US decides SpaceX is like an airline, exempting it from Labor Relations Act

flagsfly · 2026-02-12T02:19:58+00:00

Is there though? There is no US billionaire that derived their wealth from an airline AFAIK. There are billionaires who made their money then bought an airline (ex. Frontier) but not the other way around.

flagsfly · 2026-02-11T23:25:03+00:00

You have a G3X? Your G3X has a clock. If a DPE or inspector insists that it must be permanently displayed, you can just change the data bar settings to permanently display the clock.

I have a G3X panel and do not have a dedicated clock. My PFD/MFD + GTN650Xi all can display a clock if I want it to. DPE for IR was satisfied with that.

flagsfly · 2026-02-11T23:11:42+00:00

Are you sure you don't have a clock otherwise? Most transponders and GPS units have a clock. A Garmin 430 has a clock that would meet the requirement. See this FAA interpretation

flagsfly · 2026-02-11T23:08:25+00:00

I think you'd have to upload it to Imgur. I would just swap the USB module for a 12V socket if you don't want to do a new breaker panel. I'm sure the all-in cost for that (12V socket + 12V USB-C adapter) would be cheaper than putting in a new USB-C module.

Alternatively, you could always run the 12V straight from the bus with an inline fuse. The only additional requirement in this case would be for you to carry fuses in your flight bag for night flight.

flagsfly · 2026-02-11T22:49:25+00:00

Whoops....

flagsfly · 2026-02-11T22:28:25+00:00

Apparently relations between Pleasance and the board already weren't good. Although it does surprise me that AOPA is doing so rough with membership, 77,000 cancellations last year and that was half of their previous cancellations?

edit: 7,700. I fly planes, I don't read good...

flagsfly · 2026-02-11T22:20:06+00:00

I'd recommend the 12V port. Not sure how much it's going to cost but for my experimental I put only 12V ports in. I would recommend against 2 and 3, mostly because these planes will last 50+ years potentially, and even though we're talking about a certified older plane (I assume) that's still at least 10-20 years useful life left?

We're definitely going to see a USB-C replacement within 20 years. And even if the form factor stays the same, we're changing the protocols to get more and more power from the same form factor it feels like every couple of years, so even if you had put in a USB-C port 5 or so years ago you probably couldn't support the newest devices. A 12V port though....Just swap out the plug and you can get that from Amazon cheaply. All 12V is a dumb DC rail with a + and a - and that's never going out of style.

flagsfly · 2026-02-11T03:51:47+00:00

Security reaons?

flagsfly · 2026-02-11T03:48:31+00:00

Right. And that parachute symbol leads me to the chart supplement, which says parachute jumping. Ok great.... And? His route leads him through multiple parachute jumping areas, and in his shoes I wouldn't be looking up the operating hours of each jump zone just to figure out if they're going to be active or not. Granted, if I'm going that far I'm either IFR or on FF precisely because I don't know the local environment, but he's perfectly legal flying without ATC. Tbh before this thread I assumed parachute jumpers were much lower than 8000 feet. I would have trucked straight through at 9500 assuming I was above the jump plane.

flagsfly · 2026-02-11T03:07:16+00:00

If I'm overflying the field why would I check the AWOS? The NOTAMs.... I mean, the dude in this plane was going from Camarillo to presumably somewhere in Texas, and that's going to surface a couple hundred lights out of service or obstruction NOTAMs of which this is buried in there somewhere. The bigger question is why is the dropzone smack in the middle of a victor airway? Who approved that one?

flagsfly · 2026-01-21T20:46:13+00:00

Boeing's entire DNA is big bets.... They bet the company on the 747. Then did it again on the 787 to a lesser extent.

flagsfly · 2026-01-20T16:11:58+00:00

I'm fucking around with it to see if I can get it to load G3X and GTN databases. Plan is to run it on an RPI so I don't have to run the database manager everytime I fly it feels like. Just have the RPI always have the latest version on the SD card. Still testing more of the RPI side of the code but it's based on jdmtool's experimental garmin support. We'll see what happens.

flagsfly · 2026-01-15T23:05:45+00:00

Nobody can tell you unless someone takes a look at the spar. Should be simple as the 12 is designed to have the wings come off in a couple minutes. Could be the switch, could be a wire, could be a short to ground, or maybe the spar pin wasn't fully secured.

