Posts by Andy Wilson
Oceanside – Council Pays Honor by Renaming Bridge and Airfield
OCEANSIDE — City Council paid honor to Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. and Oceanside resident and airman, the late Bob Maxwell, by renaming the Mission Avenue Bridge after King and the airfield at Oceanside Municipal Airport after Maxwell on Nov. 7. The council voted unanimously to rename the bridge that crosses Mission Avenue the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Bridge.
Read MoreOpen Letter to Congressman Issa on NOAA's West Coast Wild Life Airspace Change
Read our letter to California Congressman Issa regarding the NOAA’s – National Marine Sanctuaries unwarranted air space change implemented earlier this year. While we all agree that protecting wild life is a good thing, we disagree with the NOAA’s lack of justification, and NOAA’s threat posture of – guilty until proven innocent – associated with this change. It is unacceptable – period.
Read MoreControversy Continues at Sonoma Valley Airport (0Q3)
There is a feud underway between the owner of the Lealand Fly Fishing Ranch and pilots who use California’s Sanoma Valley Airport (0Q3). Ranch owner Josh Frazier has erected a solid-log fence across the airport’s runway safety overrun area.
Sonoma pilot David Mace has placed a petition on the website “Change.org” in an effort to build support for the removal of the fence.
Read MorePalo Alto Airport Day A Resounding Success
Once again Airport Day attracted a good crowd and people learned a lot about their airport. As always, the tower tours were a hit as were the EAA Young Eagles flights. The formation flight was impressive and it really showed the interesting things that ordinary GA aircraft can do. We estimate that between 3000 and 4000 attended. Palo Alto Mayor Yiaway Yeh who gave a brief welcoming statement, was very impressed with the crowd and commented on the range of ages and diversity among attendees.
Avgas Issues Will Take Time To Resolve
The aviation industry is slowly headed toward development of an unleaded replacement fuel for avgas-burning piston-powered aircraft, and a recent move by the FAA is an encouraging sign that progress will continue. The FAA recently agreed to open a new Fuels Program Office, according to NATA, that will provide “technical expertise and strategic direction in…
Read MoreTehachapi, CA. – New Motel [Location] Approval Appealed
Airport hangar owner Ken Hetge files an appeal. Photo by Ed GordonAn action by the Tehachapi Planning Commission to approve the architectural design and site plan for a planned 69-room, three-story Motel 6 on a 1.06 acre site in Capital Hills has been appealed to the Tehachapi City Council.
Ken Hetge, a hangar owner at the airport, objected to the motel over concerns that the flight path of the airport passes over the site. Last week he paid the $1561 city filing fee on behalf of hangar owners. The appeal will come before City Council at a future meeting.
However, it seems that even at the time Planning Commissioners approved the project, the property owner Terry Delamater — and city officials — knew that Delamater no longer intended to build a Motel 6 on the site.
Read MoreAirport Land Use Commissions (ALUC)
We are continuously posting articles about airport sponsors, city or county, ignoring the state’s Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC) function. This commission was created to mitigate issues between inappropriate land development around our state airports. The following, while a bit long, is a primer on ALUC’s. The entire Division or Aeronautics manual on is also attached as a PDF file. While you may not wish to read the entire manual, it is an excellent reference for protecting your airport. Please download it for reference.
Read MoreShuttle Endeavour's flyover Southern California
In case you haven’t seen it here is a video (about 15 minutes long) of the shuttle flyover in SOCAL. Enjoy. Shuttle Endeavour’s flyover Southern California
Read MoreXCOR – One of Mojave's Space Companies
(Photo Credit: XCOR)Outer space just seems a bit closer these days. Just weeks after Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner awed the world with a stratospheric skydive, a California aerospace firm is hoping send even more people to the edge of space with a hypersonic aircraft capable of cruising at 3.5 times the speed of sound.
Mojave-based XCOR is currently busy constructing the “Lynx,” a two-seater commercial craft supposedly capable of cruising 62 miles above the Earth’s surface at speeds of more than 2,500 miles per hour.”I’m excited as hell,” XCOR Chief Operating Officer Andrew Nelson told ABC News. “It’s going to be the most exciting suborbital space flight you will ever take.”
The ride, the entirety of which takes about 30 to 45 minutes, consists of a rocket-powered ascent, several minutes of microgravity coasting near the edge of space, re-entry and a gliding landing similar to that of a space shuttle. Read MoreOnline calculator Sums up Aviation Benefits in Washington (State)
