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As many of you know, Mary and I sold Amelia's Landing Hotel to a fellow from California last fall, and retired. This splendid turn of events has had only one downside thus far: the loss of the HOPS Party sponsor. This Oshkosh party, always held on Wednesday in the North 40, dates back to...

In another thread, I marveled at the gymnastics some poor guy was going through to find a ride to Wyoming. The convoluted FAA rules banning private pilots from receiving compensation of any kind for flying are really quite amazing. Which begs the question: Why? What historic event, or train of...

My wife, Mary, and I (both pilots) have treated learning to fly exactly the same as learning to drive, when it came to our kids. When our son turned 17, he took flight lessons, and earned his private within 4 months. He flew into Oshkosh that same year, and is now 4th-year ROTC at the...

I see that the thread on "A new level of jerk-dom" is now "closed", meaning that we can no longer post or answer previous posts in that thread. I don't think I've ever seen this before. Is this a deliberate action, taken by a wizard behind a curtain somewhere, or does closure happen...

GA planes are incredibly loud. Is what we are hearing primarily engine noise? Or prop noise? I'm guessing it's engine noise. Given that, is there some reason no one has marketed a plane with real mufflers placed behind the crew cabin, like an automobile? True, this would add weight, on the...

This year at Oshkosh, Mary and I seriously zoned in on the RV-8 line. Our goal, now that we've determined that this model is the one that might work for us, was to assess the seating position and flying qualities of the bird, with the intention of buying one in the next two years. To that...

http://www.vansairforce.com/ Linky no worky. Anyone know what's going on?

When we got Atlas (our Cherokee 235 Pathfinder), back in '02, we had two almost-teenagers and a need for its enormous (1460 pound) useful load. It has served us well, as a load-hauling mini-van of the skies, for both business and pleasure. Now, one of our kids is out of the nest, the other...

...that NO ONE does on-field installations at Oshkosh? I'm in the market for a new prop this year. Why doesn't Hartzell (for example) have some A&P on commission who would come out to the North 40 and install the stupid thing right then and there? I bet they would sell a LOT of props. As a...

Since that thread was unceremoniously closed in the middle of my reply, I think we should start another one aimed at the OP. Maybe it will help? The issue (I guess?) is whether PofA should remove threads when they are proven to be bogus. Although I agree with the guy in principle -- yes, I...

Over on VAF, a large contingent of pilots are convinced that ADS-B was designed for, and will inevitably lead to, user's fees. Given the tracking capabilities inherent with the system, this is certainly plausible. What do you think?

This one is marginally more interesting than our first attempt. We simply flew over and around our beautiful island, and, other than some captioning, let the video speak for itself. Best if viewed on a big 1080P HD screen! :D

...And wants to know if we're interested in buying. He heard about us through the grapevine, where I've been spreading the word that we may be interested in the next 12 months. The plane looks every bit as awesome as, well, an RV-8A looks. Which is to say AMAZING. Dang. We're in the...

Has anyone actually seen one of these electric wonders from Gummint Motors? Maybe driven one? Any PIREPs? Now that we're getting near the end of the first model year, prices should be coming down, and all the "first year bugs" should be known. There's one on Ebay right now.

My daughter's is dead, and Xmas is almost here! Who do you guys favor?

Oh, jeez, I'm a mess. I'm afraid I've fallen head over heels in love with the most beautiful aircraft I've ever seen. Well, technically I haven't actually "seen" it, but -- thanks to the wonders of the internet -- I have gone over 192 high-resolution photos with my RV-8A guru, one rivet at a...

At my last medical, the AME in Corpus Christi determined that I was color blind, and revoked my right to fly at night. This despite my rather obvious ability to discern colors, and the fact that I never had any color deficiency until being tested on his equipment. Today I had my eyes...

...or are many "airplane for sale" ads written by illiterate clueless goobers with no idea how to actually sell an airplane? I love the ones with no engine, prop, or total times, no photos, and no email contact info. WTF are these people thinking? I haven't gone hunting for an airplane in...

http://macsblog.com/2012/06/is-ga-transportation-flying-dead/ You generally don't read stuff like this from Mac (or any of the other paid GA writer) since this is the LAST thing any aircraft manufacturer wants to publicize. In my opinion, Mac's only stating the obvious. Compared to the...

I have been a pilot for almost 20 years, flying the usual assortment of single engined spam cans. I've owned Pipers and an Ercoupe, and flown rental Cessnas. I've got hours in a fairly wide variety of aircraft, from Cubs to Constellations. But, oh, my goodness, I've never flown anything like...