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Talk about your roller-coaster. From 80 and 90 degree afternoons to freezing mornings, the wild swings of our spring climate last week kept a measure of uncertainty over the aviation world, as it did the farming community. From the air, the countryside was seen laying ready for planting, with green showing up in pastures and wheat.
Not too many movements were seen on the runway recently, or over it. The usual Army Guard Black Hawk UH60 helicopter made a pass, a Piper Archer trainer did a touch-and-go and we were visited by various other low-wing singles, including a Cirrus SR20 and a Piper Cherokee D.
From the local hangars, Les Gorden’s Beech Bonanza E35 flew out and Christian Tucker’s Mooney M20C and Jeremie Platt’s Grumman Tiger took wing. The last-Saturday breakfast flight went off without a hitch and the SkyDive KC soft opening for the jump season took up a few Cessna loads of parachutists.
Whenever there’s a notable airplane accident, there’s always a “we’ve gotta DO something” response that spawns legislation and policy pronouncements, not always to the ultimate benefit. An ALERT bill was passed in Congress last week, ordering the FAA to write a rule requiring ADSB-In equipment to be used in transponder-required airspace by the end of next year. This comes from the collision last year at Washington’s National airport between a small airliner and an Army helicopter. There were many factors in play that night, and requiring another gadget in the cockpits probably wouldn’t have made much difference, but it looks like we’re going to be stuck with it.
And already there’s hand-wringing over the lack of a transponder in the fire truck that was hit during a landing rollout on the runway at New York LaGuardia Sunday night, causing the death of two Canadian commuter-airliner pilots. Sadly, the unique combination of a dark, rainy night, poor communication and split-second timing resulted in the crash. Having every vehicle on the field squawking a code can’t fix every contingency. Nor did taking the harried president of Air Canada to task for giving his video condolences only in English seem worthwhile.
You can scratch the City of Mesa, Arizona off your list of welcoming places you want to fly into. As of May 1, it’ll cost you $24.35 to land there in your small plane; other fees like parking and service already await you. Based aircraft will get the first 10 1andings for free. That should cause traffic to decline, which of course will require an increase in the landing fee, in a never-ending cycle.
In a case of granting relief we didn’t know we needed, the U.S. House of Representatives just passed a bill forcing the FAA to allow pilots to carry their Airman’s certificates around on their cellphone, instead of in hard-copy form in an oh-so-nineties wallet. So, if you get asked to present your credentials, you can now thumb through your screen to show them. Whoopie.
Last week’s question was about the kind of engine used to power the Sonex series of kit airplane. Most builders use the 80-hp Aero-Vee based on the 2180cc Volkwagen car motor. In an unrelated development, it was announced last Friday that Sonex Aircraft is shutting down and taking bankruptcy. For next week’s quiz, tell us which Congressman, chair of the House Aviation sub-committee, is retiring after 20 years. You can send your answers to kochhaus1@gmail.com.
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