Wingspar

VPs Air Force Transport Blows Away Small Airplane

wingspar — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 10:10:54 +0000

Since both President Obama and his Vice President insist on using the largest airplanes available to them from the US Air Force fleet at Andrews AFB, damage to property at airports that normally don’t handle such large jets as the 747 and 757 is a large risk. Also at risk is the US deficit. Senior government officials could demonstrate some concern with fiscal responsibility by using the much smaller Gulfstream transports also operated by the AF. Gulfstreams are considered the gold standard by corporate executives.

Who’s to Blame for Health Care Legislation?

wingspar — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 05:30:00 +0000

The finger-pointing going on over the health care proposals is interesting. Of particular note are some slick deals negotiated by a few Democrat Senators as a price for their support. Republicans are quick to highlight this deal making as evil. Actually, the unwillingness of Republicans to come to the table and help hammer out a health care bill is exactly what positioned the Democrat Senators to be able to extract a payment for their support. If Republicans had been willing to participate in the process, the need for every 60 Democrat Senators to support the bill would not have existed and their leverage to get a special deal inserted would have evaporated. And, we might have had a better bill with some good input from the Republicans. Time for all to remember that and the end of the day, the art of politics is the art of compromise. It’s a messy business that has little room for ideological purists. We give politicians podiums and the purists pulpits. Lets respect both in their different tasks.

Excessive Salaries

wingspar — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 07:41:45 +0000

The attempt by the government to punish bankers by limiting salaries is clearly not working. A simple solution would be a 90% marginal tax rate on income over some reasonable amount – say $1 or 2 million. That should pretty well eliminate the interest in making huge salaries. As a result of the savings in executive pay, companies would have more money to invest in research, new facilities, hiring more workers, increasing worker pay, paying dividends, etc. Since the tax rate would apply to all high earners, there would be no incentive to flee from one job to another in hopes of making more. Increasing management stability would probably be a good thing. Also, with greed moderated, more people might devote themselves to areas they were really interested in rather than just those where they could make a killing.

Retired Generals on DoD Payroll Again

wingspar — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 07:33:32 +0000

Amazing how senior uniformed military members with 30 or more years of service are allowed to honorably retire with a nice pension and medical plan, but suddenly become so valuable they are needed as consultants (aka mentors) at up to $1,500 per day! Wow what a deal for them. Not so good for the taxpayers. If they were so valuable, why were they released from active duty? And, if they had some specific skill that was suddenly in demand by DoD, why not just recall them to active duty? All retired regular officers are subject to recall. The system now in place encourages senior officers to retire early to make a small fortune trading on the experience they gained on active duty. Some of these officers gain even more by representing defense contractors with an interest in selling systems to the military.

Aviation Safety Rules We Don’t Need

wingspar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:01:07 +0000

Two professional airline pilots fail to perform to the level of a student pilot on his/her first solo cross-country flight, and we have Congressmen introducing legislation to prohibit the use of laptops in the cockpit. The airline pilots violated a host of existing Federal Aviation Regulations and are unlikely to every be trusted with a plane load of passengers again. Laptops often carry flight related information and are not cause of the problem in this case.

We also have some misguided proposals to lift the protected status of cockpit voice recorders. On the surface this might seem OK, but I doubt if you’ll find many professional pilots who will endorse this proposal for a very good reason. Allowing unrestricted access to CVRs will inhibit communications between pilots. That will undo years of hard work to improve communications under the general heading of crew resource management (CRM). Decades ago, when the captain was god and first officers and flight attendants spoke only when spoken to, we experienced many accidents due to crew members not speaking up. Any proposal which would roll this effort back should be viewed with suspicion. If pilots think every word said in the cockpit will be available for second guessing by company and FAA officials, you’ll see a lot of hand signals and written notes being exchanged. Frankly, when a flock of birds appears in the path of the airplane, I’d really rather have a pilot yell “Birds!” than pass a note or try to make flapping gestures with his hands. The cockpit is not the place to play charades. Save the CVRs for their original purpose: to help unravel a mishap when the pilots are no longer able to tell their own story.

Still no word from Intel on the Honor Flight Program

wingspar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:53:06 +0000

A couple weeks back, I posted about the Honor Flight Program and my hope for Intel to honor WWII veterans through its participation. When I didn’t get a response to my inquiry, I sent a note to Senator Bob Dole thinking he’d have better luck. Senator Dole responded that he has already sent two letters to Intel CEO Mr. Otellini, but has received no response. I find it amazing Intel’s CEO would not at least respond to a distinguished American who was seriously wounded in WWII and went on to a long career of public service.

Intel is one of the most profitable companies in the United States. Its stature is reflected in a fleet of six regional jets. Most of them sit idle on the weekends. Why not use them to acknowledge the service of WWII veterans by giving them a much-need lift to the nation’s capital? With so many of these veterans gone and nearly 1,000 more dying each day, the nation will soon miss the opportunity to offer a gesture of thanks. “Intel Inside” is a nice slogan, but where’s the heart?

Time marches on but it is not too late for Intel to join other top US companies participating in the Honor Flight Program. Please consider supporting the Honor Flight Program by dropping CEO Paul Otellini a note. He can be reached at:

Mr. Paul S. Otellini, Intel President and CEO

2200 Mission College Blvd

Santa Clara, CA 95054-1549

If you’re needing a little inspiration, perhaps Clint Eastwood can be of service……

Intel AWOL from Honor Flight Program

wingspar — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 16:26:38 +0000

With little fanfare, many corporations are using their aircraft as part of the Honor Flight Network flying WWII vets to Washington DC to view their Memorial and provide a final note of thanks for their sacrifice and the freedoms they preserved. Senator Bob Dole is a supporter of this great program and regularly meets with these veterans. One of America’s most successful and profitable companies, Intel, operates a fleet of seven aircraft which sit idle on weekends. A letter to Intel CEO, Paul S. Otellini on Sept 8 suggesting Intel join this program has gone unanswered. What a shame. Perhaps readers would like to encourage Intel to report for duty by supporting this worthwhile program.

Pilots Take a Time Out

wingspar — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 16:11:46 +0000

The unfolding saga of NW Airlines over flying the destination airport is a classic case of a simple story made complex by the media. The most credible information so far comes from the pilots statements that they were not asleep and were engaged in some intense conversation about company policy. Sine NWA and Delta have recently merged, it isn’t hard to figure out the probable topic of the discussion: seniority, which in the airline industry is everything. Your seniority number, not your skill in your job determines salary, schedules, and nearly every aspect of your life. Not surprisingly, the merging of seniority lists is one of the most troublesome aspects of airline consolidations. Modern computer driven airplanes are marvels of safety and efficiency. Pilots are seldom called upon to use extraordinary skills (except when they have to ditch in the Hudson River). It’s easy for minds to drift when monitoring automated systems. At this point it does not appear that these two pilots have much of a defense. I’d guess the seniority numbers of a large group of pilots are about to advance by two!

National Guard Overtasked

wingspar — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:28:04 +0000

See letter.

NRA Gone Too Far

wingspar — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:11:18 +0000

The NRA has now decided your First Amendment (Free Speech) rights are under attack. Will the paranoia ever end?