Opinion

The new BasicMedical will help lots of pilots. Is that enough? I know that it’s not the most popular position to take about one of the biggest liberalizations of flying regulations in decades, often referred to as the driver’s license medical, but let’s talk about managing expectations. Here’s something you won’t hear from many pundits […]

What the acquisition likely means for Diamond’s future in GA. The truth is that increasingly the future of light GA manufacturing in the United States is an airway that goes directly through China. So like it or not, our aviation fortunes are inextricably linked to our nation’s relationship with the Asian world power. With this […]

It’s easy to listen to the naysayers in aviation, but by any measure it’s been a remarkable year for general aviation. From great new airplanes and technological advancements, to innovative companies and regulatory gains, aviation had a banner year in 2106. Here are our picks for the Plane & Pilot Platinum Awards. Piper M600 Piper […]

Here’s why the Feds called BS on Santa Monica’s airport business evictions. Santa Monica Municipal is a historically significant and busy little single-strip city airport, but if the City of Santa Monica had its way, the facility would be a ghost town already. The city officially says it’ll be a park, but there’s good reason […]

When Cirrus earned FAA approval for its SF50 last month, it was a monumental achievement. Here are the reasons that’s so. It’s tempting to dismiss one of the biggest news stories of the year, the FAA’s awarding type certification to Cirrus Aircraft for its SF50 Vision Jet, but we should avoid any such urge to […]

President-elect Trump’s plan to base out of New York City raises tricky security and access questions. When Donald Trump won the United States presidential election in early November, he did so in part because of his promise to “drain the swamp” that he believes Washington, D.C. politics to be. Now it seems that part of […]

Flytenow’s model got shot down by the FAA. Not so fast, says the Internet startup. For decades, private pilots who took along paying friends on trips have been targets for the FAA, which strictly limits a pilot’s right to collect fees from passengers. So when Flytenow started its ride-sharing business a couple of years ago, […]

Probability and hype in the new airplane game. By now you might have heard about the new Boom supersonic jet, a “demonstrator” version that’s set to fly sometime in 2017. That’s what the company making the jet, Boom Technology, out of Denver, Colorado, says anyway. Um!okay. Now here’s what will really happen. Let me start […]

A non-partisan look at how the new president’s policies will affect pilots and manufacturers. It’s been said again and again, and here I am saying it, too. Donald Trump’s ascension to power is unlike any other individual’s in our nation’s history. There has, thank goodness, never, ever been a presidential election like this in the […]

On separate sides of the continent, a pair of oceanside municipalities are getting evil in their attempts to shut down historic airfields. You have to give a little credit to former Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley, who in March of 2003 ordered city crews to destroy Meigs Field, the iconic Chicago general aviation destination that […]