Aviation Marketing Posts

Jet & ESA Fly From Sonex Hornet’s Nest
Aug. 31, 2009

Jet & ESA Fly From Sonex Hornet’s Nest

At EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, Sonex Aircraft pulled back the curtain on its research and development department, called the Hornet’s Nest, and unveiled three projects it’s been working on for the past handful of years. One of them the E-Fl…
Pilots: Who Needs Them?
Aug. 3, 2009

Pilots: Who Needs Them?

Qualified professionals to operate the world’s fleet of new, high-technology aircraft are more necessary than ever before, despite a growing proliferation of UAVs. Unfortunately, airline management and their pilots are not always on the same …
July 20, 1969: Where Were you?
July 20, 2009

July 20, 1969: Where Were you?

I was a teenager in the 60’s which for me translates into a few key trigger points etched in my mind. The day President Kennedy was shot I was in shop class. When Martin Luther King was assassinated, I was off on active duty with the U.S. Air …
AvWeek’s Biz Av Lady on Vacation
July 17, 2009

AvWeek’s Biz Av Lady on Vacation

My thanks to AvWeek’s Benet Wilson for allowing me a little space on her blog while she was out on vacation. I’ll try and coax her to write something for Jetwhine. Rob GUEST POST: Business Aviation Is Still a Secret Posted by Bene…
Cute as a Button for AirVenture 2009
July 12, 2009

Cute as a Button for AirVenture 2009

Some folks really believe that the hit of this month’s AirVenture is going to be the arrival of the Airbus A380 at AeroShell Square. And no, the big deal this year is not going to be EAA’s director of public relations Dick Knapinski danc…
Artful Flying
June 28, 2009

Artful Flying

One thing you never want to do is give me a book to review. I read them quickly, but often take forever to getting around to telling people what I thought of the experience, which pretty much defeats the purpose of the review … at least from t…
The Southwest Effect in Ireland?
June 8, 2009

The Southwest Effect in Ireland?

For as long as I can remember, Southwest Airlines, now the largest U.S. domestic airline, created in the 1970s by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King, has been the low-cost airline others most want to emulate. The need to copy isn’t just about mone…
Old Fashioned Focus Sustains Sonex
June 3, 2009

Old Fashioned Focus Sustains Sonex

No one in aviation has escaped the recession, but it seems that some companies are better set up to deal with it because they pursue an old fashioned business model: listen to your customers, do everything in your power to meet their needs, and grow…
Corporate Flying is New Pilots’ Career Goals
May 24, 2009

Corporate Flying is New Pilots’ Career Goals

After reading reports of faltering flight schools, I wandered over to the Fox Valley Technical College’s aviation campus on the Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, to see how things were going in flyover country. Not so bad, it see…
Enola Gay’s Wendover Hangar On Top 11 List
May 13, 2009

Enola Gay’s Wendover Hangar On Top 11 List

Aviation history is written by the triad of people, planes, and places, and news about any of the three always catches my attention. The National Trust for Historic Preservation recently published its 22nd annual list of the nation’s 11 Most …
Business & ATPs Becoming GA’s Leaders
May 5, 2009

Business & ATPs Becoming GA’s Leaders

Ever since I can remember personal flying has always represented the lion’s share of the general aviation fleet and hours flown, measured by the FAA’s annual GA and Part 135 survey. The most current data is for 2007, well before the econ…
Knives on the Plane
April 29, 2009

Knives on the Plane

New Yorkers often stand as a national litmus test of just how tough Americans can be in a crisis. The weeks and months after 9/11 showed us that even they have their limits although most found a place somewhere to bury those ugly days.In just a few…
Fox Valley Tech Pairs Pancakes & Future
April 26, 2009

Fox Valley Tech Pairs Pancakes & Future

Fly-in pancake breakfasts have been a grassroots aviation staple for nigh on a half century or more. Most of them are hosted by EAA chapters or local flying clubs, which is why the feast hosted by the Fox Valley Technical College at its aviation cam…
OSH Tower Falls With Aviation’s Change
April 21, 2009

OSH Tower Falls With Aviation’s Change

Across the aviation arc on the Internet many have bemoaned the April 9 passing of the old control tower at the Wittman Regional Airport, better known to the world by its location–Oshkosh. Photographers from the organization that  calls OSH ho…
Sporty’s Downloads Affordable Videos
April 6, 2009

Sporty’s Downloads Affordable Videos

Roaming around the online aisles of Sporty’s Pilot Shop looking for something to keep my head in the sky while the economy has me tied to the ground, I ran across the “Download Center.” Curious, I gave it a click, expecting I’…
It’s a Buyer’s Market for Recreational Flyers
April 1, 2009

It’s a Buyer’s Market for Recreational Flyers

Until the 1980s, most pilot saw homebuilding as a lunatic fringe. Its stereotypical practitioners were older guys with rough hands and patched jeans rooting around in airport boneyards, looking for a deal. And then a funny thing happened: the produ…
Max Says "Learn to Fly" … Pass it on
March 28, 2009

Max Says "Learn to Fly" … Pass it on

For writers, any kind of writers, the big league means writing books. My first foray came 20 years ago when Tab Books – eventually absorbed into the McGraw Hill network – gave me a chance to write about something I held near and dear to…
EASA Taking Aim on U.S. Flight Schools
March 19, 2009

EASA Taking Aim on U.S. Flight Schools

Measuring the health of U.S. flight schools is easy. Grab the latest General Aviation Manufacturers Association Statistical Databook and see how many student pilot certificates the FAA issued last year. The most recent number is for for 2007: 66,79…
ImagineAir Brings SATS to Life in Southeast
March 16, 2009

ImagineAir Brings SATS to Life in Southeast

In the spirit of my last post, Share Thumbs-Up Moments With Everyone, I just discovered a new air taxi company, ImagineAir, founded by two flight instructors who met at Georgia Tech. Based in Lawrenceville, just outside of Atlanta, ImagineAir made i…
Share Thumbs-Up Moments With Everyone
March 10, 2009

Share Thumbs-Up Moments With Everyone

If you haven’t heard, the Internet and blogs like JetWhine are killing print journalism. Slowly, community journalists, everyday people with an interest in their community, are becoming our primary source of news. If you doubt this, watch TV …
EMS Helicopter Safety: First, Do No Harm
Feb. 25, 2009

EMS Helicopter Safety: First, Do No Harm

A confirmed rotorhead, I recently invested some unexpected free time looking into the NTSB’s public hearing on Safety of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) Operations. I didn’t have the time to watch four days of video availabl…
Homebuilding: Complexity is the Price of Progress
Feb. 15, 2009

Homebuilding: Complexity is the Price of Progress

After reviewing thousands of comments about the fed’s proposed policy and procedural changes affecting the 51-percent rule, the Amateur-Built Aviation Rulemaking Committee completed its mission, submitted its final recommendations to the FAA,…
Training & Technology’s Transitions
Feb. 3, 2009

Training & Technology’s Transitions

The JA Air Center opened its new four-building campus, which covers 150,000 square feet, on December 1, 2008. As the airport’s primary FBO, the company had to add flight services–charter, training, and aircraft rental–to its well …
LSA Sales Down, but Fleet Still Growing
Jan. 26, 2009

LSA Sales Down, but Fleet Still Growing

Manufacturers of light-sport aircraft have not escaped the recession. According to several reports, this segment of the aviation industry has not been hit as hard as the manufacturers of heavier general aviation airplanes and the LSA fleet grew by 3…