Archive for May 2013
California Aviation Awareness Day
‘No Plane No Gain’ Message Highlighted at Inaugural California Aviation Awareness Day – A diverse cross section of California-based aircraft owners and operators gathered April 24 at the state capitol in Sacramento for the first-ever California Aviation Awareness Day, a two-hour interactive forum where participants were able to engage with lawmakers and the general public in discussions about the importance of the aviation industry to the California economy.
Read MoreAngel Flight West Drives Expansion
The nonprofit, volunteer-driven, non-emergency air transport organization Angel Flight West is inviting all other volunteer pilot organizations to use its new software and database system at no cost. The system facilitates management of personnel and flight requests and includes debrief capabilities “through a user-friendly, robust filtering system,” according to the group. By offering the system, free of charge, the organization hopes both to reduce the workload of individual volunteers who process and coordinate missions for similar groups, and to facilitate the expansion of public-benefit flying organizations. Angel Flight West saw a surge in activity in 2012 that left them seeking additional volunteer pilots.
Read More Santa Monica Continues its Quest to Illegally Close its Airport
AIN Blog: Goodbye SMO – The general aviation industry in the U.S. lost a key battle last night when the Santa Monica city council voted to impose higher landing fees, not just on transient aircraft but on all aircraft that use the airport. Starting August 1, even a Cessna 172 based at Santa Monica airport (SMO) flown by a local student or rental pilot will be assessed $10.96 for each landing. For training operations, that means a student pilot will end up paying $10.96 for every landing or touch-and-go. A typical business jet flying into SMO, say a Hawker 850XP, will pay $120.56, up from $45.54. Movie actor, airplane and helicopter owner-pilot Harrison Ford, who keeps his fleet at SMO, will be paying a lot more to fly from now on.
(CalPilots Editor’s Note: There are abundant monetary resources associated with the aviation community at SMO. It’s time that they organize a legal challenge of the City’s continual harassment of the airport, starting with a complete audit of all aviation related monies collected at SMO. We believe that the the City’s ongoing claim of running in deficit will be proved erroneous once the numbers are reviewed by expertise other than the current anti-airport groups).
Hiller Aviation Museum – Seaplane Adventure!
Saturday May 4th 10AM-3PM – San Carlos, CA. – Come see this beautiful Grumman Mallard along with other fantastic seaplanes on Saturday, May 4th at Seaplane Adventure at the Hiller Aviation Museum. Seaplane Adventure features a fly-in of “amphibious” aircraft from around the western United States. These planes can operate from land as well as…
Read More2013 National Safety Stand Down – Glendale Community College
Date: Saturday, May 4, 2013 starting at 9:30 am PDT – Please let your members know about our free event & lunch. https://www.facebook.com/events/328047307318315/ GCC and the GCC Aviation & Space Club together with the FAA Safety FAASTeam is pleased to host a presentation offered by select Aviation Experts for this year’s 2013 National Safety Stand Down. Thousands of pilots across the country will come together as a Safety Community to participate in a dynamic, interactive program devoted to Local Safety Issues, Loss of Control, and the number one aviation fatal factor – Human Error. RSVP: http://www.faasafety.gov/SPANS/event_details.aspx?eid=49787
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