Thomas Wilson

1 week ago | afr.com | Thomas Wilson |Jamie Smyth

London/New York | Israel’s sudden attack on Iran has threatened to disrupt oil supplies in the Middle East, placing the OPEC+ cartel’s recent decision to increase crude production in the spotlight. The Saudi Arabia-led producer group has surprised the oil market this year by fast-tracking the return of idled production even as crude prices fell. It has prompted speculation that the cartel was responding to White House pressure to boost output ahead of a confrontation with Iran. Loading...

2 weeks ago | kitplanes.com | Thomas Wilson

Living in the small airplane world polarizes between a time warp where nothing changes and a techno-political maelstrom where everything flies around the barnyard tornado style. Lately, it seems there are plenty of sacred cows zooming past my windows, so it seems a good time to touch on several subjects. ADS-B PrivacyNot that I want to say I told you so, but back in our February 2019 issue of KITPLANES I grumbled regarding the inevitable governmental misuse of ADS-B.

1 month ago | kitplanes.com | Thomas Wilson

While biplanes have been racing for many decades, the class essentially dissolved in 2023 and has been re-invented for 2025. This all-new organization is called the Biplane Air Racing Class, or BARC for short. The first outing for the new class just concluded with their participation in the Pylon Racing School in Roswell, New Mexico. They’ll return to Roswell for racing in September.

1 month ago | kitplanes.com | Thomas Wilson

We caught these interesting green dots on a course map for the Roswell air races. They’re well outside the already 10+-mile Unlimited/Sport course—something like 14 miles per lap. Now that looks like some he-man sport!Turns out they mark a concept floating around for a 600 mph course—meant for jets that are “more capable” than the L-39 trainers making up the current crop of Jet A burners. We fondly remember the first demonstration jet race at Reno ages ago.

1 month ago | kitplanes.com | Thomas Wilson

Air racing fans have been anticipating this week’s Pylon Racing School at Roswell, New Mexico, with various levels of hope and curiosity. It’s everyone’s first opportunity to see or run on the new pylon course—plus, anyone wanting to race in September must run on the course prior to racing, says the FAA. So you’d think the turnout by the end of the week would be large—as in, an entire field of seven classes.