James Lawrence

It’s premature if not off the point to say this exotic, beautiful prototype will be the death of the helicopter. I will flat out make a prediction: a whole new type of flight is here…and it will change everything…and I mean everything about how we fly. I was musing the other day, while catching up […]

Put on them bibs, pardners, if you’ve got an appetite for one of the tastiest S-LSA out there. Last year, Vans Aircraft came out with its Signature Series, an even dozen pre-built SLSA. They were built by Vans kit builder support company Synergy Air of Eugene, Oregon. Now I’m not trying to set you up […]

A story posted by Daniel McCoy, a reporter for the Wichita Business Journal, claims the star-crossed Cessna 162 Skycatcher will likely not enjoy the longevity and success of other notable Cessna icons such as the C-172 and C-150/152. The Skycatcher was one of the first SLSA out of the gate for the new category created […]

Yes, Airventure fans, it’s been fair, mild, low humidity, refreshing, beautiful weather…all descriptors none of us is used to using in the same sentence with the words Oshkosh and summer. It’s been a delight not to drop with exhaustion at the end of a long day slogging around the miles of paths and thousands of […]

In the wee and foot-throbbing hours after wandering the highways and byways of the vast Oshkosh Airventure showgrounds all day, here’s a taste of some of the cool things encountered so far from my abbreviated visit – my 32nd year in attendance since 1981…and every year brings new wonders and old friends: threads of gold […]

“How ya gonna keep ’em down on the farm…after they’ve seen Paree?” That’s a timely reprise of an old show tune to bring our attention to the Paris Air Show, which is sending out some ripples in the “What’s New” Dept.. I’m always thinking about electric flight. If we manage to survive as a species […]

It’s the third day at Sun ‘n Fun. Breezy, hottish (high 80s), humid: in other words, classic Florida Spring weather. The attendance seems steady if not overwhelming. I’ve been hanging out a lot in the new Paradise City Light Sport/Ultralight area and grass landing strip in the southeast corner of Lakeland Linder Airport, and enthusiastically […]

With all the concern around the FAA’s officially announcing the closing of 149 ATC control towers, Pilot Workshops of Nashua, NH is getting with the program to help ease pilot anxiety about the transition. The company just put out three free videosthat are aimed to help us all refresh our memories aboutNon-Towered Airport operations. PilotWorkshops […]

UPDATE TO POST BELOW: CHICAGO – Mar 22 – Associated Press announced that the FAA put the final list of air traffic control tower closures at 149. The process of shutdown will start early in April. One key point: closures will not force the airports themselves to shut down, but all pilots will use unicom […]

My flyin’ pal,industry leader and co-blogger Dan Johnson suggested recently that I throw some tips your way about how I put together and do air2air photography. Since I’ve done around 600 in my 30 year career, it’s not a topic I have to research, always good news. So for those of you interested in what […]