Top Letters And Comments, September 2, 2022

GAMI Unleaded Avgas Approved For GA Piston Fleet

Go GAMI! (And thank you, FAA.) Absolutely the best possible news for GA. The only way that we get to keep flying in the U.S. There is *no* public support for airplanes flying around distributing lead from the skies.

Peter M.

Well then … if this can happen anything can, I’m absolutely amazed by this. Good on GAMI, they deserve this after all that work!

Michael L.

I’m surprised. It will be interesting to see how long it takes for production to ramp up and the fuel to become generally available. It will also be interesting to see how long it takes for the FAA to approve the other developers’ fuels.

Jack D.

This ensures the future of high compression avgas engines for which there had to be doubts about long term viability. Kudos to Mr. Braly and the GAMI team. It’s great to see innovation and dogged product development of this kind succeed!

William S.

HUGE news! Yes, George & GAMI deserve untold riches for this! Unfortunately, it’s GA… We need guidance for how to work the political levers to get it at our airports.

Eric W.

B-52s Become Cargo Haulers

Late ‘72 or early ’73, employed out of FTW area as a pipeline patrol pilot, my wife and I were sitting on the shore of Lake Benbrook facing south with fishing poles on an early morning with our backs to a hill which blocked any views or sounds from the north. The early morning calm was shattered by B-52-Ds on a MITO roaring overhead only a few feet above us. Because of the hill behind us we had no warning until suddenly long black trails of black smoke and screaming water-pumps broke the silence overhead! The nose was PAIN-ful and a BUFF passed directly over our heads every few seconds fanning out with slightly divergent headings until the normally-clear sunny morning became black with soot!

Kinda ended any hopes of catching any fish. What a memory!

On another occasion, while I was 500’ AGL flying westbound on a pipeline-patrol inspection-flight down near Cleburne, TX … (always looking down and left for any irregularities on the pipeline right-of-way) … I was SUDDENLY startled to see on the right-of-way beneath me … what I thought was the SHADOW of a B-52 passing opposite-direction eastbound… Until my heart STOPPED when I realized it was not a shadow … but was an actual B-52 … BELOW ME … the wake of which subsequently gave me a BUMP…!!

He couldn’t have been more than 300’ AGL and about 200’ below me in my little Cessna 140 patrol plane!

George H.

Walked around a BUFF for the first time a couple of weeks ago at an open house at the former Loring Air Force base in Limestone, Maine. It had flown in from Barksdale Air Force Base for the special event and the seeing the airplane up close as well as talking to the crew was a blast. Such an impressive airplane and to think it is still getting it done almost 70 years later is also amazing.

Andrew P.

Short Final: Windy

I flew out of Edwards AFB, Fox field and Mojave for 27+ years in my 172, et al. I’ve landed on one wheel v. 2 and survived more times than I can count … but I don’t know how. On one occasion at Mojave, every windsock on the field was indicating a different direction. If you can fly in a place like that, you can fly anywhere. And — yes — you grow to not even notice 20-25 kt winds. I DON’T miss it.

Larry S.

Poll: Is Sending Artemis 1 On A Lunar Flyby The Right Thing To Do?

• A more incremental approach to testing (what SpaceX typically does) would be smarter. It’s what NASA did with the Saturn V program.
• Waste of money and, if the program continues, unnecessary risk to life. America has been to the moon and found a cold, lifeless desert. The rocks bought back sit in on shelves from one decade to the next. If you really need to look in the shadows for water, send a drone.
• If it actually happens.
• Why? Those who have BT,DT are long gone, three or four generations have NOT gone there, we still need to prove we can do it.
• There hasn’t yet been a successful launch and demonstrated flight! That should come first; if this flight fails the project will have great difficulty recovering.
• Robotic missions gather far more scientific data at far less cost and risk. I’m pro science, pro research & development, and lukewarm on manned missions.
• No. A huge waste of federal money. Leave it to Elon.
• Turn this over to the commercial space operators. They can do it faster and less expensively than NASA.
• In the 60s we wouldn’t have wasted the trip without putting people in it.
• No interest right with a recession and high inflation. Need to use our tax dollars in a better and responsible way. Work on space stations and expensive projects later!
• Cancel the whole program and let SpaceX and others do it better, sooner, and much cheaper.
• Besides BT, DT, Artemis is using old technology, e.g., space shuttle engines. Artemis is an embarrassment.
• Mars should be the goal.
• Commercial Space can do it at a tenth the cost.
• Give SpaceX all the money.
• Should be a manned flight.
• Dust off the old known ones and use them again. They have been proved to work. Or are they just stage props?
• Let’s get it off the pad first.
• We will need the heavy lift capability for lunar military.
• Stealing working folks’ money and using it to play in space is unconstitutional.
• Climate change demands that we concentrate on earth issues.
• On the way to Mars? Sure!
• The billions have been spent… might as well see if it works.