Two Flying Cars March 20, 2012
Posted by Jason in Daily PM.Tags: Aviation, Technology
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There is a real-time demonstration going on right now, as two separate companies strive to meld aircraft with road vehicles. But the demonstration isn’t what you think. It’s not about their respective projects, but about the companies themselves.
Terrafugia is a relatively well-funded startup that now has a flying prototype under its belt. The core MIT crew has a wealth of aeronautical design experience, and is actively working with both the FAA and NHTSA to certify the Transition vehicle as being both air- and road-worthy. They have come a long way, and there is still a long way to go. But they are very close to having a production vehicle in public use. Like another similar company, Icon, they are a team of quick-thinkers who have the means to rapidly test and modify the craft as the weight, balance, performance, and features are regularly traded off. They are a team of true aeronautical entrepreneurs.
Samson Motorworks also has a prototype, just a bit behind Terrafugia’s in 
terms of both funding and airframe construction. They have solid computer simulations of airworthiness, but alas, only a road-based prototype for now. Building a roadable aircraft isn’t easy.
But when we hear about small businesses being job creators, these are the people we’re talking about. Unfortunately, in the early stages of the game, the jobs themselves are in short supply, and they tend not to be stable. In order to work for them, one needs to be a self-sufficient entrepreneur – tolerant of risk and uncertainty. With time, if these designs truly take off, they will become standard outputs of an assembly line somewhere. In many politicians’ minds, those are the jobs they’re counting on. Fine jobs, to be sure, but not the same as the original founders and risk-takers.
The adventure wears off, the science gives way to engineers, which gives way to technicians (as Clifford Stoll might say), which gives way to mere advertising. There is much to be grateful for in security and stability. But there is a passion and a love of the chase in creating something new. I hope these valuable people stay in the game and continue the pursuit of the unusual and the untried. Not for jobs, but for the love of discovery.
Can You Beat the TSA? March 16, 2011
Posted by Jason in Uncategorized.Tags: Aviation
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The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) has reported that business aviation has experienced a recent uptick – due in part to the hassles (e.g., advanced imaging technology or, perhaps, somewhat less advanced manual “imaging”) facing business travelers who still fly commercial air. Mostly, this refers to charter, fractional ownership, and other high-end travel options. But some people have begun considering obtaining a pilot’s license and aircraft to be able to fly themselves to reach customers and business partners across the country. Though I fully support anyone’s effort to reach such a goal, there are many considerations of safety, money, and raw commitment that should be part of the analysis.
I had the opportunity to talk with such a pilot, as well as a flight instructor and a charter pilot, to get their views on the subject. If you’re interested in what general aviation can (and can’t) do for you and your business, take a look at the published stories in the Billings, MT Magic City Magazine – and happy flying!
Not Just USA Today… September 17, 2009
Posted by Jason in Uncategorized.Tags: Aviation
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In the spirit of national media groupthink, the Today Show also aired a companion piece about general aviation airports being somehow a waste of taxpayer dollars. The letter below is a response to both from Craig Fuller, president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA):
USA Today and ‘Today’ show airport funding stories lack balance
A statement from AOPA President Craig Fuller
By AOPA President Craig Fuller
The September 17 article titled “Feds keep little-used airports in business” is a story completely devoid of journalistic balance that fails to acknowledge the millions of Americans who benefit from the nation’s 5,200 general aviation airports every day.
The article cites statistics on airport spending but gives only part of the story. It completely ignores the fact that Congress regularly allocates far more for air carrier airports than for general aviation airports. For instance, in 2007, general aviation airports receiving money got an average of $750,000 for improvements while commercial air carrier airports that received funding got an average of $5.5 million each—more than seven times the amount awarded to smaller fields!
The story talks about the woes of commercial travel but fails to note that the thousands of flights made each day from small general aviation airports nationwide are actually relieving those problems. In fact, if our country’s general aviation airports were to close, those flights would be forced to operate out of our already overcrowded air carrier airports, increasing delays, slowing traffic, and extending security lines.
General aviation pilots and passengers fly for exactly the same reasons as commercial travelers—to conduct business, visit family and friends, and take vacations. But private pilots and airplanes also fly thousands of hours in volunteer efforts including medical transport, humanitarian relief, and search and rescue operations.
Having convenient access to small airports in communities around the country is as vital to our national transportation system as having highway off-ramps in small towns. To suggest that smaller airports are not needed is just like suggesting that we should have a road system that connects only the country’s 150 largest cities. The truth is that small airports do bring business, jobs, and services—including disaster relief, package delivery, firefighting capability, law enforcement, and emergency medical transportation—to thousands of communities nationwide every day. And that’s good for America.
