Nobody ever got a better sendoff than Don Langford.

It’s hard to describe Don, because he was so many things. He was a writer (check out his aviation book, Are We There Yet?), a FedEx pilot experienced in everything from Cubs to 747s (including cropdusters, helicopters, LSA, ultralights, and gliders), an ATP mechanic, a homebuilder, engineer, and LSA distributor. He had flown thousands of hours all over the world and wasn’t finished yet.

Don had just sold an LSA amphib, and he and the new owner (also a very experienced pilot) were flying in the aircraft.  We really don’t know how it happened, but somehow they ended up upside down in the Tennessee River. None of us could believe it.

A crowd of Don’s relatives, general aviation friends, and airline pilot friends showed up for the funeral. (I’ve not seen that many airline uniforms in one place since they gave away free copies of USA Today at the Atlanta Airport.) 

Later there was another crowd at a covered dish dinner in Don’s honor at Moontown Airport outside of Huntsville, AL, where Don hangared his Wag-A-Bond.

Four of us spoke briefly at the funeral service, and it quickly became evident that most everybody there had been helped by Don Langford. He had helped so many with mechanical problems, instructed others, and befriended others in a thousand ways.

Don had helped me in a way I will never forget. My son Kevin discovered computers at the age of ten. At 12 he bought one (half his money and half ours). His mother and I couldn’t keep up. We didn’t know what he was talking about half the time, and we had a not-so-secret fear that he might end up breaking into NASA’s computer (we lived in Huntsville, AL).

When Kevin was 14, Don Langford got Kevin a job with a small computer engineering company. Kevin worked there after school and weekends until he went off to college. Today Kevin is an engineer himself, and vice president of a Silicon Valley computer hardware/software company. I credit those years of his youth spent working with adult engineers.

I credit Don Langford.

Don left a huge hole in aviation and in the lives of many aviators.

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The story is that Cap’n Randy is licensed to check out anyone in any airplane, whether he has ever flown that model before. I don’t understand that, so don’t ask me for details.

Recently I talked with one Hugh Wheelless, Jr. who grew up as the son of Hugh Senior, a legendary man who owned and ran a very large aerial application (cropduster for the unwashed) operation in Dothan, AL. At one time they operated a fleet of B-17s which they used, oddly enough, to spread Mirex poison to kill fire ants in the south.

Hugh, Jr. mentioned to me that one of those B-17s was the currently-famous “Aluminum Overcast.” I hadn’t known that and was greatly impressed. I sent a message to Cap’n Randy because I knew he had worked with Hugh Wheelless, Sr. at one time, and I wasn’t sure he knew about the Wheelless-Aluminum Overcast connection. I should have known better.Cap’n Randy sent back to me a detailed account of the entire history of the Aluminum Overcast, including everyone who ever owned the airplane before, during, and after the Wheelless ownership.You could have knocked me over with a feather. The things this man knows and on which he keeps records is absolutely astounding.If you would like to know how to get a copy of Cap’n Randy’s history of Aluminum Overcast, please leave your name and e-mail address in the comment section or write directly to me at ralph@ralphhood.com.

We lived in Huntsville for 28 years, from November of 1978 to November of 2006, so this hit hard. We aren’t sure at this time if we know any of the families involved, but this being an aviation event almost dictates that we do. I had received a generous invitation to attend the air show and enjoy the VIP tent. I was flattered by the invitation, but was unable to make it.

We anxiously await more news.

Change of subject…

It seems that the airlines have finally grasped the idea that continuous losses are not sustainable and that reducing capacity might be the best solution. I wish them well.

I’d give them one other suggestion—make their websites more user friendly. They are absolutely miserable. Last week I spent hours trying to buy one admittedly complicated ticket. Today I did it again.

Gail and I have only one grandchild and he lives in Boston. We had 109,000 miles in Gail’s Delta account and wanted to use them to purchase tickets so that each of us could go roundtrip to BOS for 25,000 miles, leaving us with enough miles to go again later this year. We couldn’t get that done on the website. In spite of the fact that they advertise domestic flights for 25,000 miles per person roundtrip, the lowest cost we could find was 50,000 miles per person.

I gave up twice and tried to get the tickets by telephone for an extra $50 per trip. I got one person I couldn’t understand at all, another person I could almost understand who told me there was no way to get 25,000 mile tickets, and finally, a real live human being in Atlanta who spoke American. Janice solved our problem. True, we had to change to a much less desirable schedule, but we expected that all along. Janice made us happy.

The thing that makes me mad is that it’ll have to be done all over again for the next trip. In the meantime, I hope Delta realizes what a jewel they have in Janice.

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AOPA interviewed a pilot who is in jail after he crashed his Stearman into a river, killing his passenger (go to http://www.aopa.org/members/files/pilot/2008/accident0807.html). He was jailed for only a 30-day sentence, but it raises many questions.

One of my first reactions to this story was that Ted Kennedy served no time at all for crashing his auto into a river, killing a passenger. His case seems to me to have involved far more egregious behavior than did the pilot’s accident.

