Business & Military

A year and a half ago, it dawned on me that what I most enjoyed about my previous career as a science communications consultant was when I got to commute to visit clients in my faithful Cessna 180. With some 1500 hours in my logbook—accumulated primarily on those business trips—I sent out my rsum to […]

Rep. Pete DeFazio, D-Ore., is the new chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and he’s made it clear his emphasis will be on the latter rather than the former. DeFazio says he intends to have a comprehensive infrastructure bill before Congress in six months and that likely means aviation issues will be […]

The government shutdown has reached beyond the national airspace system and postponed at least one space launch. According to spacenews.com, Exos Aerospace intended to launch its SARGE suborbital rocket from Spaceport America in New Mexico on Saturday but pushed it back to Feb. 9 in hopes FAA staff will be back at work and able […]

In case there were any doubts that the pilot shortage is real, the South China Morning Post is reporting that China’s People’s Liberation Army has joined the rest of the aviation world and launched a pilot recruitment drive. The army has created a flashy promotional video aimed at 17- to 20-year-olds and 2019 high school […]

Herbert D. “Herb” Kelleher, the maverick and much beloved co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of Southwest Airlines, passed away on Thursday, Jan. 3. He was 87. Herb was a young lawyer recently relocated from the East Coast to Texas when a client, Rollin King, approached him about helping him start a low-fare intra-Texas airline. The eventual […]

As the government shutdown grinds on with no end in sight, calls from the aviation industry to restore funding are getting more strident and the system is starting to show some strain. Possibly the biggest concern is the furloughing of 3,000 “safety specialists,” who support air traffic control functions. Another concern is that virtually all […]

Rolls-Royce is heading up the development of an aircraft that it says will set speed records for electric aircraft and further advance emission-free flight. The “Accelerating the Electrification of Flight” project (ACCEL) is taking shape in southern England and that shape looks a lot like the Nemesis NXT Relentless racing plane. Rolls-Royce is planning to […]

Archaic Flight Procedures I learned to fly in the 70s and have been flying my own airplane since then. At that time, I didn’t think the private pilot flight training was overly difficult. Over the past 40 years since getting my license I have been upgrading the equipment in my plane primarily to make flight […]

Here is a text message exchange between a pilot and his wife on Facebook. It’s always better at home when your flying spouse knows proper ATC phraseology. Husband: “On the train. Arrive 16:51.” Wife: “Rog. Report Sevenoaks.” Husband: “Wilco.” John Templeton Washington, UT

Co-founder of Southwest Airlines Herbert Kelleher passed away on Thursday at the age of 87. Kelleher incorporated the Air Southwest Company with businessman Rollin King in 1967 with the goal of creating an affordable airline service in Texas. The first Southwest flight took off in 1971 after several years of legal battles. Kelleher, who was […]