Airline Lobbyist Says Tarmac Time Is All the Private Flight's Fault

Airlines for America sent off an end-of-year letter to Administrator Whitaker and Secretary Buttigieg requesting their institutional pull in reducing airline delays for the traveling public - and their aim? Reducing private traffic. Welcome to America... the land of the free... The letter is conspicuously absent from the A4A website, but copies of the December 27th missive made the rounds to the irritation of Part 91 and 135 operators around the country. A4A isn't a small-time lobbyist, either, representing American, Delta, United, Southwest, and a bevy of smaller Airlines. In the letter, chief Nicholas Calio gies kudos to the FAA's infrastructure workers for keeping pace througho

Lengthy Bureaucratic Process Inbound for Airport on the Way Out

Sasaki, Incorporated has signed an agreement with the Santa Monica City Council to survey, study, and plan out a conversion to develop the soon-to-be-former airport into a park... despite the loss of jobs, mobility, access to emergency air services and so much more. The Santa Monica airport will continue to operate as usual until December 31, 2028. The 227-acre airport land holding represents nearly 5% of the city’s land area, falling under the guidelines of Measure LC, which permits development for parks, public facilities, recreational areas, and maintenance of existing cultural, arts, and educational purposes. Sasaki will embark on a 5-part survey.

Kitfox Owner Called to Ask if He'd Crashed After Thief Biffs the Landing

An unlucky 2020 Kitfox owner in Las Vegas got an unusual call when he was asked if he'd just crashed his fancy new plane outside a small airport - but he was in his living room. As it happens, a repeat aircraft burglar or possibly even a joyrider just couldn't stick the landing with the shiny new Kitfox, setting the aircraft down outside Nevada's Barstow-Daggett airport. The culprit, 40-year-old Damian Zukaitis, had reportedly made off with aircraft a few times, sneaking them out of their home fields and taking them out for a ride. His last caper will probably be a coda for his adventures, now that he's been arrested.

Floridian 141 Operation Spreads Wings Into Tallahassee

Sterling Flight Training, a Florida Part 141 school, is expanding into Tallahassee. Sterling will be adding another location after its Jacksonville, Florida home, this time in Tallahassee. The new home is based on the firm's acquisition of Florida Aviation Training Center, marking off a "significant milestone in Sterling Flight Training's commitment to providing unparalleled aviation education and training opportunities".

Unusual Case Leave Many Questions, but Few Answers

A Utah man crawled into an aircraft engine cowling and apparently died, after sneaking out onto the tarmac via an emergency exit after getting through security. Salt Lake City International Airport staff had an unusual incident with a disturbed passenger, starting off when a terminal shop manager reported a disturbance in the secure side of screening. The disturbing passenger was tracked out from the airport terminal, through an emergency exit, and out to the airfield deicing pad. The passenger was found, having crawled into the cowling of a non-running engine of a plane bound for San Francisco. Emergency personnel found the man unconscious and were not able to revive him.

General Aviation Manufacturers Association Rejuvenates its 2024 Leadership

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association publicized its 2024 Executive Committee leadership team, providing strategic leadership for the association while leading its policy committees. First up for GAMA, President and CEO of float manufacturer Wipaire Chuck Wiplinger will serve as Chair of the Board. Wiplinger has previous stints as Vice Chair and chair of the Policy and Legal Issues Committee and the Technical Policy Committee for GAMA already, giving him plenty of experience to tackle 2024. The rest of the Committee sports fresh faces and long-time veterans of GAMA, ready for action.

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Israel has announced that they won't be able to hold the 2024 Féderátion Aéronautique Internationale World Championships of Artistic Events, Formation Skydiving, Wingsuiting and Speed Skydiving as planned, reopening the bid to interested host nations. The situation there makes the Israelis understandably put upon to host a large international event, but surprisingly the world had few takers on their slot as host. The US Parachuting Association said that surprisingly, only a single host bid was placed. Air show performer Patty Wagstaf

Also: Aeromedical Happenings, SUN ‘n FUN 2024, Aviation Adventure Speaker Lineup, Hummingbird Heli

Well... there’s bad news and some not quite-as-bad news... Van’s Aircraft is increasing most of their kit prices by approximately 32%. Online order forms will be updated with the new kit prices. Prices of individual parts and components will also be increasing, some more than 32%, and others less. While these price changes are significant, Van’s believes them to be necessary. Trevor Jacob, of "intentionally crashed Taylorcraft for Youtube" fame, recently bragged about getting his pilot’s  license back on his

End of the Line for Stillborn French Polynesian Carrier

Once planning on launching in "mid 2022", Tahitian carrier Fly Coralway has called it quits, citing a dearth of financing arrangements. FLY CORALway had planned on launching routes between Tahiti, Samoa, Wallis, Futuna, Fiji, and New Caledonia. Its focus as a French Polynesian airline was intended to bring the region into the modern network of first-class air travel, reinforcing tourism options and stimulating the local economy. Unfortunately, they ran out of their funding-fuel before they could get off the ground.

Shortly After Departing The Runway, He Experienced A Loss Of Engine Power

On December 2, 2023, about 1343 Pacific standard time, Cessna P210N, N7LV, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Big Bear City, California. The pilot received serious injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that after landing at Big Bear City Airport (L35), Big Bear, California, he topped off the wing fuel tanks and taxied to runway 26. During the takeoff, he applied takeoff power and rotated at 80 knots. Shortly after departing the runway, he experienced a loss of engine power. The pilot checked the positions of his engine control levers then attempted to land

From 2023 (YouTube Version): The Best Option for A Pilots’ Worst Days

Since its 1979 founding, Para-Phernalia, Inc. has designed and manufactured the Softie line of pilot emergency parachutes. The products are renowned among aerobatic, glider, and warbird pilots, formation fliers, and kit-plane builders for their high-quality, comfort, and perennial reliability. Emergency parachutes comprise two primary components: the parachute canopy and the harness and container system. The harness attaches a parachute’s canopy to its wearer. The container system retains the packed parachute canopy. Finally, the parachute harness and

Aero Linx: The Space Frontier Foundation “The Space Frontier Foundation is an organization of people dedicated to opening the Space Frontier to human settlement as rapidly as possible. Our goals include protecting the Earth’s fragile biosphere and creating a freer and more prosperous life for each generation by using the unlimited energy and material resources of space. Our purpose is to unleash the power of free enterprise and lead a united humanity permanently into the Solar System.”

Expedite Used by ATC when prompt compliance is required to avoid the development of an imminent situation. Expedite climb/descent normally indicates to a pilot that the approximate best rate of climb/descent should be used without requiring an exceptional change in aircraft handling characteristics.

"I want to call your attention to certain concerning air traffic control (ATC) conditions leading to operational challenges for A4A carriers during the holiday. Specifically, SIGNIFICANT NON-SCHEDULED AVIATION OPERATIONS (I.E., BUSINESS AND PRIVATE AVIATION VOLUME) ALONG WITH CONTINUED ATC STAFFING CHALLENGES HAVE DRIVEN INCREASED DELAYS AND CANCELLATIONS OVER THE HOLIDAY PERIOD." (That formatting is original, caps lock and all.) Source: Excerpted from a ridiculous letter sent by A4A's Nicholas Calio trying to blame airline delays on everybody but the airlines... with particular emphasis on GA and BizAv... because they don't represent that segment of aviation and the airlines never do anything wrong... right? (Rant