They call Paris the ‘City of Light’, but the most memorable part of this visit was spent underground in the dark. Read more →
Category: Other
Fighting Back at SMO
The Santa Monica city council has set a new low with their recent shellacking of the airport. It’s time to stop playing nice and start communicating with them in a language they can clearly understand. Read more →
Getting Better: Simulators for General Aviation
Most of the big technological advances in flying have been in the instrument panel. But now they’re starting to make serious strides in the area of flight simulation, and GA stands to reap a huge benefit. Read more →
Speed-to-Fly
Speed-to-fly is a concept traditionally limited to the glider pilots. But the physics apply to all aircraft, and with the advent of computer technology in the cockpit, it’s possible to augment the traditional “best glide” speed and truly maximize our engine-out performance. Read more →
FAA Tower Closures
The FAA’s proposed tower closure list hits Southern California airports particularly hard. Let’s look at some numbers and see if this makes sense. Read more →
Low and Slow
Flying’s always an adventure — especially when it’s a coast-to-coast trip in a light aircraft! Read more →
Big Brother is Watching
As pilots, it’s worth remembering that virtually all aircraft contain computerized devices, even if they’re just portable ones. They’re everywhere, and they record things that can come back to haunt us later. Read more →
The Past, Present and Future of SoCal Aerospace
There’s not much left of the old aerospace manufacturing sector in Southern California. But while we are unlikely to return to the frenetic activity of the post-war era, there are a few interesting developments taking place around the Southland. Read more →
The Double Standard
A guy intentionally fires multiple shotgun blasts at a landing biplane and gets a year of probation for it. I can’t help but wonder what the penalty would be if it was a car instead of an aircraft. Could it be that we have a double standard here? Read more →
Sunstone Winery
A friend and I get the royal treatment at Sunstone Winery, the boutique vineyard with the tiny little shack on the hill. Read more →