Blog Archives
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Airports Are Better — But …
- Wednesday July 11, 2012As regular readers (surely there must be at least a few) know, I have been right pleased with airports recently. They have adapted to post-9/11 security beautifully. Remember at first how chaotic everything was after that date? It was awful, particularly for non-frequent flyers. Now it goes rather smoothly, and I appreciate that. On the other hand, it is time for my annual diatribe about my pet peeve at airports in recent history. This is one of the few ways in which airports — in my not-so-humble opinion — have gone downhill. Back in the late 1970s, I wrote a letter to a hospital saying they could improve things by using signage as airports do. “From any part of an airport,” I wrote, “I can see signs directing me to the... -
Aviation Marketing 101 At Home Depot
By Ralph Hood - Wednesday June 27, 2012I have discovered the dangdest marketing plan. Though I found it at Home Depot, it is highly adaptable for aviation. Recently my brilliant, handsome four-year-old grandchild came South from Boston for a visit. On Saturday his parents suggested we take him to Home Depot (HD) where, it seems, they put on a “project” program for kids on the first Saturday of every month. Free! (That word “free” fascinates me. I go along with the ancient Lebanese riddle — “What is sweeter than honey? The answer is “Free vinegar.”) I had doubts, but we went. I was astounded. One section of an aisle was blocked off with “tables” made of particle board propped on buckets. The kids used additional buckets as chairs (great for them... -
Small Airports And Spacecraft
By Ralph Hood - Wednesday June 6, 2012
Because I live in the boondocks (Erwin,TN isn’t the end of the world, but it’s a short drive from here) people often ask me if I don’t hate having to travel from small airports, rather than the mega hubs. The answer is no, not at all. I like smaller airports. Smaller airports are just flat out more convenient. Parking is cheaper and quicker, check-in is quicker, and one doesn’t have to walk as far to reach the gate. Yes, departing from a smaller airport does mean that I have to connect through Megalopolex, but I don’t have to drive to city traffic to get to Magalopolex, or pay the borderline rapacious parking fees there. All I have to do is change airplanes. Not long ago, while traveling during one of my “bad back... -
Mama Bird Flies Home
By Ralph Hood - Wednesday May 23, 2012
Last week I attended the funeral of a wonderful woman and pilot, Mrs. Evelyn Johnson, of Morristown,TN. Many of you will know that Evelyn — or “Mama Bird,” as she was known — had more flying hours than any other living pilot, and more flying hours than any other woman who ever lived. She was a member of the Tennessee Aviation Hall of Fame, the Women in Aviation Hall of Fame, and the National Aviation Hall of Fame. She had all the ratings, but flew most of her hours at the job she loved — instructing and giving check rides. That’s but a partial listing of her numerous and well-earned honors. Just Google her name to find more. Evelyn’s funeral had one great advantage over funerals of most aviators. The minister who... -
Nothing Certain But Change
By Ralph Hood - Wednesday May 9, 2012
Pratt & Whitney (PW) held their two-day annual media day last week at headquarters in Hartford,CT. As usual, PW put on a treat event and taught me more about turbine engines than I can explain to anyone else. My next column in Airport Business will expand on this meeting, but let me mention in this blog that PW does a great job of cramming in education and playing host. The meeting is proof positive that Southern Hospitality—which I grew up thinking couldn’t be matched anywhere north of the Mason-Dixon Line—has nothing to brag about in comparison to PW’s New England Hospitality. One aother note—PW and other entrepreneurs in the aviation industry are getting more done to cut fuel consumption (and thus pollution... -
Travel Stories
By Ralph Hood - Wednesday April 25, 2012During the last eight days I made speeches in Columbus,GA; Sidney, OH, andTerre Haute, IN. I drove to Columbus (will I never learn?) and flew airlines to Dayton,OH and Indianapolis, IN. All three trips went well. Flights were pretty much on time, airports comfortable and service was both good and friendly (except for one grumpy woman at a Thrifty Car Rental counter). No other complaints. TSA personnel were professional, courteous and kind. They really are getting better. From the passenger’s standpoint, however, TSA’s job seems to be a little harder to put up with every year. I thought that the new machines would make it easier on pax. Instead, we must now remove everything—and I do mean everything—from our pockets... -
Travel Ain't Bad—But Making The Arrangements Is Awful!
By Ralph Hood - Wednesday April 11, 2012
Sometimes I wonder how the airport industry survives, what with the travel industry being so dadgum (that is NOT the word I’d like to use) difficult to deal with. At the moment I’m disgusted with the rental car business, and one of the We’ll-Do-It-All-for-You-Online travel consortiums. I had played it their way. I got quotes and decided that the rental car deal I needed couldn’t be worked out at a price that made it logical. So I made other plans. Then this morning that same travel group sent me an email saying that they could do it for less—a lot less—than they had quoted. I decided to take them up on it. I have now spent an hour on it and can’t get the rate they sent me. I found the “help” line, called it, and got... -
The Free Market, and Latrines
By Ralph Hood - Wednesday March 28, 2012Y’all, please forgive me. Today this blog will include missionaries in Africa, latrines and, believe it or not, the free market. It’s all to prove how intelligent were our forefathers in accepting an economic system that serves aviation so well in the USA. Yesterday I witnessed a presentation about latrines—of all things—by a missionary who serves an African nation that won’t be named, lest I overstep my boundaries and offend nations, rather than just individual people. The missionary is encouraging natives to build—and use—latrines. This is not a high priority among people who have never had latrines before, but ranks high on the list of saving lives in that country and worldwide. First, they tried... -
Watching aviation/aerospace has never been more exciting
By Ralph Hood - Wednesday March 14, 2012NextGen is looking more and more doable and wonderful. This will greatly enhance the efficiency, safety and capacity of our system and thus improve the capabilities of airports. In the meantime, privately-funded space programs are out there, each trying to beat the other. One of the most interesting—in which Branson’s Virgin Galactic plays a big role—includes a mother ship designed by Burt Rutan. Another includes Burt himself, the deep pockets and great vision of Paul Allen (of Microsoft fame and fortune), and two other companies—Dynetics and StratoLaunch from my old home base, Huntsville, AL. Together, they plan to build the largest airplane in history to launch space rockets from high altitudes. Don’t laugh. Remember... -
A Pleasant Surprise!
By Ralph Hood - Wednesday February 29, 2012I have spent many years marketing flight training, with varying results. This week I got a pleasant surprise. WNC Aviation, Asheville, NC, (hereinafter called WNC, which, BTW, stands for Western North Carolina) is actually selling flight instruction with what is to me a new and unique marketing tool in the aviation industry. Groupon, as many of you know, is an online company that distributes coupons across the nation and—so far—in 44 other countries around the world. They send me notices of such deals for my area every day, and I read them to see if there’s a bargain that I want or need. This week, to my amazement, there was a coupon deal from WNC. The coupon provided an hour of simulator training for half price. Let...
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Events
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- 06/17/13 - 06/23/13
- Paris Air Show
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Conference/Expo, Paris,
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- 06/18/13 - 06/19/13
- Sherwin-Williams Aerospace Coatings Training Program
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Training, Andover, KS
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- 06/19/13 - 06/20/13
- 2rd China Aerospace Propulsion Technology Summit
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Conference/Expo, Shenyang,
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- 06/24/13 - 06/24/13
- Ultrasonic Testing Level 2 Training Course
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Training, Houston, TX
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- 06/25/13 - 06/27/13
- SMART Terminal Asia 2013
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Conference/Expo, Jakarta,
