AIN Blogs

AIN Blog: Congress Once Again Says ‘No’ to User Fees
March 2, 2012 - 2:42pm
Paul Lowe
Rep. Jerry Costello

The leaders of the House aviation subcommittee have sent a letter to President Obama opposing his inclusion of a $100 aviation user fee in his Fiscal Year 2013 budget proposal. It was signed by 195 members of the full House of Representatives.

While we’d like to think the current and future White House budget directors will finally get the message, don’t bet your farm on it. It’s often said that bad ideas never die in Washington.
AIN Blog: Wanted: Birdbrains
March 1, 2012 - 9:15am
Nigel Moll

“Birdbrain…” It’s more an insult to our feathered brethren than to the human deemed short on intellect.
AIN Blog: Surprise! Obama Goes To Bat for Boeing
February 28, 2012 - 5:08pm
Gregory Polek
United Boeing 737

One has to wonder what all the conservative pundits who decry the Obama Administration’s supposed anti-business bias think about the President’s recent visit to Boeing in Everett, Wash., and his pledge to in effect use the ExIm Bank to support domestic sales of 737s. In the realm of civil aircraft
AIN Blog: Emissions Trading Scheme Generates Confusion and Confrontation
February 28, 2012 - 2:43pm
Matt Thurber

Sometimes the simplest solution is the best, but good luck getting politicians on board when the subject involves the emissions trading scheme (ETS), which was implemented by the European Union on January 1.
Readers Choose Former Cessna CEO for Top FAA Post
February 20, 2012 - 7:53pm
R. Randall Padfield

In an informal reader poll conducted on AINonline, readers chose Jack Pelton, the former CEO of Cessna Aircraft, by a margin of 46 percent (89 votes) to be the next FAA Administrator.
AIN Blog: Gadgets Are Great
February 20, 2012 - 8:34am
Kirby J. Harrison
Trakkabeam A800

The average business aviation trade show is a world of gadgets. Hundreds of them. Some lesser, some greater. Some large, some small. Some serious, and at the same time downright amusing, depending on your perspective. Heli-Expo 2012, held earlier this month in Dallas, had its share of gadgets, and I use that term rather loosely, with a certain poetic license.
AIN Blog: 60 Years On, Canada’s Arrow Is Still Remembered
February 17, 2012 - 4:55pm
Curt Epstein
Avro Arrow

Next month marks the 60th anniversary of the birth of one of aviation’s great “might-have-beens.” The start of development of an aircraft that became a source of national pride. The start of an aircraft that could have been a world-beater. I’m referring to Canada’s mighty Avro CF-105 Arrow fighter. But an even more recent anniversary looms on Monday: the 53rd anniversary of its death.
AIN Blog: The S-92 is on a Tour To Honor Heroes
February 11, 2012 - 1:30am
Matt Thurber
Sikorsky S-92 Legacy of Heroes tour

A crew of talented pilots and maintenance technicians is having an amazing adventure, flying a new Sikorsky S-92 all over the world to showcase the helicopter’s search-and-rescue capabilities.
AIN Blog: Torqued: Evacuation Safety Deserves FAA Attention
February 8, 2012 - 2:29pm
John Goglia

I would bet that I am not the only one involved with aviation who has had emergency evacuations on his mind. Many of us watching the nightmare crash and sinking of the Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy in January were horrified by the unprofessional approach to evacuating the ship.
AIN Blog: Unmanned Aircraft Coming to Airspace Near You
February 6, 2012 - 9:24pm
Matt Thurber
Model of Hughes H-1 Racer

Get ready for some serious angst. The FAA reauthorization just passed by the U.S. House and Senate includes specific direction to the FAA regarding unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Elements of the legislation include a Sept.

Pages