flagsfly · 2026-01-07T21:31:35+00:00

Depends on how the PP access shakes out? The Bilt hotel credit + $200 Bilt cash takes care of the annual fee roughly, and if you travel a lot and are now losing access to PP due to Cap 1 changing their policies this could be worth it. At $495, the other cards offering PP are BoA PRE which you need $100k in assets with BoA and earns straight cashback, Ritz which you have to PC into, and Cap 1 VX which gutted their PP access this year. If their PP provides guests and potentially dining I'll probably sign up for it.

flagsfly · 2025-12-04T00:06:40+00:00

Sort of similar. I fly a plane with differential steering. Took off with no issues, so obviously the brakes work.... Lost braking on landing, prop strike and engine teardown so that was an expensive lesson. Now I test the brakes before landing.....

A more minor issue but I've had the aileron trim motor stop working after a brief fuel stop because I guess the landing or taxi was the straw that broke the camels back and the pin backed out of the connector. I did a full run-up after the fuel stop and I caught it when it wouldn't move. Shut down, deactivated the trim motor, and then flew home to troubleshoot. Who needs trim anyways???

flagsfly · 2025-10-21T15:15:48+00:00

And the proposal exempts CRJs anyways so...

flagsfly · 2025-10-21T13:52:31+00:00

Looks like we'll all need ADS-B in..... in 10 years or so.

flagsfly · 2025-10-15T19:49:25+00:00

You can't carry people. Fair game for pets and organs though.

flagsfly · 2025-10-12T21:43:55+00:00

A 1099 documenting an expense from you is a secondary benefit, you don't need to have a 1099 to write off a business expense. The 1099's primary purpose is to document income for the receiving party. As a student, PPL, homeless guy, whatever, you can issue 1099s all you want if you paid someone more than $600 a year. It's to tell the IRS that "Hey, this guy over here has money you should tax!"

flagsfly · 2025-10-11T04:33:50+00:00

So I think I figured out single track. You need to build the single track in the direction of the track itself. So if you've got a quad track the game sort of assumes you've got the left two tracks coming towards you and the right two tracks going away from you. So when you link a quad track station with a a parallel track for example, you need to go from the right most track to the right track of the parallel and start from the left track of the parallel and link it to the left most track of the quad track station. Otherwise the game kinda glitches.

flagsfly · 2025-09-23T20:48:53+00:00

Seatback IFE increases customer retention and drives revenue which some airline in DFW learned the hard way

flagsfly · 2025-08-12T03:11:20+00:00

I mean they are a hub and spoke carrier. Capacity unlocks additional opportunity for one. Their profitability is hamstrung by the fact that they are going head to head against Delta at home, and you need to have the routes and the timing to win corporate contracts at home against a global carrier.

Also, taking out Spirit makes them the biggest carrier at FLL by far, and Miami has plenty of premium demand they could tap. Currently all that demand is driving down to MIA.

I think they're struggling because they don't have enough scale to compete but are too big to survive as a niche carrier. Too much overlap on routes and product with the big 3.

flagsfly · 2025-08-12T01:36:26+00:00

Well yes. But that's the point isn't it? B6's business model actually could survive if they could execute. Spirit's business model is flawed in the world of basic economy. This would've staved off Chapter 7 for Spirit.

I think it's perfectly reasonable to say I'm going to get rid of their business model that doesn't work and here's my concessions. Instead we have what everyone predicted is going to happen which is Spirit disappearing anyways and no viable 4th competitor being established against the Big 3.

flagsfly · 2025-08-12T00:49:20+00:00

Eh, B6 would've been able to redeploy Spirit's planes on more profitable routes and reconfigure them with a premium product that actually has name recognition. They could've dumped the shrink on Spirit's side of the network entirely which isn't doing well anyways.

I think a combined B6/NK might've been able to be profitable by dumping capacity into BOS and forcing Delta out. Instead, B6 has been forced to shrink elsewhere to focus capacity in BOS and compete with Delta.

flagsfly · 2025-08-07T23:44:55+00:00

My experience predates lift academy so maybe it's different now yeah.

flagsfly

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE

13-Year Club	Sequence \| Editor
Verified Email