Blog Posts

Aviation has weathered a number of economic storms in its history, most notably the Great Depression and the collapse of the GA boom that followed World War II. How the industry met and survived past challenges unfortunately will not predict aviati…

The only thing that sucks worse than the economy right now is the state of aviation. Mix layoffs with shrinking pilot numbers and the growing list of new regulations and requirements that benefit only bureaucrats, and you have a case of cynicism ab…

Most people will tell you I’m a fairly gregarious person. Even a few might tell you I talk way too much. I’m the guy that wants to introduce everyone to everyone else. But there is one place I absolutely clam up and simply shy away from …

Cessna recently lifted the lid on its next generation flight training program. After military and airline training programs have proven the efficacy of scenario-based training for decades, Cessna is finally bringing it to general aviation. Working…

I spent some time on the radio the other day with my podcaster-buddy Addison Schonland of Innovation Analysis Group in San Diego trying to figure out the answer to that question in light of the recent shutdown at Eclipse. Despite what people may th…

I used to fly Part 135 charter from Chicagoland a few years back. The company often had us riding as co-captains in some early Citations on some wonderful trips in some occasionally awful weather. Any of you who have found yourself stuck down at 3,0…

Not a day goes by, it seems, when the aviation e-news organizations don’t report that another general aviation airframe manufacturer has reduced its work force and cut or ceased production to get through the globally self-inflicted economic me…

By now, most aviators are aware of the TSA’s new focus on general aviation security now that they have slapped the airlines around enough over the past five or six years that is. I’ve always thought anything that is detrimental to any se…

Airframe manufacturers are dealing with the financial fires spawned by the global economic meltdown in many ways, including reorganization, furloughs, and layoffs. American Champion Aircraft is pursuing a different tact, introducing a new airplane…

Airports come and go these days, but some closings become more personal than others. Living in Chicago, we had our own sad, yes even depressing moments when Mayor Daley hacked Meigs Field to death just to prove who was really in charge. Personally, …

Hasn’t this just been an awful month or so, I mean what with the roller coaster ride of the economy, thousands of people loosing their jobs, not to mention the stress of trying to figure out who will lead the United States for the next four ye…

After the last plane took off for home in August, EAA announced it was starting work on a 10-year plan to improve its AirVenture grounds on Wittman Regional Airport. The news release spoke about moving the main gate, new thoroughfares, and improved …

It only took the agency a couple of years – actually about 10 I believe – but FAA has finally taken action on the problem of too many airplanes and two few air traffic controllers to keep them all apart. And before you ask, yes, the down…

When the urge to fly strikes me, but inadequate weather or funds make the satisfaction of this desire impractical, I often turn to the AOPA Air Safety Foundation Interactive Safety Courses. Spending an hour online isn’t the same as one in the…

Lame ducks they call them … those federal employees who wander aimlessly between jobs every four years. The FAA’s Bobby Sturgell is a prime example – as of course is George W. Bush – although honestly no one expected to see S…

Cleaning out an old flight bag, in a long unvisited pocket I found a NASA form that must be more than a decade old. I was flying more than I do now, and I always carried the form in case I needed to submit the details of some inadvertent stupid pil…

In no uncertain terms, Toby Kamark and Jeff Gentz see light-sport aircraft as the future of general aviation. It’s time for a new generation to succeed the old, and this change is happening now, they said. Sport pilot is the key to getting p…

In Jetwhine’s first official podcast add-on to the post below, editor Rob Mark takes a close look at what makes Southwest Airlines so successful.

I had a ringside seat last week to many of the inner workings at Southwest Airlines when I was invited – along with a bunch of other journalists – to the airline’s media day. No matter how many times I interact with Southwest emplo…

A buddy of mine – Mal Gormley – sent this over today and I just had to pass it on. Here’s a shot of the largest aircraft in the USAF fleet, the C-5 Galaxy. And don’t ask if it’s an “A” or a “B” m…

Do you know this guy? He’s Jeff Beck, a contract pilot of some renown. Contract pilots essentially lead a vagabond life from airplane to airplane until they’re no longer needed with no single place to really call home. They wait only fo…

When I traveled recently to rural eastern Kansas to write and shoot a profile for Aviation for Women, the magazine of Women In Aviation International, holding the last surviving part of a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 was the last thing I expected to do. But h…

There used to be an area south of the control tower at O’Hare International Airport that acted as a catch basin of sorts when the rains came. They used to call it Lake O’Hare as a matter of fact.Weekend before last, the same weekend tha…

Like most pilots, I dreamed of one day owning an airplane. With the cost of groceries and gas, one son in college and his brother  starting next year, I’d put the dream to bed. Given all the costs, I couldn’t justify it to myself, b…