Model Airplanes

The Trump administration has a real opportunity to deliver on its promise to streamline the regulatory state. That opportunity comes from the proposed elimination of more than 50 regulations imposed on the airline industry — many of them designed to protect safety.

Air safety has been a sensational success story. In the U.S., commercial accidents have been at very low levels for years. In 2016, more than 40,000 Americans died in motor vehicle accidents. By contrast, not even one American died in airline crashes from scheduled domestic carriers. The most recent fatal accident was more than seven years ago, in early 2009.

Market forces are a big reason. A crash is international news, and it’s horrible for business. Airlines have every incentive to ensure safety.

Regulation is also part of the picture. The top priority of the Federal Aviation Administration is safety — as reflected, for example, in a 2011 regulation designed to reduce the risks associated with pilot fatigue. If the airline industry feels overburdened by regulation (and it does), it is because the government mandates precautions, in the form of requirements that may not do a lot of good, but that are based on the idea of “better safe than sorry.”

Though it has not made the list public yet, the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee, which advises the FAA, is finalizing its recommendations to eliminate unjustified or outmoded regulations. One of its big targets is what

Article source: https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-09-21/deregulation-of-air-safety-rules-can-be-a-model

Sept. 19–Darwin Simpson’s fascination with aircraft began as a child, fashioning model planes out of small sticks.

Simpson, now 74, has been flying airplanes for 53 years, including the one he keeps in a hangar at the Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport.

Nearly nine years ago, the retired U.S. Army general and former chemical company executive was approached about serving as the airport’s director.

His answer was simple — yes, because there wasn’t anyone else willing to improve it.

“I knew a lot about flying, and I knew a lot about government bureaucracy from my experience in the military, but I had really never run an airport,” he said. “I was sent to the airport to fix it.”

Simpson agreed to lead the airport for $1 annually in 2009.

At the end of this month, Simpson will retire from the post where he has worked tirelessly on projects to grow the airport as an economic asset in the city of Spartanburg.

Opened in 1927, the downtown airport was the first airport in South Carolina. Today, nearly 90 percent of airport operations relate to business, with about 10 percent relating to recreational flying, Simpson said.

As a general aviation airport, the downtown site caters to corporate jets, emergency medical transports, organ transplant program flights and cargo and military aircraft. The airport also assists with traffic watch, law enforcement operations, search-and-rescue missions and wildlife and forestry monitoring.

“I cannot emphasize enough how big of an economic machine that this airport is,” Simpson said.

When Simpson took on the role of airport director,

Article source: http://www.aviationpros.com/news/12368941/darwin-simpson-retiring-from-spartanburg-downtown-airport

Join the Chino Valley Aviators for an annual Fun Fly this Saturday, Sept. 23. (Marc Robbins/Courtesy)

The Chino Valley Model Aviators are taking to the skies this weekend as the club holds its annual Steve Crowe Memorial Fun Fly.

Model aviation is one of those hobbies that definitely bridges the generational gap, said event organizer Marc Robbins.

“We have young guys, some teenagers and our oldest flier is 91 years old,” Robbins said. “He’s really active.”

The club goes out of its way to help those who are just getting into the hobby as well, he said, noting that there are instructors that can help people learning to fly using the club airplanes. That way, they don’t have to invest in one themselves when learning how to fly, Robbins said.

Still, model aviation is cheaper than it used to be due to the advances in the last 10 to 15 years in electronics and batteries, he said. Batteries used today are lithium polymer, such as the ones in a cellphone or computer, Robbins said.

“Instead of spending six months building a model and then going out and crashing and crying, you can just buy a prebuilt model now,” he said, remarking that most of the prebuilt beginner models are made out of foam. “For about $150, they can get in the air today, completely ready to go without having to

Article source: http://www.cvrnews.com/news/2017/sep/20/model-aviators-hold-fun-fly/

A Funeral Mass of Christian Burial will be held for Duaine Edwin Kaiser on Saturday, September 23, 2017, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, in Crookston, MN, at 10:30am. Burial will follow immediately at Calvary Cemetery in Crookston, MN. A visitation will be held the night before, Friday, September 22, 2017, at Stenshoel-Houske Funeral Home in Crookston, MN, from 5:00-7:00pm, with a prayer service to follow at 7:00pm. The Reverend Augie Gothman is presiding.

Submitted

Duaine Edwin Kaiser, 87, of Crookston, MN died at home on Monday, September 18, 2017. Duaine was born on March 15, 1930, the son of Stella (Perreault) and Frank Kaiser in Crookston, MN. He was baptized and confirmed at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Crookston, MN. He attended Catholic grade school.
 
Duaine served honorably in the United States Marine Corp. He attended boot camp at Camp Pendleton, CA before being sent to Korea in the early 1950s. Duaine was united in marriage to Nona Rose Montreuil on May 31, 1952.  When he returned home from Korea he joined his wife and their new son, Duane Jr. in Crookston and began working at Peterson-Beddick. Over the years four more sons joined the family, Mark, Timothy, Ronald, and Randy.
 
In 1967, Duaine began working for Crookston Grain and worked there for 33 years until his retirement in November 1996. Duaine walked to work most days to pick up his delivery truck and enjoyed driving and delivering fuel and

Article source: http://www.crookstontimes.com/obituaries/20170920/obituary---duaine-edwin-kaiser