Asiana flight crash profile

An excellent graphic presentation of the Asiana prang. There is a “ghost”’ companion of a normal approach profile. 

Click HERE to see video.

Update on landing fees in the Bahamas 7-9-2013

www.CaribbeanFlyingAdventures.com

For Immediate Release Update on Bahamas Fee Increases Do NOT Use General Declaration Forms!

We MAY have a reversal in the recent tax increases in the next few days.  Your emails to senior officials in the government got their attention. Also, see my interview in the Nassau Guardian.  Click Here.

 

Not only were the fee increases ill-advised, but the regulations were poorly written.  There remains much confusion amongst the Customs officials at various out island airports about what to charge whom.  I made a fuel stop in the Exumas on July 3 and their tried to charge me $150!

 

These are the current regs:  General Declaration forms will be charged $75 in and $75 out.  Do NOT use General Declaration forms.  When you arrive, present the C7A Inbound Cruising Permit for private pilots, even though you may not be island hopping in the Bahamas.  Keep a copy of the stamped form.  The fee is only $50 for the C7A.

 

The ill-written regs state that you must request outbound clearance when you depart the Bahamas (which means presenting a GenDec) but instead, simply present your inbound C7A and state that you are departing.  Customs headquarters in Nassua has stated categorically that private pilots will only be charged $50 inbound and nothing outbound.  Too bad this is not clear in the written regs.

 

Our efforts seem to be paying off.  The government has heard you and is re-visiting their decision.  Everyone else was sitting on the sidelines, including AOPA, waiting for who knows what.  If there is a reversal of these goofy fees, your messages will have been one of the main reasons for the retraction.  Thanks.

 

Regards,  Jim Parker

New Bahamas customs fee catches pilots off guard - Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

New Bahamas customs fee catches pilots off guard

July 2, 2013

By Dan Namowitz

General aviation pilots landing or taking off from the Bahamas since July 1 have been surprised to learn they must pay new customs processing fees.
One of the fees for customs services is a $50 charge for processing an inward declaration and a cruising permit for private aircraft entering the Bahamas. For an outward declaration, it appears that pilots must use a form that carries a $75 processing fee, said Rick Gardner of Caribbean Sky Tours, AOPA’s authorized representative for the Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America.

The new fees, which raise the cost of a trip to the Bahamas beyond an existing $25-per-person passenger tax, went into effect with no advance notice and caught the tourism industry and fixed-base operators off guard, Gardner added.
Since July 1, Gardner’s office has been fielding phone calls and emails from dismayed pilots who had been informed that they owed the charges. In a telephone interview, Gardner said he had just heard from a member of a group of 16 single-engine aircraft on a mission trip to Haiti who were charged the fee upon making a refueling stop. The group vowed not to refuel in the Bahamas on their return flight, Gardner said.
“It’s not the amount, it’s how they did it,” Gardner said, expressing disappointment at a lack of outreach to the general aviation community by the government of the Bahamas, a popular vacation destination for pilots.
“They played with the goose that lays the golden eggs,” he said.

New Bahamas customs fee catches pilots off guard - Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

AOPA seeks more data on pilot detentions, inspections - Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

AOPA seeks more data on pilot detentions, inspections

July 2, 2013

By Jim Moore

Federal officials have yet to respond to AOPA’s demand for information (and explanations) regarding the increasingly frequent detention and search of law-abiding pilots by agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection—well inside the national borders.

AOPA continues to gather new reports from pilots with experiences similar to those first reported by AOPA Online in May. AOPA Manager of Aviation Security Tom Zecha said the online survey need not be fully completed to be useful, though the more data supplied, the better.

Close

Zecha said he has heard positive feedback from members who appreciate the handy kneeboard-formatted checklist with detailed recommendations on how to respond to ground inspection and search demands (other than routine ramp checks conducted by FAA staff). The checklist will be published as a tear-out insert in the August issue of AOPA Pilot.

AOPA has yet to receive a response to a June 19 letter to acting CBP Commissioner Thomas S. Winkowski that noted the agency’s failure to respond to previous Freedom of Information requests within the time frame required by law, and gave the agency until July 20 to respond before the association pursues “other remedies.”

AOPA seeks more data on pilot detentions, inspections - Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

Both Flags up on the new Flag Pole

Mike Moore returned from his vacation and put up the SC99 flag. Next is lighting, which should be done in a few days. 

Restaurant open at Lake City, SC.

The Patio Restaurant, Lake City, SC My wife and I had lunch at The Patio Restaurant located at Lake City Municipal in Lake City, SC. Food was very good and fresh. We both had salads which were some of the best we've had they substituted grilled chicken for the ham on her salad. We're sure to be back. Submitted by Mike B

Per Fun Places to Fly.... they have a new restaurant at Lake City.  (51J)  Let us know if you happen to drop in how the food was.

New Flag Pole Installed

The new flag pole is now installed next to the Gazebo.  It is 25 feet tall with a 4x6 foot flag. 

When the new beacon was installed, it was decided to move the flag from the tower due to problems replacing the flag.   A new pole was installed next to the Gazebo.  The SC99 flag will be added as soon as Mike Moore returns from his vacation.   7-5-2013

Photo by: Don Cook

New Flag Pole 7-3-2013

 This is what it did all day long.  Of course, this is what it does when you want to install a flag pole.

 We had a break in the weather, so we took advantage of it, hole dug and the concrete in.

All done.  Now all we have to do is wait 24 hours before we stick the pole in the holder.Soon we'll have a new 25 foot flag pole with a 4x6 flag and the Whiteplains flag below it.

Photo's by Posie Cook

Rob Bridgers hangar door arrived by truck.

 Crane needed to remove from truck.

 Large door arrives by truck.

Photo's by: Steve Sanderson