Blog Archives
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Here Comes The Govmint — Again
- Wednesday January 18, 2012The Obama administration is pushing a $100 per-flight fee for all corporate and private turbine aircraft. They say such a fee will “raise $11 billion in the next ten years.” You reckon the guvmint will ever figure out that taking $1 from one group and giving it another group does not raise money? These user fees—aimed at general aviation--pop up on a regular basis, and—so far—they have been defeated on a regular basis. This time, you gotta wonder. This administration seems to love to take money away from successful people and corporations and to give it to those who aren’t successful yet feel that they are “entitled.” We are, according to one source, some $51 billion in debt. Rather than look for ways to... -
One Advantage Of A Free Country
By Ralph Hood - Wednesday January 4, 2012To read a column about one of the greatest differences between aviation in the U.S.A., and aviation in a less free country, just Google . (That worked this morning, but who knows how long it will stay there.) To be fair, I must point out that Ms. West is a conservative columnist in the Washington Times. However, I would write about this column if it originated in a left-wing rag. The column questions the “investigation” of the 2011 airplane crash of a Polish aircraft that killed all aboard, including Poland’s president and first lady. Ms. West raises many questions about the resultant investigation, and even wonders if this crash was intentionally caused, rather than accidental. For details, Google the column. This... -
USPS
By Ralph Hood - Wednesday December 21, 2011First—to follow up on last week’s Blog—Tri-Cities Regional Airport has indeed made the decision to go to an airport authority system. Second—and totally unconnected with the first item—this area of East Tennessee is a microcosm of the country. Towns north and south of here are putting up strong fights to keep the United States Postal Service (USPS) facilities open and operating in their area. I won’t bore you with the details, but believe me when I say they are fighting. Bear in mind that these people—like pretty much everybody else in the country—do want the guvmint to cut spending. Still, they are fighting like hell to make sure the cuts are not made IMBY—in my back yard. As I understand it, the... -
TRI-Cities To Change?
By Ralph Hood - Wednesday December 7, 2011
Just about a year ago, my column in Airport Business magazine reported on Tri-Cities Regional Airport, near Bristol, TN. The airport commission was studying the idea of switching to an airport authority system of management and ownership. The airport was then, and is now, owned by four cities and two counties. A commission, with members selected by the various owners, managed the airport, which was/is successful, operating without local taxpayer funds since 1966. But, there are advantages to an airport authority system of ownership, and the commission began to study this system in the early 2000s. This week, the local paper announced that major barriers to the idea had been overcome and that airport director Patrick Wilson... -
ADMA is a fascinating group
By Ralph Hood - Wednesday November 23, 2011Last month the Aviation Distributors and Manufacturers Association (ADMA) invited me to speak for their group for the third time. The last time was 17 years ago. I hope they don’t wait another 17 years to invite me back, because I’ll be 87 then and probably not getting around too much. ADMA is a fascinating group. For one thing, they were formed in 1943. How many groups do you know who began during WW II? Not many, I bet, and it’s even more amazing that they are still thriving, 68 years later. This is an international group. At one lunch, I found myself sitting at a table with a fellow from Serbia, another from Germany and yet another from Wisconsin and this seemed typical of the group. They all talked business... -
Mixed Blessing
By Ralph Hood - Wednesday November 9, 2011Henry Lowe, president of FBO Lowe Aviation, Macon, GA, and a great contributor to aviation, had a flight physical not long ago. The medical examiner detected what looked like a small problem in one kidney. A urologist “watched it,” as doctors are wont to say, to see if it changed, grew, or got worse. In early September, the doctor startled Henry by saying that he needed to “come in next week to have that kidney removed.” Despite the fact that Henry and wife Merrie had big plans—including airline tickets and event tickets—for a major aviation function that next week, Henry canceled those plans and scheduled the surgery. The surgery went well. I talked with Henry today. He was at work and recovering nicely. Now, as Paul... -
The Local Fly-In/Cruise-In
By Ralph Hood - Tuesday October 25, 2011My last blog reported on the Cub fly-in at the airport in Elizabethton, TN. This blog is about the Fly-In/Cruise-In at the airport in Greeneville, TN. "Fly-In/Cruise-In" was a new term for me. Turns out it is a gathering of old aircraft and old automobiles, including the models you dreamed of owning, and which you perhaps flew/drove in your youth. That’s a strong combination. Breathes there a pilot who doesn’t also love fine cars? I looked at the aircraft first, of course. There was a single-engine Piper Comanche which reminded me of the one I flew back in the 1970s, while selling cropdusters in MS. It even had the same paint scheme. The feelings of déjà vu were so strong that I wrote down the “N... -
Super Cub Fly-In
By Ralph Hood - Monday October 10, 2011Some of the most interesting and just plain—or plane—fun aviation events are at smallish airports. Case in point: The Elizabethton (TN) Municipal Airport hosted the annual Piper Cub Fly-In last weekend. Most of the Cubs were really Super Cubs. Most people think there is only one Piper Cub, but there are actually a bunch of Cubs. The most popular, of course, is the original J-3 Cub, and I’d bet that the Super Cub, or A-18, is the second most popular. It is surely the workhorse of the Cubs. Over 60 aircraft were expected, and it seemed to me that they all got there. I have a few Super Cub hours myself—including a few hours flying power line patrol—and it was delightful just watching them take off and land—on... -
Here We Go Round Again...
- Monday September 26, 2011How many of you are old enough to remember the great Kingston Trio singing, “Here we go, round again, singin’ a song about Molly Dee…†Well, here I go, round again, singin’ a song about Congress. Now this is different, because it’s bilateral—both parties are equally guilty. Here’s a chance to wonder about Congress regardless of your political persuasion. One more time, we can’t get FAA reauthorization. You might remember that some four years ago Congress couldn’t pass the danged thing; therefore they passed an extension so they could—I guess—argue about the problems amongst themselves. Since that time they have passed some 22 such extensions (maybe... -
New Mexico Aviation Conference
- Monday September 12, 2011Last week, I spoke in Santa Fe for the 2011 New Mexico Aviation Conference. It was a great meeting with lots of info on topics including solar projects on airports, aviation accidents and how to avoid them. The staff was wonderful to work with and the attendees made up a terrific audience. I was honored to be invited. And Leo Murphree was there. I first met Leo Murphree some decades ago at the Oklahoma Airport Operators Conference in Lawton, OK. As I walked into the host hotel, there was a five-foot-tall replica of an airport beacon inside the lobby, flashing green and white, just like a real one. You couldn’t miss it if you tried. That was the exhibit of Leo Murphree, president of Electrical & Construction Specialists...
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