USA Today Botches the Front Page September 17, 2009
Posted by Jason in Uncategorized.Tags: Aviation
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The title of this post is my own, though the following story is taken from the Aircraft Owner’s and Pilots Association (AOPA) website. It is reprinted here for the convenience of non-members who do not have access to the original source.
If you’ve already read the article, please note that the “big” airports (the hubs that serve the major airlines) are most similar to the old train routes of centuries’ past. Would you favor pumping additional dollars into that system if it meant that your local city streets became crumbled beyond repair? That is USA Today’s feeling. Small, local airports “cater” to private aviation (per the article) the same way that your neighborhood streets “cater” to your personal automobiles. Unfortunately, USA Today has badly distorted the facts about aviation in the United States and the benefits derived from it – even misrepresenting Rep. James Oberstar’s position on the issue. Please read AOPA’s response below, and look for a follow up by the AOPA president.
USA Today slants coverage to favor airlines
By Chris Dancy
USA Today on Thursday published a slanted, one-sided front-page story designed to whip up negative sentiment against general aviation and to perpetuate public misconceptions about GA. NBC’s “Today” show did a companion story that also ran on the MSNBC cable news outlet which was equally as negative, although it was somewhat more balanced in its presentation.
“The story is completely devoid of journalistic balance and fails to acknowledge the millions of Americans who benefit from the nation’s 5,200 general aviation airports every day,” said AOPA President Craig Fuller.
AOPA’s media relations staff learned of the story a week before it was published and had a lengthy conversation with the USA Today reporter, but was not included in the article.
The USA Today article focuses on spending at GA airports but provides absolutely no perspective. The article does not mention how much Airport Improvement Program (AIP) money is spent at air carrier airports, or that in a typical year, Congress allocates $3 for air carrier airport improvements to every $1 to be spent at GA airports.
The USA Today article and its companion Today Show piece both entice the audience to equate airline ticket tax income with airport expenditures. Neither story makes any effort to tell the audience that GA operators contribute to the same trust fund through fuel taxes that are five times higher than the airlines’, or that the fund also pays for the air traffic control system, of which the airlines are the primary beneficiary.
So what are the facts?
Let’s look at 2007, a fairly typical year for AIP funding.
The FAA distributed $3.34 billion in AIP funds to 2,610 airports.
341 primary airports—airports with more than 100,000 passenger boardings each year—received $2.1 billion in AIP funds. That’s an average of $6.17 million per airport.
48 commercial service airports—airports with between 2,500 and 100,000 passenger boardings—received $93 million, or an average of $1.94 million per airport.
139 GA reliever airports received $214 million, or an average of $1.54 million
982 GA airports received $617 million, or an average of $628,000.
Combined, the 389 airline airports divvied up $2,199,335,046, averaging $5.5 million per airport. The 1,121 GA airports shared $831,717,227, averaging $741,942.
An addition, $310 million was distributed through state block grant programs.
Local realities differ from national “perspective”
On the same day that the two stories ran nationally, a number of local news outlets did their own versions of the story and came to radically different conclusions.
“Officials defend role of small airports: Facilities open more areas to business world,” reported Nashville’s The Tenneseean newspaper.
“Local airports say fed funds put to good use,” said the Greenville News of Greenville, S.C.
And, “Business taking off,” stated The Record of Stockton, Calif., simply.
Two years ago, when the Associated Press ran a similarly negative article on federal dollars going to GA airports, the same thing happened: local follow-up stories showed that the money was well spent and benefitted the communities.
“Having convenient access to small airports in communities around the country is as vital to our national transportation system as having highway off-ramps in small towns,” concluded Fuller. “To suggest that smaller airports are not needed is just like suggesting that we should have a road system that connects only the country’s 150 largest cities.
“The truth is that small airports do bring business, jobs, and services—including disaster relief, package delivery, firefighting capability, law enforcement, and emergency medical transportation—to thousands of communities nationwide every day. And that’s good for America.”
FAA as PM June 13, 2009
Posted by Jason in Daily PM.Tags: Aviation, Tradeoffs
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The FAA has recently been working on a plan to consolidate many of its meteorologists into two locations in Maryland and Kansas City. This may seem somewhat benign to non-pilots, but represents a significant potential for safety degradation. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association has called the plan “foolish” and “reckless”.
As a pilot myself, I look at the plan a few different ways. (more…)
