Editor’s Log

There’s a truism that applies to owning machines like boats and airplanes: The two best days of your life are the day you buy it and the day you sell it. In between, so the story goes, your ownership will be a maelstrom of inspections, repairs and downtime, punctuated by frustrations and anxieties, along with […]

With the news during July’s Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture Oshkosh fly-in that the FAA has approved a supplemental type certificate (STC) for an unleaded aviation gasoline, we’ve all transitioned from the early phase of the decades-long effort to rid ourselves of leaded aviation fuels. It wasn’t easy to get this far, and it won’t be […]

Buried down deep in the dense recesses of the FAA’s FDC Notams is one mandating that “aviators shall review” the FAA’s Aeronautical Information Manual and the interception procedures found in Paragraph 5-6-2. The Notam, FDC 4/4386, dated May 19, 2004, goes on to state, “all aircraft operating in United States national airspace, if capable, shall […]

May 2021 brought three news items of interest to anyone paying attention to how the general and business aviation industries are faring as the Covid-19 pandemic winds down in the U.S. Taken together, the top story seems to be cautious optimism tempered by a healthy dose of reality and an understanding that the pandemic may […]

I don’t recall all the reasons that initially attracted me to aviation, but one of the things that’s kept me interested and active over the years is its dynamic nature. Not only are you moving through the air at some worthwhile speed, looking down on the world, but what you do next and where you end […]

It’s the time of year when pilots turn to finding new destinations and experiences that can only be attained by flying a personal airplane. For many, the goal will be simply to fly somewhere different after more than a year of being encouraged to stay home and away from other people. For those who want […]

Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans,” a quote attributed to Allen Saunders and popularized by John Lennon, might be thought of as a pithy summary of 2020, a year that started with great promise and ended, at best, with uncertainty. Along the way, we all learned new things we […]

If you’ve been around the aviation industry long at all, you probably remember when, a few years ago, there was a highly visible push to eliminate the lead component of aviation gasoline, even if the amount of the toxic substance in 100LL aviation gasoline is reduced from its predecessor fuels. In 2014, the FAA and […]

As I related in December 2020’s article, “Engine Break-In,” my Beech Debonair was down for several weeks as the engine went out for an overhaul. I’m happy to report all the big parts are once again flying in close formation, even if I no longer have money to spend on fuel. Almost. Reacquainting myself with […]

As this issue was being finalized in early December, it was hard to avoid general-media stories about forthcoming Covid-19 vaccines. While the pandemic’s end may not be around the corner, it seems there’s at least a road map to such a goal, even if it might take most of 2021 to reach it. Since I’ve […]