Mid-May blog – In the news, in case you missed it. More this time…

Two GA aircraft manufacturers suddenly cease operations, then resume. SAFE seeking Ambassadors; 6 years now since losing my job at FlightSafety Int’l, Engine failure last May in my Cessna 150, “Date with Destiny” a book by UAL Capt. Behnam, NOTAM System overhaul, FAASTeam FPM Two colleagues, Karla Borden and Ron Allen fly west, and,  Sporty’s founder Hal Shever flies west, FAA’s stiff new penalties for Drone operators… 

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It was reported in the April 29, 2026, issue of AvBrief, an industry e newsletter, that WACO (pronounced Wah-co and rhymes with taco!) Aircraft, builder of iconic, vintage biplanes, located in Battle Creek, MI, suddenly ceased operations, last month. This was very surprising news because the company had had an exhibit at Sun ‘n Fun, in Lakeland, FL, in April. And now this.  But there are reports of a new buyer, in Germany.

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And SONEX Aircraft, LLC, a kit-plane manufacturer that sold kits for an all-metal experimental aircraft, is located in Oshkosh, WI. The owner announced in late March again via AvBrief, in an emotional video, that SONEX was shutting down for financial reasons. The owner had filed for bankruptcy due market conditions, rising costs, and a downturn in sales, among other things. 

And, some good news, it is reported in the May 2 issue of AvBrief, that someone has emerged and will be purchasing the company, and will be resuming full production, within a few weeks! Yeah for SONEX! 

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I am a founding member of an organization supporting aviation ‘educators’, called SAFE, which is the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators. SAFE was founded in May 2009, after a dispute at the Board of the other aviation instructor organization, NAFI, which is the National Association of Flight Instructors. At any rate, SAFE, whose membership has grown to 8,000, recently announced that they are now creating a new role, in the organization, an ‘ambassador’ role, and are seeking several interested individuals to do this; representing SAFE at various aviation gatherings around the country. The  Board members don’t do this. So, I thought, sure I can do this.  I have applied and am now waiting to find out more. To put this in perspective, there are about 700,000 licensed pilots in the US, and of that number, approximately 125,000 are flight instructors. 

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And it was 6 years ago, on April 30, 2020, during the pandemic, that I suddenly lost my job as a classroom and simulator instructor at FlightSafety International, in Long Beach, after 16 years. I had been training pilots to fly the Cessna Citation (CE-500), what is termed a ‘legacy’ jet, because it is long out of production. It has been replaced by more modern aircraft.

It was a short but kind of emotional meeting with the Center Manager, Todd, on that day, and the lady from HR. Of course. And Todd informed me that I was not being ‘terminated, nor furloughed, nor laid off. Nope, Instead, I was ‘separated’. Lawyer language. 

I remember it well, of course. I was quite surprised and interrupted him several times, asking, what about this or that? Any part time or contract work? Sorry, nope, a corporate decision. They gave me a contract to review, for severance pay, which was nice, and which contained a no-compete clause, and recommended that I sign up for unemployment benefits the next day, which I did.  

The worst part, perhaps was that after the short meeting with Todd, I was told that I had literally ’15 minutes’ to ‘clear out my locker and personal belongings’, and that a colleague, Mario, who was the Director of Training (DOT) would escort me out. And don’t say a word about this to anyone! Ugh. This sucks! Damnit! Corporate protocols.

Of course there was no work to be found during the pandemic. I had texted many former clients, telling them about my situation and that I was now available as a Citation Pilot, though I did not hear back from many. That was also hard to take! Was it that during the pandemic, no one was responding? Who knows.

Although a former Citation client did eventually reach out to me and was in need of my services as a contract co-pilot on the Citation. Of course, I accepted. But, unfortunately, none of the trips originated in Long Beach. Nope. Instead, I found myself driving 2+ hours south to San Diego’s Brown Field, which is 1 mile north of the US-Mexico border. I mostly flew a few ‘day’ trips for them, many were south to Baja, Mexico, over the course of a few months. There were only one or two overnight trips, as I recall. Then I had another client who needed me, but he was located way up north in San Jose, CA. I only flew a few trips for him. I ended up driving several hours, as it was too late to catch the last Southwest Airlines flight to get there in time. Just the way it goes! 

And I eventually did reapply to FlightSafety, in September 2022, after speaking to a recruiter at a convention one time. But their hiring process moves slowly. I had heard many stories about this while I worked there. I finally had a ‘formal’ interview again in early February 2023, with a new Center Manager, and some Program Managers, who run the respective training programs for each aircraft that we train pilots for. 

I thought it went ok, but the Center Manager was not really treating me like a former employee with 16 years’ experience. Nope. I was hoping for something more informal, a discussion to see if I might be a ‘good fit’ again, but that was apparently not his style. He was a new Center Manager and wanted a more formal interview with a board consisting of a few program managers. As I recall, he simply went down a list of questions that had been supplied by HR. So, I answered each, in turn, as well as I could. It was not ‘fun’. 

After the interview ended, I was told to expect a reply in about 2 weeks, via email. And, sure enough, on Valentine’s Day, 2023, I received a formal email from the Corporate Recruiter, not the Long Beach Center Manager. Hmm. It started out, ‘thank you for your interest in FlightSafety’…. (really?) then it went on…’you are very well qualified’…..and it continued….’but we have decided to pursue other options’…and good luck! 

