In a Jan. 23, 2024, meeting, the Torrance City Council voted 5-1 (with one abstention) to ban touch and goes and restrict back taxis and low approaches at Zamperini Field (KTOA) in Torrance, California.
FAA
Laser strikes increase 41%
FAA officials report they received 13,304 reports from pilots in 2023.
$245 million to modernize airports in 37 states
Several of the grants will help reduce the risk of runway incursions, while others will be used to build or improve fuel farms, and more.
Ready for kickoff: What GA pilots need to know about the Super Bowl
General aviation pilots flying near Las Vegas from Feb. 7-12, 2024, must be aware of temporary flight restrictions, follow special air traffic procedures, and comply with additional operational requirements that will be in effect for Super Bowl LVIII, according to FAA officials.
GA advocates comment on LSA update, including additional possibilities for new rules
In joint comments to the FAA on its rule proposal, Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification, known as MOSAIC, general aviation advocacy groups noted that the new rule will “significantly benefit general aviation.”
Once on BasicMed, do you ever have to see an AME again?
In a video posted Jan. 18, 2024, of the FAA series “Pilot Minute,” Federal Air Surgeon Susan Northrup, MD, goes over requirements for BasicMed and the mental health, neurologic, or cardiac conditions that would require a pilot — by law — to be reexamined by an FAA designee Aviation Medical Examiner (AME).
Slipping the surly bonds of ice
When Lancair pilot Matt Johnson was told to descend by ATC, he complied, then found his airplane was picking up ice. He remembers thinking about “how insane it was that I descended into ice-filled clouds from blue sky, no traffic within a hundred miles of me, just because some guy told me to.”
EAA issues guide for those wanting to comment on LSA proposal
EAA has been promoting the MOSAIC concept for a decade as a natural evolution in the safe flying history demonstrated by sport pilots and light-sport aircraft over the past 20 years. MOSAIC would replace the current arbitrary gross weight limit in favor of performance standards and would allow thousands of sport pilots to continue flying familiar aircraft. Comments must be submitted by Jan. 22, 2024.
Questions from the Cockpit: Weighty words
Noah, a student pilot in Arizona, writes: I’m trying to get my head around weight and balance, especially the terms: Moment, arm, station, datum… None of them seem particularly descriptive. Can you help me out?