Joe McMurray submitted the following photo and note: “Turn final in a Carbon Cub on floats.”
[Read more…]Florida’s newest pilot
By Ted Luebbers
Mateo Colmenero, a member of the Aviation Youth Program sponsored by EAA Chapter 534 in Leesburg, Florida, earned his private pilot certificate Jan. 12, 2020.
Mateo, who has been a member of the youth program for several years, was the chapter’s first recipient of a $10,000 EAA National Ray Scholarship.
[Read more…]Safety guidelines updated for winter flying for VLJ and TAA pilots
The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) has updated its training resource for single pilot operations for Very Light Jets (VLJ) and Technically Advanced Aircraft (TAA).
[Read more…]Sporty’s puts out call for entries for writing competition
The Richard Collins family has once again partnered with Sporty’s to offer The Richard Collins Writing Prize for Young Pilots.
To qualify, the writer must be a pilot (including student pilot) who is 24 years of age or younger. The article must be original, not previously published, and no longer than 1,500 words. The topic should be an event that changed or shaped the author’s flying.
[Read more…]How much did you pay for your practical tests?
The Flight School Association of North America (FSANA) is conducting a survey on pricing for FAA practical tests around the country.
The 2020 survey of FAA practical test pricing follows a similar survey in 2018. In fact, the 2020 survey includes the exact same questions as the 2018 survey, FSANA officials said.
“So, if you remember doing this two years ago, please do it again,” they ask.
[Read more…]RV-4 crashes after engine quits
The commercial pilot departed on a local flight and began a 120-mph cruise climb. After the RV-4 cleared some high terrain, the pilot leaned the engine fuel-air mixture, but the engine began to operate roughly.
He enriched the mixture, and the engine began to operate smoothly, but then lost total power.
[Read more…]Picture of the Day: A true warbird
CDR Michael Graves USN Ret. submitted the following photo and note: “A true warbird of World War II. This aircraft served with the USN and Marine Corps from 1943 to 1946 at MCAAS/NAS Mojave. She is just one of a handful of the 100 Navy HE/AE1s delivered to the US Navy from 1942-1942 that remain. She was a stop gap aircraft before helicopters came on line to evacuate injured personnel from the battle field.”
[Read more…]Central Coast AirFest turns two
No terrible twos for this young airshow as the Central Coast Airfest at Santa Maria Municipal Airport (KSMX) in California marked its sophomore year.
In fact there were some big shoes to fill after the inaugural 2018 Central Coast Airfest was recognized by the International Council of Air Shows with a Pinnacle Platinum Award for “Best Small Civilian Air Show.” And fill those shoes they did, winning the award again in 2019.
Covering the show again this year, I was interested to see what changes may have been implemented. One new element was a plane pull to benefit Special Olympics of Northern Santa Barbara County. The plane pull brought participants together to see which team could pull a Russian MiG-21 fighter jet 12′ in the shortest time. The plane pull raised nearly $13,000 for the organization.
[Read more…]Construction begins on Project Skylab on SUN ‘n FUN campus
A ceremonial groundbreaking was held Jan. 15, 2020, for a $4.6 million STEM laboratory learning center on the SUN ‘n FUN campus on Lakeland Linder International Airport in Florida.
Known as Project Skylab, the learning center is the newest addition to the Aerospace Center for Excellence (ACE) at KLAL, which includes a high school, Central Florida Aerospace Academy, the Florida Air Museum, the Lakeland Aero Club, and more.
[Read more…]FAA opens fire research facility in Atlantic City
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — The FAA opened a new indoor fire research facility in December 2019 to conduct performance tests of potential replacement fire extinguishing agents.
The work conducted in this new $5 million, 2,500-square-foot facility will support research on fluorine-free firefighting foams, FAA officials said.
[Read more…]