Here are some interesting aviation stories from this week that you may not have seen.

Balloonists in hot water for using hot air.
It seems that the owners of an Olive Ranch are upset about balloonists using the air over their fortress and are suing everybody in the area who has ever touched a hot air balloon. And at the same time they are trying to get the FAA to allow them to establish a helicopter pad on their property that would permit multiple flights per day to their compound. This fight appears to be escalating.

A colorful history of Flight Attendants
This is a quick look at the evolution of the stewardess/flight attendant position from the days when flying was an event to today when it is more of a cattle drive.

Restrictions concerning zero fuel weight in weight & balance computations.
This is an article from AOPA’s flight Training Blog that discusses zero fuel weight and it’s restrictions on weight and balance. The article discusses loading of a Canadair Regional Jet.

Airline employees going to charm school? Finger in the dam.
This is a Wall Street Journal article about Delta Airlines sending 11,000 employees to charm school. The article was published yesterday and already has 38 comments as I write this. I’m a little too close to the problem to make any unbiased comments.

Women pilots flying taidraggers
This is a link to a website started in 2009 by Judy Birchler, a woman who loves flying taildraggers. She started the site in an attempt to meet like-minded female pilots. From the look of the markers on the membership map the site is a huge success.