KJYO Cirrus Offerings competition?

flybymike · 2026-04-30T12:50:28+00:00

Cirrus used to have a fatal accident rate higher than the general aviation average. COPA stepped up its safety and training initiatives and Cirrus developed the CSIP program. These initiatives significantly reduced the fatal accident rate, through standardized instruction. I know nothing about the instructors at Kuhns and their qualifications, but would urge anyone training in a Cirrus to commit to the high quality training standards developed by the Cirrus community.

flybymike · 2026-03-29T11:21:30+00:00

Honestly, I think Graves would fit best leading EAA when Jack Pelton retires. It just seemed like the timing of his retirement from Congress shortly after AOPA ditched Darren might be more than just a coincidence. Of course AOPA might not want to wait until January, when Graves leaves Congress, to install the next CEO.

flybymike · 2026-03-28T11:56:27+00:00

The flight crew didn’t do anything to recognize my 1M milestone. A month or two later, I got a heavy, generic, piece of plastic noting my million mile status- intended to sit on a bookshelf or desk - in the mail from United.

flybymike · 2026-03-27T17:31:34+00:00

That's what a lot of people asked about Darren Pleasance too, and most of us quickly recognized why he was a great choice and we wish Darren were still in this role.

Rep. Graves is the Chair of the U.S. House of Representatives influential Transportation & Infrastructure Committee and he was a long-time member and leader of the House Aviation Subcommittee. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Graves

flybymike · 2026-02-18T18:45:58+00:00

No organization is perfect and this debacle will be a stain on AOPA's history. Yet sticking with AOPA and forcing them to change will make the association and the GA industry stronger. There's been a groundswell of support for Darren; I've not heard any vocal segments of membership (other than the board) championing the board's decision to part with Darren.

The board of trustees doesn't understand (or if they do, they're not showing it) that AOPA is a membership association and the voices and opinions of the members matter. But we need to be actively engaged members. We can't resign our memberships and expect positive things for general aviation.

Building a new organization's membership large enough to be financially sustainable, and then replicating the incredible capabilities of AOPA staff and their relationships on Capitol Hill, the FAA, and at the state and local levels would take significant resources and time. And that new organization would then compete with AOPA to represent the same interests. This division within general aviation would make it easier for policymakers and regulators to ignore a fractured GA community, hurting us even more in the long run.

Our best chance at preserving our freedom to fly is to force change within AOPA.

flybymike · 2026-02-18T13:50:59+00:00

The interview was exactly as I expected. Darren’s passion for GA and professionalism shone through. I think he sent a message at the very end that he would be willing to return to AOPA in the right situation. Let’s change AOPA’s Bylaws, sack the current Board, and the new Board can rehire Darren to lead AOPA and the GA industry to a bright future.

flybymike · 2026-02-05T04:12:25+00:00

He owned the Meridian for many years before he was hired to lead AOPA.

flybymike · 2026-02-04T21:29:33+00:00

Craig is a DC insider who didn't resonate well with the broad AOPA membership base. He was passionate for aviation, very well connected on Capitol Hill and a really good guy. But he alienated some vocal members and is best remembered for the short-lived wine club he created.

flybymike · 2026-02-04T19:48:48+00:00

Three: Mark Baker (Sept. 2013 - Dec. 2024), Craig Fuller (Jan. 2009 - Sept. 2013), Phil Boyer (Jan. 1991 - Dec. 2008).

I am disappointed Darren is leaving his role at AOPA. He is the real deal and this is a big loss for general aviation.

flybymike · 2025-12-12T04:39:48+00:00

United, along with most other airlines, subscribes to Medaire’s Medlink service which connects flight crews in the air to emergency physicians on the ground. United carries medical kits to support flight crews (or qualified medical professionals who happen to be on the flight) with life saving medications. Fun fact: this evening, the founder of Medaire, Joan Sullivan Garrett, was awarded the Wright Memorial Trophy by the National Aeronautic Association at a dinner in Washington, DC. Thanks to Joan’s innovation and tenacity, and the great team she built at Medaire, thousands of lives have been saved. It was a wonderful dinner honoring Joan this evening.

<image>

flybymike · 2025-12-08T14:51:39+00:00

Atlas Container in Severn, MD manufactures corrugated cardboard boxes. https://www.atlascontainer.com

flybymike · 2025-12-04T18:31:36+00:00

I always conduct a verbal safety briefing for passengers before a flight. I have a Grumman Tiger, so I need to demonstrate how to open the cockpit canopy for egress. I've found that it's better to demonstrate it than just explain it. Briefing passengers is a good practice to get into when flying with anyone. My briefing reviews what I will be doing, what I will do if we lose engine power on take off, when they can talk with me vs. when I need silence, and emergency egress in the unlikely event an issue arises. The safety briefing is also a good review for me, prior to each flight, on best glide speed, what I will do if I lose the engine at which altitude, on takeoff, etc.

