Editor’s Log

Over the years, Ive flown in and out of a specific airport on numerous occasions, day and night. Its a well-equipped facility, featuring a tower and a local approach control, along with scheduled service, multiple gates, two full-service FBOs and three runways. The nearby attractions are interesting when I want to stop, the food choices are excellent and the airport is a great choice for conducting practice approaches. Theres only one problem: I cant find it at night.

Im not a native Floridian, so I generally pay great attention to local weather forecasts when they include the words tropical storm or hurricane followed by someones first name. And because Ive never seen such weather-beyond the occasional tropical low that spreads relatively benign wind and rain across the state-Ive decided its a life experience I can do without. So it was in September with Hurricane Irma.

The NTSB in August released the latest in a series of what it calls Safety Alerts, which focused on preventable accidents stemming from fuel starvation or fuel exhaustion. According to the Safety Alert (SA-067, Flying On Empty, August 2017), an average of more than 50 accidents each year in the five years from 2011 to 2015 occurred due to fuel management issues.

We own and fly a Diamondstar DA40 from our home in Michigan to destinations all over the country. Generally my wife and I plan a two-week trip each fall and spring, often to the coasts. However, the word plan is figurative as we expect weather deviations and our routing may change at any time. We literally wake up in the morning, look at the current weather and decide our destination for the day. Typically, we will fly no more than 500 miles and land at a suitable GA airport. While I button down the airplane, my wife books a hotel, rents a car and finds out what to see and do in town from the always-friendly and helpful FBO staff.

I read with interest the article NTSB Takes on Pireps (June 2017). What was not mentioned, and my primary reason to not submit Pireps, is the removal of Flight Watch and its common frequency, 122.0 MHz. Requiring the pilot to search for the flight service station within radio range makes it less likely a report is even started, and fragments the consolidation into the NAS. To me, the elimination of Flight Watch is going backward.

Everything that can be invented has been invented is a popular quote attributed to Charles H. Duell, commissioner of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office from 1898 to 1901. Today, the quote often is used to ridicule those who refuse to embrace the latest technology or believe nothing new will be forthcoming. The thing is, Duell never said that. He said quite the opposite instead: In my opinion, all previous advances in the various lines of invention will appear totally insignificant when compared with those which the present century will witness. Yet, hes not remembered for that statement, only the former, erroneous one.

On the off chance youve forgotten, heres a helpful reminder: ATC privatization is still a thing. Its baked into a bill being considered in the U.S. House of Representatives to reauthorize the FAA. The legislation-or something like it that continues the agencys programs-needs to be enacted by September 30, 2017. Current U.S. Senate legislation to accomplish the same basic task doesnt have ATC privatization in it at this writing.

The subject of fees charged by airports and FBOs recently cam under industry scrutiny. Airports and FBOs naturally need revenue, but operators need value in proportion to the costs and better information on them, in order to make informed decisions. I wanted to offer a couple of thoughts.

Its that time of year again in North America: Summer is upon us and theres nothing we can do about it without a passport, even if we wanted to. The good news is we no longer have to deal with freezing precipitation, cold, low clouds hugging a runway for warmth or preheating our engines. More good news is that the number of reasons to hop in an airplane and go somewhere will grow.

For almost as long as Ive been flying, the general aviation industry has been in upheaval. By the mid-1980s, product liability concerns and tax law changes helped remove what was propping up things, and the bottom fell out. Among other outcomes, Cessna stopped making piston-powered airplanes altogether while other manufacturers discontinued numerous models, preferring to concentrate on one or two.