The pilot was indeed guilty of bad behavior (all of this is only my opinion), but criminal behavior? He did knowingly break regs and the accident resulted because of that violation. Was this criminal? As Bill Clinton might have said, depends on the definition of criminal.

In cars, DUI is criminal by law and by custom and can bring jail time. Speeding and failure to stop at a stop sign seldom do. On the other hand, when they cause fatal accidents, both can bring liability lawsuits in the millions of dollars. So, can such suits be brought against pilots? (The pilot in question faces such a lawsuit right now.) We’re used to that and buy liability insurance to protect ourselves. But jail? You just can’t buy a “Get-Out-of-Jail-Free” card except in the game of Monopoly.

My non-flying friends seem to be in favor of the pilot going to jail. My flying friends vary all over the board between “hang him” and “no pilot should go to jail for an accident.” What do you think? AOPA would like to know (see their link above) and so would I.

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The market works hard to solve our energy problems. Tata, the large Indian car manufacturer, plans to put on the market this year what they call an “air car.” Fill it with compressed air and off you go. I don’t know diddley about the air car. I don’t know if it will be successful or not. I do know that a bunch of folks in India believe it will sell and they are investing a lot of money in it. I, thanks to the working of the market, can sit back and wait to see without investing a cent. That’s wonderful.

I know a successful inventor. Note that word “successful.” He has invented things, put them on the market, and made a profit on them. That impresses me. He is currently working on a machine that will—powered solely by the differences between high and low temperatures during a normal day—create electricity. Put it in your back yard and it will, he says, produce more electricity than you need to operate your home. You can sell the excess to your utility company.

Again, I know nothing and understand less about this. All I know is that a man who has been successful with past inventions is working on this at no cost to me. If he succeeds, it will save me a bunch of money. If he fails, it costs me nothing.

That same guy thinks he has a process that will profitably extract oil from used tires. Will it? Who knows? All I know is that he thinks it will work and has plans to invest in and operate the plant where it will be done.

People are doing this type of thing all over the world, and that is wonderful. If any of them—and some will—win the big prize—profit—we will all benefit.

Ain’t that a great system?

Now, look at the latest from the guvmint. It wants to force all of us to buy only compact fluorescent light bulbs by the year 2014. Note that the guvmint doesn’t have to compete on the free market. It can just tell us what we can buy. If the bulbs are good, we will benefit. If not, it will cost all of us. Does anyone remember when the guvmint forced us to buy those pitiful toilets?

In the meantime, the guvmint’s inferior system thwarts the free market’s superior system. If the guvmint mandates that we all buy a certain light bulb, why would anyone invest in developing a better bulb? It would actually be illegal to use the better bulb. Bingo, folks. The guvmint has done it again.

When will they ever learn?

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It boggles the mind to think of his life. He was born in Germany, earned his doctorate in physics at age 23, was drafted into World War II, and sent to fight in Stalingrad in what some call history’s bloodiest battle. He was huddled in a Ukrainian farmhouse with about 40 other soldiers one cold night when an artillery shell destroyed the house and buried him alive. Later, another shell uncovered him. He was the lone survivor.

Later in the war, he was transferred to Dr.Wernher von Braun’s German rocket development center.

At the end of the war, Dr. Stuhlinger escaped with von Braun and others to America, where they developed rockets at Ft. Bliss and, later, in Huntsville, AL.

I lived in Huntsville for 28 years and can honestly say that I never heard a single person say a negative word about the man. He was much beloved and much admired as a scientist and as a great human being. Bob Ward, who, in his younger years, reported on the space race for “The Huntsville Times” described Stuhlinger as “a scholar and a gentleman. He was truly a gentle, sweet man and humble despite all his great achievements.” Others felt the same. A neighbor, Ralph Petroff (to whom I once tried to sell an airplane), said Stuhlinger was “equal parts Albert Einstein and Mahatma Gandhi—a brilliant man with the soul of a saint.”

One favorite story came during the building of the Explorer. A device was needed to fire the second stage at exactly the right moment. Stuhlinger designed and built it in his garage.

A man of many accomplishments, Stuhlinger climbed the Matterhorn twice, learned to fly, mastered several languages, and became an authority on Thomas Jefferson.

And was beloved by all who knew him.

I wish I could say that I knew the man, but I can’t. Wife Gail and I believe that we met him walking with his wife on the mountain trails of Huntsville when we were new to Huntsville, but the truth is we cannot remember the name of the couple we met and are just not sure.

Let it be known that—with the help of retired NASA engineer Norm Schlemmer—I borrowed heavily from “The Huntsville Times” for this BLOG.

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To paraphrase FedEx, I am absolutely, positively certain that I have less and less control of my life each year.

In aviation, the guvmint controls more space in more ways every year. I’m not saying that’s bad (or good), just that it’s true. TSA tells me what I can check, what I can carry on, to take off my shoes and unpack my computer. The airlines tell me to get there earlier, stand in lines longer, and squish up tighter. General aviation airspace becomes more restrictive and more complex. I have no control over any of this.

