Who’s the Boss?
If you’re mentally yelling “Tony Danza!”, think again my friend. When it comes to aviation, the rules are made by the Federal Aviation Administration. Someone might want to let the L.A. County Board of Supervisors and Congressman Howard Berman in on that fact. The good Mr. Berman has introduced legislation — supported by the Supervisors — which, according to his press release, would “give the FAA the authority to set minimum altitudes and flight paths for helicopter traffic in LA country (sic)”. Low-flying helicopters are becoming a nuisance, and federal authorities should restrict how low they can fly in Los Angeles County, the Board of Supervisors said Tuesday. Citing persistent helicopter noise from...
Read MoreIn Defense of Business Jets
Scott Spangler at Jetwhine recently opined that business jets are “merely pawns in the war over wealth”. His article was prompted by a snarky New York Times op-ed which gleefully zinged Texas governor Rick Perry for his frequent business jet travel. While I don’t disagree with Spangler’s assertion, his missive got me wondering why American business is so timid about extolling the virtues of corporate aviation. They know the benefits of a business jet better than anyone, yet it’s virtually unheard of for any firm large enough to have a corporate aircraft to crow about what it does for them. I know, I know: NBAA, GAMA, AOPA, and other industry alphabet groups have been trying to get the word out via No Plane/No Gain, GA Serves...
Read MoreNon-Commercial Landing Fees
As Ronald Reagan famously uttered with a shake of his head, “there you go again…”. I’ve noticed that more and more airports are starting to charge landing fees for non-commercial aircraft. Hilton Head Airport was in the news today as the latest to announce a levy for private aircraft landing at a small general aviation field. The article notes this as the first airport in South Carolina to charge such a fee, but you can bet it won’t be the last. During the same meeting, officials learned the state’s top aviation official objected to a related proposal that would charge private pilots to fly to the airport. Money collected under the proposal would also be used to pay for future construction, including runway...
Read MoreLooking Beyond the Shuttle
It’s not easy these days feeling optimistic about American prospects for continued leadership and success in the world. The economy is hurting, manufacturing sits at a nadir, our collective debt — both public at private — is at an all-time high, and the things which once placed us on top of the heap have slowly become the province of other countries. The computer industry, the automotive sector, finance, and yes, even aviation. It wasn’t long ago that the idea of ceding leadership in the aerospace industry was unthinkable, but these days a new jet is as likely to come from Airbus, Bombardier, or Embraer is it is to emerge from the factories of Boeing, Gulfstream, or Cessna. Valuable assets in the general aviation sector such as...
Read MoreTFR Madness
More evidence we’re living in a world gone crazy. And I’m not just talking about Wall Street, my friends. The TFRs have truly reached a level which can only be described as insanity. You know, I remember a time when it was possible to fly across this country of ours much the way we drive across it: just get in and go. Oh, sure, you had to check the weather, compute landing and takeoff distances, fuel load, weight & balance, etc. But aside from the usual due diligence, nobody was stopping you from using the airspace around your own country. Grab a chart and go fly. That shouldn’t sound foreign. It’s called “freedom”. Remember? There was no need to get the government’s permission to fly, submit a passenger...
Read MoreImmigration Reform
Damn Foreigner is back, and it’s good to see him among the living (posting?). His most recent entry was on a topic that is near and dear to his heart: immigration. He’s a smart guy and makes some salient points. However, I was left wondering what solution he might offer to fix this thorny problem. Should we allow anyone into the U.S. without any regard for who they are, why they’re here, or what our needs might be? I don’t think that’s what he proposes. But there are some who feel that way. As a Southern California native, I’ve noticed some things about this area. To put it bluntly, the quality of life is falling due to overpopulation. This is a long term trend that I’ve been watching over a period of...
Read MoreEight is Enough?
Last Friday, former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham was sentenced to eight years and four months in federal prison for what has been described as the worst case of corruption in the history of Congress. I had a theatre professor in college who once said that when you make a choice on stage, don’t be timid – commit to it. His parlance was, “sin boldly”. That’s what I thought of when reading the laundry list of Cunningham’s offenses. He sinned… boldly. Bribery. Tax evasion. Conspiracy. Lying to government investigators. The list is long, and the dollar amounts are big. Was the sentence just? If anyone was cheated by his actions, it was Duke’s own constituents. You may want to read...
Read MoreA Different Perspective on Iraq
Iraq is now creeping away from murderous authoritarianism to face the more normal messes of a creaky Third World nation: corruption, poverty, health problems, miserable public services. And that is vastly preferable to what came before. American Enterprise editor-in-chief Karl Zinsmeister just got back from Iraq, and he looks at the war’s progress from short and long-term historical perspectives. His conclusion: perhaps the sky isn’t falling after all. If you want to read the Arthur Cherenkoff media analysis Zinsmeister refers to, it’s available...
Read MoreBoys Will Be Boys
Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia written and maintained by the millions of people who use it. Anyone can edit Wikipedia, and its contents are free and open. Open communities of this type have a sordid history on the internet. Without rigorous moderation, these things devolve into a repositories for conspiracy theorists, morons, flame wars, and really twisted stuff like spam. Usenet is the ultimate example. It’s 99% noise, 1% content. Wikipedia has managed to sidestep these landmines. It’s not perfect, but it does represent the largest and most up-to-date encyclopedia on the planet. For a free, user-operated web site to be that useful is quite an achievement. Alas, the grubby Mr. Smiths in Washington are spoiling the party. Surprise,...
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