextGen moves closer to reality
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Next Generation Air Transportation System — known as NextGen — moved two steps closer to reality in late August when new programs became operational. The FAA deployed a new system called Time-Based Flow Management (TBFM), a scheduling tool that meters aircraft through all phases of flight in order to deliver the […]
You don’t get what you wish for
It’s a simple truism that is all too often forgotten or ignored as we age: You don’t get what you wish for. You only get what you work for. And more often than not you’ll only see a percentage of that. Being a grown-up can be tough. Certainly any one of us might hope to […]
A new approach to LSA certification
“It’s always been done this way” begins a familiar statement for someone defending a long-standing practice. The reference here is to the nearly 10-year-old category of Light-Sport Aircraft and how these airplanes are permitted to fly across the USA. It is no longer being done the old way and the results are good. The Sport […]
Congress returns to busy schedule
After its August vacation, Congress returns to Capitol Hill Sept. 9 with a full plate of issues, some of which will directly affect general aviation. As usual in Washington, money is on top of the plate. Sequestration appears again; the U.S. must raise its debt limit — again — to keep borrowing money; and that […]