Model Airplanes

News item: At the Arcata Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, birders and birds alike find themselves sharing the protected space with certain newfangled flying machines and those who operate them. While not particularly consistent with the mission of a wildlife preserve, the Coming of the Drones is perfectly quasi-legal – at least for now. Cartoon by Marna Powell KLH| Union

Kevin L. Hoover
Mad River Union

ARCATA – Ah, the Arcata Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, where a keen observer out for an afternoon of communion with nature might behold the aerial majesty of the Marbled Godwit, the Great Gray Owl, the Double-Crested Cormorant or the Hamphong 424 Avenger FPV HD Quadcopter.

That last beast, or one like it, buzzed about the marsh on Christmas, remotely guided by the O’Blivious family, or one like it, from atop Mt. Trashmore. Earlier that day, another drone had been directed out over the Little Lakes property and the marsh’s Log Pond from a business’ rooftop on lower H Street.

While radio-controlled aircraft aren’t exactly what the marsh’s founders had in mind, it turns out that there’s no specific prohibition against their use. While “use regulations” posted there state that “No aerial obstructions such as kites, hang gliders, and model airplanes are allowed,” a drone isn’t technically an airplane, but more of a helicopter.

Arcata Municipal Code Title X, Chapter 3, Sec. 10625 states that “The air space above the Marsh will be restricted to the heights established by the Federal Aviation Authority. Restrictions include the use of

Article source: http://madriverunion.com/arcata-marsh-sees-the-coming-of-the-drones/

Targeted News Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 — The Federal Aviation Administration published the following rule in the Federal Register for new airworthiness directive for Airbus aircrafts A330-200, -200 Freighter, and -300 s . . .

Myron Struck, editor, Targeted News Service, Springfield, Va., 703/304-1897; editor@targetednews.com; http://www.targetednews.com

Article source: http://targetednews.com/display_story.php?s_id=1288234

Denver-based Frontier Airlines is moving toward becoming a publicly traded company, The New York Times reports.

Frontier has hired Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase and Evercore to manage its IPO, the newspaper said. It cited anonymous sources.

An IPO would be a significant step for the airline (which had declared bankruptcy in 2008), allowing it to raise millions of dollars. As the Times writes:

Frontier is aiming to raise about $500 million in the deal, the people said. That would imply a valuation for the company of about $2 billion. Frontier had an official “bake off,” where banks were interviewed for a role in the offering, late last year, one of the people said.

Frontier declined a request for comment. Its current owner is Indigo Partners, an investment firm.

New management took over the company a few years ago and moved it to an ultra-low-cost model, where passengers are charged for “ancillary” services like carry-on bags and snacks. It’s an approach that has worked, said Michael Boyd, an aviation industry consultant based in Evergreen.

“They have a solid model today, and they have a solid vision today,” Boyd said. “If they’re going to offer stock in their company there’s going to be people lined up for it.”

Frontier’s model relies on keeping their planes in the air as many hours per day as possible,

Article source: https://www.cpr.org/news/story/frontier-airlines-preparing-for-ipo-report-says