Outside of aviation, same thing. Between city, county, state, and fed, I spend much of my time paying and much of it trying to find out what to pay. I’m not even allowed to call the local U.S. Postal Service office, and that office can barely explain the new rates and the rules that determine what is a “standard” letter. Medicare? Social Security? Fageddabout it. In the first place, they don’t speak English but only some weird language that consists only of acronyms. If you actually put up with the telephone system, delays, and complications necessary to get an appointment with a Social Security person, she (if the Social Security System employs any males, I have never seen one) can and will explain the system and answer your questions very clearly. But only Mother Teresa ever had the serenity to put up with the process of getting the appointments, and she didn’t need to.

Telephone companies? Cable TV suppliers? Computers or, worse yet, computer people? Y’all, you might as well just give up. Hire a 12-year-old kid and let him/her figure it out. You ain’t gonna live long enough to do it yourself. If you do, your whole system (and you) will be totally obsolete when you get done.

That’s all I’ve got time for now. I think they’re coming to take me away.

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Thanks largely to the computer, it is easier than ever to shop for price. You name it, you can find out who is selling it cheaply. That has forced prices down to rock bottom on everything from cameras to hotel rooms. Sounds like a good thing to me.

But there is another side of the story.

Look at banks for example. Back in the dark ages (around 1970, I believe), the Truth In Lending Act required lenders to disclose to the borrower the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) being charged. APR was just the “real” interest rate. Before that, it was absolutely criminal the way interest rates were quoted and charged. Most of us, however, grew up with APR and have learned to see it spelled out in the loan application. That was a good thing. You could shop among local lenders for the lowest APR and that led to lower rates.

Then—within the last few years—banks became adept at adding fees along the way. You would be quoted a certain APR, then the fees would drive the total higher. And have you paid any loan even one day late recently? You wouldn’t believe the fees and even the raising of the interest rate for the balance of the loan.

Hotels did the same thing. They’d quote a rate of, say, $89 per night (I stay in cheap hotels) without mentioning fees like “gas increase fee” charged at checkout (I am proud to say I never paid one of those—I just said I called you, you quoted your price and that’s all you’re getting. They always knocked it off the bill.).

Recently, American Airlines announced a new fee of $15 for one checked bag. That allows them to quote low fares then collect extra money.

Here’s the rub. We tend to shop for the lowest price. These fees add a little sleaze factor to the bottom line. Further, they make it hard for even good suppliers to compete without the sleaze factor.

What we can do? Always, no matter what you are buying, ask for the total price, including any and all fees. Then ask questions about fines.

It won’t work perfectly, but it will help.

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Sixty-five percent. There were 65% more foreclosures in April of this year compared to the same month last year. Y’all correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought foreclosures were pretty bad last year—now they’re 65% higher.

Some think foreclosures will continue to rise into 2009, and possibly ‘til 2010.

If that doesn’t scare you, listen to this—Congress is working on this. Horrors.

I assume by now that everyone knows that the mortgage problem affects us all. When credit is tight, money is tight. When money is tight that hampers all of business.

Before I had time to become deeply depressed by the foreclosure info, comes today from The Wall Street Journal a WSJ News Alert. You won’t believe it—the headline announced “Housing Starts Post Unexpected Increase.” Holy cow.

The report goes on to say that home construction in April showed “surprising vigor, making the biggest increase in two years…” This after starts plunged by 13.8% in the previous month—that’s March of 2008. Unbelievable.

Furthermore, construction permits also rose. That seems to bode well as permits are acquired for future construction.

So, foreclosures up (bad news) and construction starts also up (good news). What’s a person to believe? I dunno, but maybe the people who invest in building have faith, but financing folks have no faith in those mortgages they sold to many poor risks in the past. Let’s look on the bright side.

In the meantime, I think maybe I want one of those “subprime” mortgages. Congress is talking about letting all those people who can’t pay their mortgages refinance with “federally insured” mortgages.

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So, what does all that mean?

Well, jet sales are climbing like a, uh, jet, while piston sales are hurting—actually down by 28% for the quarter. If piston aircraft make up your entire market, as they did when I was in the business and as is surely true even today for some dealers in some markets, then this is a horrible report. If you’re selling bizjets, then the sun is shining brightly upon your house.

Or is it?

It has been pointed out to me that current jet deliveries indicate past behavior. Most new jets are sold long in advance. (I remember years ago taking a tour of the factory in Savannah, GA, where the big, beautiful Gulfstreams were built. It was a surprise to me that many of the buyers sent an expert—an engineer, maybe—to live in Savannah and follow the construction of their jet through the entire process.)

Perhaps a better question might be how are jet sellers doing right now? Are they taking orders? Or is everyone putting them off “until we see what the economy is going to do?” I don’t know.

Will piston sales recover? Who knows? Are they all of a sudden that unpopular or is it that smaller airplane buyers are just more susceptible to a weak economy? Probably both.

Will LSA help turn the tide for piston aircraft?

The only thing I know for sure is that the situation bears watching.

FLASH–This just in. I just now read in my new Fortune magazine that helicopter sales are soaring as the oil drilling industry searches frantically for more oil to meet high demands and prices. 

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