Say what?? Shock and surprise, of course! Gee, so reading between the lines, who did not like me, and did NOT want to see me be hired back? I have an idea, of course, but will not mention any names. It was internal ‘office politics’ as I see it. Wherever you have people, in an organization, there’s politics of one kind or another. Favorites. Who likes who? Who’s better at this or that? This is just human nature. That’s how I see it. Some reading this may disagree. Fine. That’s just MY opinion. 

So, I have moved on. Life happens. It’s not always fair. But no pity parties. I am now an independent contractor, providing advanced training to pilots who are aircraft owners, in their airplanes, as well as doing freelance writing for some GA publications….and learning new skills. Have to! Can’t sit idle. 

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It was a year ago this month, on May 24, 2025, that I had my first ‘for real’ engine failure in my Cessna 150, just after taking off from runway 27 at Riverside. Fortunately, I was only at 200’ and was able to easily land straight ahead on the remaining runway, so it was a non-event. Of course, there were lessons to be learned. 

First, have a plan if something goes wrong after takeoff! Even in a single engine airplane. Too often, only the pilots of twin-engine aircraft, as well as turboprops and jets have a ‘takeoff briefing’, as it’s called. But it can happen to anyone. So be ready. As it turns out, the likely culprit was water droplets being suspended in the fuel, and I did not sump the tanks well enough. Now I do!

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 I recently read a really good non-fiction book, “Date with Destiny, and the Man Who Saved it”, about the story of United Airlines flight 1175, a Boeing 777 en route from San Francisco to Honolulu, HI. This was on February 13, 2018, during which the right engine exploded and the crew, with Captain Behmam, was able to wrestle the airplane, as it reacted violently as part of the cowling separated during flight, and then ‘nurse’ the Boeing 777 the remaining distance to Honolulu, and land safely! And no injuries among the passengers or crew. Quite a feat! The crew was later recognized by United Airlines and the FAA for their heroic efforts on this flight, leading to a safe landing!  

What makes this story unique is that the Captain, Christopher Behnam, is a native of Iran, and grew up there, and later immigrated, first to the UK and later to the US, where it was his dream to fly for United Airlines. It’s a remarkable story of one man’s persistence and holding onto a dream, in spite of many obstacles in his path. Everyone can relate to that. 

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The FAA’s decades old NOTAM system is finally being updated, after many decades. The NOTAM system was started during WWII, for the maritime industry, and was adapted for aviation use.  A ‘NOTAM’ is the FAA abbreviation for ‘Notices to Airmen’. NOTAMS contain critical information that pilots need to review before a flight. These deal with any components or equipment outages or changes to an airport or the navigation system in the NAS, National Aerospace System, that might affect a flight…. there’s always something that has changed….

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Finally, I have recently learned that I have lost two colleagues in the past two weeks, along with an entrepreneur and philanthropist who was also a pilot and instructor, who has passed away….who’s next?  

I should mention, in the flying business, when someone passes away, we use the term ‘flown west’ as in, flying west into the sunset. My two colleagues, Karla and Ron have both flown west. So has Hal Shevers, innovative pilot and instructor, who started Sporty’s Pilot Shop selling pilot supplies back in the 1960’s, and ran it for 60 years, located east of Cincinnati in Batavia, OH. Godspeed to each….

Karla Borden was an FAA Operations Inspector for many years, and was also an FPM, FAASTeam Program Manager. She was in the FAA’s Van Nuys, CA office (FSDO) and worked with us as FAASTeam Reps in the Safety Program, managing and coordinating our activities. I was one of them. 

I am one of many who are volunteers for the FAA’s FAASTeam, aka the FAA Safety Team, volunteering as a Lead Rep. I have been volunteering In this capacity myself for over 20 years, and along with other ‘Reps’ are safety advocates, hosting pilot meetings and presenting safety seminars.

My other colleague, Retired Delta Captain Ron Allen, flew west just last Thursday, May 14. Ron had had a long and distinguished aviation career, spanning 50+ years. First, growing up, as a young CAP cadet, and later serving in the US Army as a pilot in the Viet Nam War, where he was highly decorated, and later, flying for Western Airlines, and then finally with Delta, where he retired aa Boeing 767 Captain. Then after retirement, he ended up going to work for the FAA as an Operations Inspector. RIP, Ron. 

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Finally, the FAA is getting serious about penalizing unauthorized drone operations. Some drone operators are non-pilots and have not taken any training to learn how and where they can operate a drone, and this is causing problems. So, the FAA has decided it’s time to start enforcing the rules. Fines for unauthorized drone operations can now be as high as $75,000, depending on the circumstances!

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Some Summer Flying Tips

Remember that on windy, gusty day, the FAA recommends adding ½ the gust factor to your final approach speed, as a buffer against stalls. 

And, what is the major contributing factor in fatal GA accidents according to the NTSB? It’s a loss of control, due to flying into adverse weather conditions. 

And on hot summer days, remember that your takeoff ground roll adds about 10% for every 1,000’ of density altitude. So, as density altitude increases, expect your takeoff roll to be increased accordingly.

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Finally, IF you are in need of an experienced instructor to work with you, in YOUR AIRPLANE (I only work with aircraft owners) to improve ‘rusty’ IFR or VFR piloting skills, provide avionics training, add or finish your instrument rating, or anything else, I AM available! I WILL travel to YOUR location. Contact me for more information. 

Also, in addition to flying airplanes and training pilots, I am also a freelance writer and speaker. In my pursuit of continuous learning and skill development, I recently completed a course offered by AWAI (American Writers and Artists Institute), on B2B (business to business) Copywriting, to ideally focus on the aviation industry. Please contact me about this if you want to learn more! 

Fly safely, 

John