The time is now ~ at Santa Monica Airport!

CalPilots
 

CPA-logo-smallAs you may know, Santa Monica Airport (SMO) is under siege by a very small segment of the local population that has succeeded, over time, in getting sway over the City Council.

We need to change that. SMO is a frequent stop for many of you. It is a vital part of our National Airspace System. If SMO goes, so will other airports  ~ SMO is not a single airport; it is, effectively, a signal airport.

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Pilots complain of brightness from huge solar farm

CalPilots

solar farmRIVERSIDE, Calif.—Pilots flying over the world’s largest solar power plant in the Mojave Desert have complained of nearly blinding glare from the sun’s reflection off its vast array of mirrors.

Two anonymous complaints were filed with the federal government in August, months before the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System formally opened across roughly 5 square miles of federal land near the California-Nevada border, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reported Friday ( http://bit.ly/1gomgrN).

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Skydiving at GA Airports – Is it Safe?

CalPilots

There has been substancial controversy regarding whether the “right” of Skydiving Schools to use use GA airports as landing zones is in conflict with the safety issue involved. This is from a recent incident where luckily, no one was hurt. http://www.myfoxorlando.com/story/24923080/2014/03/08/plane-collides-into-skydivers-parachute-mid-air

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California Laser Striker Sentenced To 14 Years In Prison

CalPilots

Believed To Be the Longest Sentence Ever Imposed In A Laser-Strike Case

Sergio Patrick Rodriguez, 26, of Clovis, CA, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for aiming a laser pointer at Fresno police helicopter Air 1 (pictured), and attempting to interfere with its operation, according to United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner. Calling him a “walking crime spree,” United States District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill said the crime was serious with potentially deadly consequences.

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Bill to eliminate medicals for more pilots introduced in Senate

CalPilots

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Three members of the U.S. Senate introduced a bill Tuesday, March 11, which mirrors one introduced in the House of Representatives last December, which would eliminate the medical requirement for non-commercial pilots flying day VFR below 14,000 feet in aircraft weighing less than 6,000 pounds and carrying no more than six people.…

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