Ownership

The opening line of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” is an apropos description of today’s used-airplane market. For buyers these are great times to be in the hunt for an airplane that’s gotten some gentle use and good care. But for […]

Anyone on the decision-making fence about springing for a new aircraft needs to act fast. The stimulus 50-percent bonus depreciation law covers new aircraft delivered by year end, and the tax savings can be huge. Essentially, buyers are able to accelerate half the overall depreciation of the aircraft into one year, allowing a significant tax […]

In July 1969, I flew a Pazmany PL-1, N4081K, a two-seat homebuilt with a 90 hp Continental engine, from California to Rockford, Illinois, for the EAA Fly-In, as it was then called. That was the last year the fly-in took place at Rockford, which had run out of room for the tumescent event; in 1970 […]

I’m not sure who first came up with the term “spam can” to designate a basic, fixed-tricycle-gear, aluminum airplane. Spam itself originated in the late 1930s, and Hormel, the manufacturer of the soon-to-be-ubiquitous pork shoulder/ham product, actually started calling it “Spam” to make it sound jazzier. It needn’t have bothered. One of the defining characteristics […]

There were no firetrucks spewing plumes of water arching over the airplane as I taxied in after our final flight together. It wasn’t my retirement flight, but the delivery flight to turn over the Cardinal RG I’d flown for almost 24 years to its new owner. The Cardinal that I’d originally bought with a partner […]

Tom, I’ve got bad news for you,” Brian says when I answer the phone. The phone call isn’t a surprise. I’ve expected the call every time my airplane was in the hands of a mechanic during the last year or so, but it isn’t welcome. The Lycoming IO-360 in my 1976 Cardinal RG was overhauled […]

What really scares pilots and airplane owners? Is it an instrument approach to minimums? Not really. With proper training and a good flight director, nailing the approach is a piece of cake. How about a crosswind landing? They’re tough, but with practice you can learn how to master the technique. Maybe thunderstorms? Nah. Having satellite-delivered […]

Flying Editor Emeritus Richard Collins once told me he preferred not seeing his airplane all torn apart during its annual inspection. And there is certainly no stauncher advocate of doing maintenance right. He just chose to keep the elbow grease at arm’s length, and it worked just fine for him. Owner participation in the annual […]

Four of the last five airplanes that I bought were new. The one that wasn’t new had but 500 hours on it. That was years ago, the last being in 1979. Still, I know the real thrill that comes from getting a brand-new airplane and being the only person, other than the test pilot, who […]