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  • Charlie is in the Smithsonian!
    - Thursday August 17, 2006
    Last Friday, August 11, was a monumental day for aircraft maintenance professionals! Kenneth Mac Tiernan, an aircraft mechanic and director of the Aircraft Maintenance Technicians Association (AMTA) organized a special unveiling at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Aerospace Center. Ken had led an effort to raise funds so that a bust of Charles Taylor, the first aircraft mechanic who designed and built the engine that powered the Wright brothers into history, could be presented to the Smithsonian museum. The bust was designed by Dayton artist Virginia Hess and has been placed in other prominent locations including Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Charles Taylor Department of Aviation...

  • The Bogeyman Did It!
    - Monday August 14, 2006
    After a big story like last week’s foiled terrorist plot—which come first, the jokes or the conspiracy theories? I don’t know, but the conspiracy theories do come fast and furious. It’s hard to believe so many theories can come so fast from a plot that failed. The most believable might be the theory that the terrorists planned all along to get caught, because all they want is publicity. I could almost believe that one except for the realities of 9/11, et al. I have heard that it was a plot by Dick Cheney to further his oil interests, but nobody ever explained how that would work. Then others say Cheney was mad because Halliburton didn’t get a certain big contract recently. One pilot told...

  • Remove bras and boxers at the gate ...
    - Friday August 11, 2006
    … well, perhaps not yet. Consider: The 9/11 attackers brought packaging knives; we banned them. The shoe bomber wanted to light his shoes; we banned lighters. Now, it’s liquids. The question is – in James Bond-esque terms – what happens when the terrorists figure out how to create clothing that can be detonated? Is it unrealistic to think that if we can make plastics explode, and liquids, it’s only a matter of time until clothing can be woven with the right mix to facilitate bringing down an airliner?  The point is not that reacting to these threats is frivolous. It’s vital. But we have to come up with a new way of approaching the problem. It’s 2006, and we’re still trying to...

  • A Chaotic Travel Day
    - Thursday August 10, 2006
    New security procedures went into effect this morning. As I approached the counter of the convenience store near my hotel this morning, I couldn't believe how expensive the little bottle of eye drops in my hand was. But I needed it since I was leaving the hotel at 4:30 a.m. to go to La Guardia airport for a 7:00 flight to Washington, D.C. It was 4:15 as I waited in the hotel lobby for my ride. The lobby TV was tuned to CNN, and I noticed a headline that said "Terror Alert Raised." I listened for a few minutes as they reported that the alert level had been raised to red for international flights and orange for domestic flights. I sure was glad I was planning on arriving at the airport two hours early for my flight. As I approached the...

  • Airlines Increase Capacity
    - Tuesday August 8, 2006
    "Here We Go, ‘Round Again…" Front page, center, USA Today on Tuesday, August 8: "Airlines to add year-end capacity. Fliers could see relief from rising airfares." Lord, Lord. They finally make a profit, after all of the bad years, and the first thing they do is raise capacity (that means adding airplanes, of course)! Who was it who said that the airline industry can’t stand prosperity? The USA Today article states that "decisions to add seats generally reflect greater optimism in the industry about its prospects for making money." Humphf! Does anyone remember what Warren Buffet said about the airlines way back in his annual report to stockholders for 1992? "We have no ability to forecast the economics of the...

  • General aviation is alive and kickin' ...
    - Monday August 7, 2006
    … despite the topsy-turvey world of fuel prices. Admittedly, the avgas sector is static at best, per discussions with fuel providers. But the jet-A burners are pushing continued growth for GA, evident at the just convened AirVenture -- or ‘Oshkosh’ – hosted annually by the Experimental Aircraft Association. Attendance (625,000) was down some 10 percent … again, those fuel prices. It’s reasonable to account that drop to apprehension on the part of autogas drivers. Yet, 65 countries were represented; 868 media reps; over 2300 show planes and a total of 10,000-plus aircraft on the airfield grounds. Hottest news items: - Cessna’s announcement that it’s looking to the development of a...

  • The Ride of a Lifetime
    - Thursday August 3, 2006
    Please don’t let me reverse-eat! That was the main thought going through my mind as I got ready to board Mike Mancuso’s Klein Tools Extra 300 last week for a media ride. Klein Tools is the sponsor for Mike Mancuso, and their PR department had been trying to arrange a ride for me for several years. Last Friday I was finally able to take them up on the invitation to take the ride of a lifetime! I arrived at Week's hangar at Wittman field at about 9:15. The ride was scheduled for 9:30, and I arrived a little early to make sure I was ready. The hangar was buzzing with EAA-related activity. I was told that my flight would be a little late because the flight before mine was running late. While I waited, I introduced myself to...

  • The Worm Turns!
    - Monday July 31, 2006
    How many times have we heard it said of light sport aircraft? "Oh. They might sell a few, but they’ll never have any effect on real aviation." "They’ll never amount to anything on my airport." "I mean, like, for crying out loud, don’t they have snowmobile engines in those things?" The worm has turned. Cessna showed up at Oshkosh last week with an LSA with a Rotax engine. True, it was a "proof-of-concept" airplane. Even if, as seems likely, it goes into production there is no guarantee that the final version will have a Rotax engine. Makes no difference. Cessna—the 800-pound gorilla—has an LSA with a Rotax engine. Cessna is taking LSA seriously. The world will never be the same again. The interesting...

  • Observations from Oshkosh
    - Thursday July 27, 2006
    Well, I write to you this week from the GA meca of the world. For one week, Oshkosh, WI plays host hundreds of thousands of aviation enthusiasts as the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) puts on its annual AirVenture show. I have gathered a lot of editorial ideas from the show. But the best part of Oshkosh for me is the people. I always enjoy the opportunity to meet fellow aviation buffs from all over the world as they make their annual pilgramage to Oshkosh. This is my sixth show since joining the magazine and each one is still a learning experience for me. Stay tuned as we share more of the news coming from the show. In closing this week, I must say that I saw my first whistling gopher at Oshkosh yesterday. I had never seen a...

  • Honda's Surprise Alliance
    - Monday July 24, 2006
    (NOTE: To see the "update" of 7/25/06, see the comment to this BLOG.)  I just received one of the most interesting and well-done press releases I have ever seen. It came from Honda, and it never mentioned a product. A Ms. Alicia Jones of Honda e-mailed this release to invite me to "a major Honda news conference on Tuesday, July 25, 2006, at AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis." Furthermore, she said I can attend in person, via webcast or via teleconference. Talk about hype! I wouldn’t miss it for the world. And she never mentioned a product! She never said what it was about at all. Just that it’s "major". Of course we all know—or think we know—what this is all about. It’s certainly no secret that Honda...