I have never been to the Aviation Hall of Fame and it is certainly on my list of things to do. Many, many years ago I actually lived in Cincinnati, Ohio which is about an hour south of Dayton, but we never went. The most recent inductee to the museum is going to be actor and director Cliff Robertson, who has been a pilot for over 50 years.

He’s being inducted in large part for his advocacy of aviation as well as his humanitarian work involving the use of aircraft to deliver supplies to areas destroyed by natural disaster and civil war. He has also served as chairman of the Young Eagles program, which is run by the EAA to introduce children to the world of aviation. If you remember, Chuch Yeager was also the chairman of Young Eagles and the current chairman is Harrison Ford.

When Robertson was a kid growing up in California, he washed airplanes and cleaned engines at the airport in exchange for flight time. Usually this was just a 15 minute ride in a Taylor Cub, but he enjoyed every minute of it. He used this experience to start the Cliff Robertson Work Experience in the EAA, which provides a way for youths to work in exchange for flight and ground instruction. I often hear of many older pilots who did this very thing as a kid, so it’s pretty cool to see that there is an organized program for it.

His acting career has been quite successful, with 77 films to his credit. This success has allowed him to own many aircraft including the Messerschmitt BF 108, a Beech Baron, a French Stampe Biplane, and a DeHaviland Tiger Moth. Because of his popularity , he is a great advocate for general aviation.

You can read more about Cliff Robertson at the Aviation Hall of Fame website.

Two pilots from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University are flying a new Piper Seneca V from Florida to Denmark.  Along the way, they will be promoting aviation to the general public.  Crossing the North Atlantic is an airplane is done many times daily by large jets, but smaller piston powered aircraft face more challenges that makes this harder than a typical cross country flight.  The pair have been trying to get the trip sponsored for 3 years but it has been difficult due to insurance liability.

Read more about the North Atlantic Challenge on the Embry-Riddle website.

Ethanol…that magic solution to high gas prices and cleaner burning fuel.  Works great in cars, but not so great in airplanes.  Apparently the authors of H.R. 4357 and S. 3553 didn’t know that when the drafted the “10 by 10 Act”.  This legislation requires all motor fuel sold in the United States to consist of at least 10% “renewable fuel” by the year 2010.  The problem with this plan is that the FAA and Cessna have determined that Ethanol based fuels cannot be safely used in airplanes.  This type of fuel attracts water, which can lead to engine failure.  In addition, these fuels cause all sorts of problems with fuel filters, fuel gauges, and fuel pumps. 

AOPA is in the process of educating our lawmakers about these problems.  Hopefully they can get exemptions for AvGas and provisions for “non-ethanol” based fuel to be available for those aircraft STCd for autogas use.

If you are not a member of AOPA, here is a good reason to join – they actually do good things with your money. 

(photo and information provided by AOPA)

The FAA announced today that it is phasing in the Airspace Flow Program in order to better handle the flow of air traffic through areas affected by severe weather.  In the past, ATC has used “ground stops” which affected many more aircraft than necessary.  With the new AFP in place, controllers will be able to issue departure times to specific aircraft that have flight plans through the sectors with severe weather.  Aircraft not traversing the affected areas will not be delayed.

This should definitely help – just last week my family and I were returning on a commercial flight from Illinois to Atlanta.  We were at the hold short line, just about to depart, when ATC issued a ground stop for all traffic coming into Atlanta.  There were storms northeast of the area, which meant one of the busiest arrival corridors was totally hosed.  Traffic already enroute to ATL was being re-routed to the northwest, which further congested that arrival route.   Under the new system, ATC now has the ability to issue departure times to individual aircraft heading for the affected area.
The FAA press release is here…

AOPA’s Project Pilot program was featured on NBC’s Today show this morning. Many times the regular media get general aviation facts wrong, so it was good to see a positive report, especially when so many people were watching. In case you missed it, you can watch the report online here.