Close

Member Login

Logging In
Invalid username or password.
Incorrect Login. Please try again.

not a member? sign-up now!

Signing up could earn you gear and it helps to keep offensive content off of our site.

Home
Default Blog Header

Recent Posts

Blog Categories

May 23, 2013
Should the FAA Grant Icon's Weight Increase?
Stephen Pope
Icon's A5 sport amphibian.
Enlarge Photo

No doubt you’ve heard by now that Icon Aircraft is asking the FAA for an exemption to LSA weight rules for the company’s sleek A5 light sport amphibian. Specifically, the company is seeking a 250-pound max gross weight increase above the LSA limit of 1,430 pounds. Without the exemption, it’s unlikely the A5 can enter production in its current form, at least anytime soon.

May 21, 2013
My Ride in the Best Bizjet in the World
Robert Goyer
Enlarge Photo
There aren’t many of our readers who are likely to go out and buy a Gulfstream G650, at $60-million-plus per copy, but there are a few, and those few are most likely going to find themselves not in the left or right seat but in one of the seats in back, doing business, spending time with the family or just kicking up their heels and enjoying the ride.
May 15, 2013
Were Tower Closures a Grand Bluff?
Robert Goyer
Enlarge Photo
With the announcement on Friday that the sequester-driven closures of hundreds of contract control towers was off, we might be tempted to pat ourselves on the back for our hard work in fighting the misguided judgment of the administration.
May 09, 2013
Does the FAA Care about the Little Guy?
Stephen Pope
Enlarge Photo

The FAA’s handling of a variety of prickly issues from the planned closures of scores of contract control towers to the hotly anticipated Part 23 rewrite to the up-in-the-air fate of leaded aviation gasoline will affect general aviation in important ways for years to come. Get the Part 23 rewrite right, and we could witness a resurgence in GA flying; get it wrong, and we might inadvertently put the industry into a graveyard spiral.

May 07, 2013
The Myth of Pushing Limits 29
Robert Goyer
Enlarge Photo
The following is from the March 2013 print issue.
 
For as long as airplanes have been around, pilots have held a number of beliefs about them that are out of line with reality, which is an alarming fact given that pilots are the ones responsible for making sure a flight goes well and ends well.
April 30, 2013
Light Airplane Design Unleashed 12
Robert Goyer

Pipistrel Panthera

Enlarge Photo
Everybody knows that new light airplanes cost too much and don’t do enough. This might be changing. And in this case, change is definitely good.
 
Part of the problem is our history, but it’s time to let go of the past. The Part-23-view of what makes for a safe light airplane is hopelessly out of date. If the point is to make the economics of building affordable new light airplanes impossible, then today’s Part 23 regulations have come close to achieving their goal.
April 25, 2013
A Rough Day for Huerta 4
Stephen Pope
Enlarge Photo

FAA Administrator Michael Huerta got the chance to experience what it feels like to be raked over the coals yesterday as lawmakers at a House hearing expressed their mounting frustration over his agency’s handling of sequester-related controller furloughs. It was uncomfortable to watch as House members bluntly told Huerta he did a poor job of preparing for the furloughs – first by not sharing information with airlines sooner and second by applying the furloughs blindly across the co

April 23, 2013
Cessna CJ Hiatus: End of the Niche Jet? 5
Robert Goyer
Enlarge Photo
The decision announced by Cessna and parent company Textron last week to put most of the company’s light jet lineup on what it calls temporary hiatus is a sure sign of tough economic times. A year ago Cessna had a lineup of no fewer than six light jets — the Mustang, CJ1+ (discontinued last year), CJ2+, CJ3, CJ4 and the emerging M2.
April 16, 2013
Echoes for Aviation in Boston Marathon Bombing 3
Robert Goyer
Enlarge Photo
The news of the bombings at the Boston Marathon yesterday hit me hard. Though I was safe at home in Austin working, I had a close connection to the events. In fact, I had a number of close connections.
 
When the news came in that there had been explosions near the finish line and that this was an act of terror, my thoughts turned immediately to my friends, more than half a dozen of whom were running the event. Were they okay? Had any of their loved ones been injured? Were there going to be more bombs? I was beside myself.
April 12, 2013
Slow Times at Sun ‘n Fun 5
Robert Goyer
Enlarge Photo
If you’re here in Lakeland this week for the Sun ‘n Fun fly-in, you know there’s a lot of room to park your plane. The tie-down areas in some places are nearly empty — as of yesterday afternoon, there were five floatplanes in the area reserved for them instead of the usual 50 — and there are huge grassy spaces where previously there would have been warbirds. The question is: is this a sign of the times or a sign of this particular year (or short stretch of years)?
Page 1 of 44
next >