Flight Planning

I was flying near Salinas, California, when the Goodyear blimp was passing over the airport. Tower advised an inbound aircraft of the blimp in the area. Tower: “Beech 1234 be advised there’s a blimp at your two o’clock, three thousand feet.” Beech 1234: “Is that from the top or from the bottom? Doug Anderson Salinas, […]

The small universe of general aviation advocacy groups usually forms a united front, working together to promote common interests, but this week that changed. On Thursday, Women in Aviation International withdrew its support of AOPA’s protests regarding FBO fees, leaving AOPA now the only major GA group still pushing the initiative. “As a pilot myself, […]

AOPA and 11 other aviation user groups called on the FAA on Tuesday to take action against “egregious FBO fees and denial of airport access.” The groups said hidden fees and unaffordable costs for ramp space deny pilots “reasonable access to federally funded airports.” NATA quickly issued a dissenting statement, citing “misguided assumptions” driving AOPA’s […]

Since the early 1980s, the FAA has provided for pilots the Hazardous Inflight Weather Advisory Service (HIWAS), a continuous broadcast of weather advisories over a limited nationwide network of VORs, but this week the FAA said it wants to eliminate the service, which is less needed now. “Currently, multiple sources are available that provide access […]