California Airports

With hundreds of participants left hanging after the cancellation of this year’s Bonneville Speed Week, organizers of the event managed to secure another location for the annual event, moving it temporarily to the Mojave Air and Space Port, home of the Mojave Mile speed trials.

Scheduled for this weekend, Speed Week had attracted more than 550 entries from all over the globe – racers bent on testing their hot rods, streamliners, and motorcycles on the salt of Bonneville. Even after the announcement of Speed Week’s cancellation last month, enough of the people who had entered still wanted to race, so officials at the Southern California Timing Association searched for an alternative venue.

U.S. House and Senate approval of a three-month extension of the highway reauthorization bill late last week dimmed hopes for renewal of the Export-Import Bank’s charter before its funding runs out on September 30. At the same time, backers of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 (PBOR 2) must look for a new means to…

NIMBY Group Looks To Stir Up Anti-KSMO Sentiment

Soliciting Complaint Forms For Members Of Congress To Take To The FAA

In an effort to have further restrictions placed on Santa Monica Airport … or close it all together … a group describing itself as a “growing network including thousands of people from our local community” has put up a website in an effort to get involved in “shaping the future use of the Santa Monica Airport Land to better the lives of our entire community and future generations.”

You can bet that it doesn’t involve airplanes.

2015 San Carlos Airport Open House,Regular contributor Hayman Tam sent in these photos from the third annual Open House at San Carlos Airport (KSQL) in California. He reports that thousands of residents flocked to the airport for the event. With gorgeous weather, this one-day event was a great opportunity for the community to interact with…

Actor Harrison Ford, other Santa Monica Airport tenants and national aviation groups filed a federal complaint Wednesday, challenging the long-held position of the city that the embattled airport can be shut down in July 2015.

Santa Monica leaders have insisted that the terms officials of federal airport improvement grants the city has received over the years allow them to close the general aviation hub next year because all conditions requiring operation will have expired.

But in a complaint filed with the Federal Aviation Administration, the tenants say that in August 2003, $240,600 was added to a $1.6-million grant, pushing back the closure date to at least August 2023. Grant terms usually expire after 20 years.

In this issue’s Aeromedical Advisory department (p. 5), Federal Air Surgeon Dr. James Fraser explains the importance of new sleep apnea guidance for AMEs, while Checklist (p 20) highlights a few common terminology misconceptions when it comes to airman certificates, ratings and endorsements. Also, Vertically Speaking (p 33) reviews some important summer safety tips for rotorcraft pilots.

Also be sure check out the Check Engine! advice from Editor Sabrina Woods in the Nuts, Bolts, and Electrons department (p. 30) on how to manage the maintenance on your power plant. And be sure to review Susan Parson’s Postflight column (p. 36) for a frank discussion on practical performance.

This year, the Columbia Airport will be celebrating its 49th Annual Father’s Day Fly-In from June 19-21st, 2015. The event, sponsored by the airport, will celebrate the holiday weekend with live music, airplane rides, and family-friendly activities.

 The weekend-long event is dedicated to Cal Fire pilot, Geoffrey “Craig” Hunt, who died last year flying for the Dog Rock Fire in Yosemite. A small dedication will precede the National Anthem at 11:30 a.m. at the opening ceremony on Saturday.

This year, the Columbia Airport will be celebrating its 49th Annual Father’s Day Fly-In from June 19-21st, 2015. The event, sponsored by the airport, will celebrate the holiday weekend with live music, airplane rides, and family-friendly activities.

 The weekend-long event is dedicated to Cal Fire pilot, Geoffrey “Craig” Hunt, who died last year flying for the Dog Rock Fire in Yosemite. A small dedication will precede the National Anthem at 11:30 a.m. at the opening ceremony on Saturday.

Attached is a snapshot of the new 97th edition Los Angeles Section Aeronautical Chart’s depiction of the Ivanpah Solar Plant hazard alert. FYI, the boundary symbology the Aeronautical Charting Forum has identified for utilization is the international charting symbol for a radiation hazard. As previously shared, pilots should make reports of associated hazards via the…

On May 19, the FAA issued a Safety Alert for Operators (SAFO) that advises all operators and pilots of the need to ensure that transponders are in the altitude reporting mode whenever their aircraft is on an airport movement area at all airports. Runway safety systems, such as Airport Surface Detection Equipment-Model X (ASDE-X), use…