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A return to late-summer heat crowded aviation into early-and-late hours last week, in an effort to beat the 90-degree portion of the day. Oil temperature indications once again crowded the redline, as air-cooled engines did their best. Methinks the old straight-40 weight oil we used to use did a better job in hot weather than these modern multi-grade lubricants.
The in-and-out airplanes seen this week tended toward the Cessna variety. We saw a 210 Centurion, a 182 Skylane and 172 Skyhawk stop by, and a new 206 Stationair came in from Tyler, Texas on Friday seeking fuel, to no avail. The nine-month avgas drought at Butler continued last week; the new pump now runs but refuses to dispense. Adding insult to injury, Harrisonville’s pump was also down last week, so all we could do was point the Iowa-bound Texans toward Lee’s Summit and wish them well.
We heard that commissioner Susie Serna’s service on the Butler Airport Commission ended last week. A rated pilot, Susie spent a lot of time at the airport, observing and recommending improvement. Her enthusiasm will be missed.
Last week saw the revival of the National Air Races, now relocated to Roswell, New Mexico from its former home at Reno, Nevada. There were only five classes running this year, STOL, Formula One, Biplane, T-6 and Jet, as the big Unlimited racers sat it out, but the crowds were reported to be large and enthusiastic.
The FAA is taking comments for the next few weeks on a proposal to rewrite the right-of-way rules to accommodate drones in the low-altitude airspace. Historically, unmanned aircraft like model planes and hobby drones have had to stay clear of piloted air traffic, but the surging sales of cheap Chinese UAV’s (unmanned aerial vehicles) have brought lobbying action to Congress, as operators are no longer content to keep visual watch over their charges. Now CVS and Amazon are wanting to drop packages on our doorstep with their buzzing mechanical buzzards, all autonomously driven. Under the proposed new rules, low-flying agricultural and patrol aircraft will have to give way to drone traffic unless equipped with ADS-B gear, like that required to fly at major airports. You have until October 6 to comment on the new FAR Part 108 change.
In yet another setback for the Green forces seeking impractical solutions to perceived problems, Dutch oil giant Shell has abandoned its five-year-old plans to convert its big Rotterdam jet fuel plant to “sustainable” feed stock. Europe is pushing to become “carbon neutral” in aviation by 2030, but Shell says it can’t make money on reclaiming cooking oil and biomass so it’ll keep on using North Sea crude oil for refining jet fuel.
A hard-landing event on the Caribbean island of Sait Maartin last September 7th has resulted in total write-off of the Canadian Westjet Boeing 737. The tiny runway there has always been tricky to land on, and the day of the accident was particularly windy, leading the pilot to bang the plane down to hit the required touchdown spot. The right main landing gear was shoved up through the wing and the plane slid down the runway on the underwing engine nacelle. No injuries were reported but it took 24 hours to get the wreckage off the runway.
Our weekly quiz from last time was easy, wanting to know the official name of the old Boeing B-52 bomber. Reader Terry Bishop knew it was “Stratofortress,” which was a combination of the B-47 Stratojet and B-29 Superfortress. For next week’s brain-teaser, tell us the definition of “usable fuel.” You can send your answers to kochhaus1@gmail.com.
