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Now, the law can only do so much to keep impaired people earthbound, as authorities in Pennsylvania found out in the now-infamous case of pilot John Salamone. Salamone, you’ll remember, lost his certificate and surrendered his medical after allegedly flying erratically in Philadelphia International’s busy airspace. On Tuesday, a judge said Salamone will stand trial […]

Brits Set Stiff Limits For Some… Britain has set strict blood-alcohol limits for airline and air traffic personnel, changing a longstanding law that simply made it illegal for them to work if they were alcohol-impaired. Pilots, cabin crew and controllers now will be breaking the law if found with more than .02 percent alcohol in […]

Of course, drugs in the cockpit are nothing new. U.S. Air Force flight surgeons frequently supply amphetamines to pilots for long flights and in demanding combat situations — a practice not without controversy. Also known as “speed,” and, in the military, as “go pills,” amphetamines are considered essential by some in the military to maintaining […]

Scientists already have experimented on pilots with drugs available today, to see if they can make us better, more alert and more responsive. Of particular note is a test done at Stanford University in 2002 with donepezil, which is widely used to ease the memory loss of Alzheimer patients. It found that pilots taking donepezil […]

“V!agra Of The Mind” May Help Pilots… A new generation of, uh, performance-enhancing drugs — nicknamed “V!agra for the mind” — is in the works, and drug companies already are looking at pilots as a potential market. According to a report in theage.com, some in the industry are predicting these so-called “smart drugs,” which dramatically […]

Concerns over gas prices and the fuel supply are nothing new. Aviators have worried for years that their supply of 100LL will dry up, or become pricey beyond reason. The U.S. GA piston fleet is currently surviving on one remaining producer that provides tetra-ethyl lead (TEL), the critical ingredient in 100LL, and that producer may […]

As gas prices creep toward $2 per gallon for drivers in many parts of the country, many pilots are seeing local prices for 100LL inch closer to $3. Jet fuel prices are climbing, too, up more than 30 percent since September. The airlines are feeling the pinch, and last week, four carriers tacked on $5 […]

Climbing Costs A Challenge To Recovery… One factor that could crimp the FAA’s cautiously rosy predictions for GA growth is the continuing rise in fuel prices. Prices at the pump last week hit an all-time high, the American Automobile Association reported, and aviation fuel prices are rising as well. If the climb continues, it could […]

The FAA’s numbers show a few bright spots despite the inescapable fact that times have been tough. Fractional-ownership programs are spurring turboprop and jet sales, new avionics are making it easier and safer to fly and “learn-to-fly” promotions are helping to bring new pilots into the fold, the FAA said. Helicopter pilots grew by almost […]

At its annual forecast conference last week, the FAA unveiled its outlook for the next decade of general aviation and compiled its statistics for 2002-2003. Overall, the FAA expects a strong recovery to continue through 2005, with moderate sustained growth thereafter. The GA fleet will expand at a rate of 1.3 percent a year, adding […]