John Chvatal submitted the following photo, explaining: “Greg and Ashley Shelton of Greg Shelton Airshows wave to the crowd at the 2018 Ray Fagen Memorial Airshow, held June 16, in Granite Falls, Minnesota.”
Concern for the bottom line hurts general aviation
When I got out of college in 1967 and started work, most companies were run by technical people who supported research and development.
In the lab we were allowed a lot of latitude to work on related projects that may not have an immediate payout.
This lasted for a few years, but with the change in economy, many companies started to shift more and more to the “Business School” model. If it had settled to a happy medium that would be good, but that did not happen. The business-types took over more and more companies. This resulted in the near failure of several car companies and others.
Some companies have shifted back, but the general rule in the business world today is that the bottom line is the only concern. This has hit the general aviation world in many ways. [Read more…]
Redbird launches sim trade in program
Redbird Flight Simulations has launched its new Trade In, Trade Up program to give owners of outdated flight simulators an upgrade path to a new Redbird aviation training device. [Read more…]
Flying Musicians awards two solo scholarships
The Flying Musicians Association (FMA) has revealed its 2018 Solo scholarship recipients: John Laughman of Pleasant Hill, Ohio, and Nathan Nothelle of Imlay City, Michigan.
Nominations from all across the United States and Canada made the selection difficult, according to John Zapp, co-founder and president of FMA. [Read more…]
STC approved for PC-12 soundproofing kit
Skandia has received final FAA STC approval of an acoustic soundproofing kit for all variants of Pilatus PC-12 aircraft.
Manufactured using Skandia engineered soundproofing materials, the acoustic system offers PC-12 owners and passengers reduced cabin noise and increased passenger comfort in all phases of flight, according to company officials. [Read more…]
New oil quick drain valve for Lycoming engines
Curtis Superior Valve Co. has received FAA PMA approval for the CCB-38000 low profile, aluminum oil quick drain valve, which fits most Lycoming engines. [Read more…]
Tango driver hits ant hill on landing
The pilot reported that while decelerating during the landing roll on a grass runway near Sunrise Beach Village, Texas, the Tango 2’s nose gear began to skid.
The nose gear hit an ant hill, which resulted in a nose over and substantial damage to the fuselage and empennage. [Read more…]
Picture of the Day: Ready for the return flight
Mark Coffman submitted the following photo with this quick note: “Ready to return from a breakfast run to Woodlake Airport (O42) in California.”
[Read more…]
Video: One of us has to fly this airplane…
When I was 15 years old I was approximately as smart as a sweet potato. That’s not flattering, but it bears a reasonable resemblance to the truth. What’s worse is that the sweet potato was in general more useful than I was.
You can ask my mom. Even as kind and generous as she is, she’s likely to confirm the above description as bring fairly accurate.
Thankfully, the years have been kind to me. I straightened up, found my calling, and got to be pretty good at telling a story, flying an airplane, and finding people who were willing to pay me to do one or both of those things.
Interestingly enough, everything I’ve done professionally, with real enthusiasm, turns out to be the same things I used to do with great zeal as a hobby. [Read more…]
GA advocates concerned about GPS interference from proposed cell network
A coalition of 11 general aviation advocacy groups have expressed concern over the potential impact to satellite-based global positioning system (GPS) navigation capabilities from a proposed broadband cellular communications network operating within frequency bands currently used by GPS.
A prior attempt to implement a high-speed nationwide cellular network by Ligado Networks, formerly known as LightSquared, revealed signals from its cellular towers significantly disrupted aircraft navigation systems. [Read more…]