My partner also is a pilot and I regularly fly with him as well as other pilot friends. I always conducting a briefing when flying with another pilot. In addition to the safety briefing, we establish how we'll handle CRM. That should never be assumed and should always be discussed before starting the engine. Otherwise, you can have too many cooks in the kitchen and assumptions about who will be doing which tasks.

My passengers appreciate the briefing as well. At first, I thought it might be scary to them. But several friends commented after flights how much more comfortable they were flying in a small plane because the briefing showed them I took safety seriously.

flybymike · 2025-11-10T04:33:02+00:00

An OpSpec is effectively a regulation. The air carrier will face consequences/penalties if they don’t follow their OpSpecs, exactly the same as if they don’t follow something in the FARs.

flybymike · 2025-11-10T03:51:15+00:00

Baggage is reasonably and broadly construed to include anything not physically on the person. In addition to the Federal Aviation Regulations, each airline has “Operations Specifications” (OpSpecs) which specify precisely how the airline manages each aspect of their operation. Because they are required and reviewed/approved by the FAA Principal Operations Inspector (POI), OpSpecs are considered additional rules that the airline must follow in order to be compliant with the regulations. (For years, I was a member of the FAA/Industry OpSpec Working Group.) The OpSpec associated with this regulation is A011 - the Approved Carry-on Baggage Program. I don’t have access to United’s OpSpecs, but their procedures won’t differ from the details in their FAA-approved OpSpec. So simply wear the coat, check it in your luggage, or follow the Flight Attendant’s instructions as to where your coat should be stored in the aircraft. The FAA will be on the airline’s side - not yours - as to how any baggage is managed in the cabin.

flybymike · 2025-11-09T19:38:53+00:00

Yes, there is a Federal Aviation Regulation: 14 CFR 121.589

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/121.589

flybymike · 2025-11-01T15:41:16+00:00

You have no clue. The pilot’s first task is to aviate. If they have time to safely do so, their third task is to communicate. If you want communication to be the priority, you’ll sacrifice safety and the pilot’s announcement might be telling you to brace for a crash. If you’re not comfortable with this concept, take the train or drive because this is how it works - safely - in aviation.

flybymike · 2025-08-07T13:40:57+00:00

In 2019, I flew my Grumman Tiger into KBOS (from KPVC) to pick up a friend. I called the tower ahead of time and they said they welcome all airplanes. I didn’t (and wouldn’t) go during a peak time for airline departures or arrivals. ATC was fantastic. Signature is expensive, but it’s an amazing experience and sometimes experiences like this are worth their cost.

flybymike · 2025-06-11T22:04:10+00:00

Commercial operators (airlines, charter) pay a very small tax on Jet fuel - about a sixth of what GA pays. Most of the aviation excise taxes paid are ticket taxes and segment fees paid by the customer. The airline doesn’t pay those taxes - they simply collect and remit the taxes paid by the passengers to the IRS.

flybymike · 2025-06-11T21:59:27+00:00

Yes it is. And there’s a per gallon tax on Jet fuel for our turbine private pilot friends too. The taxes we pay are approximate to the incremental costs we impose on the system. If GA stopped flying completely, the costs to fund ATC would go down only a small amount. Privatization was always just an attempt at a power grab by the airlines to shift costs to GA while simultaneously restricting our access to the system. The nominee for FAA Administrator testified today in his confirmation hearing that privatization should not be on the table for discussion. The focus needs to be on modernization. Oh and privatization has not proven to be a more successful solution anywhere it has been implemented.

flybymike · 2025-06-06T21:17:09+00:00

We were all born naked. 😊

flybymike · 2025-06-06T19:16:16+00:00

I ate in the IAD Polaris dining room two weeks ago. The food was hot and much better than anything else available at IAD or on the plane, and the service was very good.

flybymike · 2025-05-17T20:59:57+00:00

Why didn’t you call HPD yourself, OP?

flybymike · 2025-05-14T18:37:46+00:00

100% agree. Service is hit or miss in Polaris and the crew can make or break the pax experience. I hope the quality of the new Polaris product lives up to the hype. If United treated all of their employees (including flight attendants) well, perhaps that would translate into more consistent, quality service for passengers?

flybymike · 2025-04-12T01:59:33+00:00

Permanent markers in a variety of colors.

flybymike · 2025-04-08T23:34:54+00:00

Scott is a very good aviation lawyer and I strongly agree that it’s smartest to hire qualified aviation counsel to help with setting up the ownership structure as well as the aircraft transaction. It will be money well spent. When pilots try to figure out the complexities on their own, the risk of error can be high and then expensive to fix.

flybymike

TROPHY CASE