Dennis Mead submitted the following photo and note: “Camping along Route 66 at Roy’s Cafe in Amboy, California.”
Another kind of step-down fix
I met Brittany by total happenstance. While on a visit to her local airport, she wandered into the tidy, well-appointed meeting room where I was chatting with a business associate.
Brittany is in her mid to late 20s. She’s ambitious, owning her own small company at such a young age. But she’s looking to the long-term, too. When she happened onto the meeting I was engaged in, she was preparing for a flight lesson.
She’s recently become a student pilot. With 15 hours or so in her logbook, she’s at the exciting stage of the process. She knows enough to know she’s got a lot to learn, but she’s mastered the basics sufficiently to be working on the task so many of us struggle with for a lifetime — landing the airplane. [Read more…]
Latest spending bill includes relief for Trump TFRs
The latest $328 billion dollar government spending package, signed Feb. 15, 2019, by President Trump, includes $3.5 million in reimbursements to three airports affected by Presidential TFRs.
According to officials with the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), they have been pushing for a solution for airports that have been negatively impacted by presidential TFRs where the President is in residence for an extended period of time, most recently at New Jersey’s Solberg and Somerset airports and Florida’s Palm Beach County Park Airport, also known as Lantana. Combined, the airports suffered a net loss of nearly $1 million in 2017 alone, according to AOPA officials. [Read more…]
Whole Aircraft Parachute developed for Van’s RV-10
BRS Aerospace has developed a whole aircraft parachute rescue system for Van’s RV-10 homebuilt aircraft.
The company is now accepting orders for the system, which is priced at $25,990, plus shipping. [Read more…]
Drones to light up the skies of SUN ‘n FUN
You saw them at the Olympics, and most recently at the Super Bowl. Now, airshow fans at the upcoming SUN ‘n FUN International Fly-In and Expo in Lakeland, Florida, will be able to see the first public drone light show performance at a Florida airshow.
More than 60 of the specialized aerial robots will lift off together, taking flight twice during the week-long event.
SUN ‘n FUN organizers say they are confident that this multi-colored aerial light display set to music, dubbed the “Star Dance Spectacular,” will be one of this year’s most memorable highlights. [Read more…]
Annual Safety Standdown slated
DULLES, Virginia — The Greater Washington Business Aviation Association (GWBAA) will hold its 13th annual Safety Standdown April 18, 2019, at the NTSB Training Center in Ashburn, Virginia. [Read more…]
Cessna 152 hits hangar
During a solo night flight, the pilot “landed long” and was unable to complete a touch-and-go as planned at the airport in Madill, Oklahoma.
The airport did not have a parallel taxiway leading to the departure end of the runway, so he taxied onto the ramp area to turn around. During the taxi on the ramp, the lighting was “poor,” and the Cessna 152’s right wing tip hit a hangar. [Read more…]
Picture of the day: Sundowner at sundown
Kyle Robertson took this picture flying back to Austin Bergstrom International Airport (KAUS) in Texas after the Pilot Partner Flying Club picked up its Beech Sundowner (C23) from the avionics shop. The Sundowner is flying just before sunset with Downtown Austin in the background. [Read more…]
Season finale in the high desert
The 2018 airshow season allowed me to visit many parts of California, and for my season finale I chose the Apple Valley Airshow.
I was not familiar with this event until 2017, when I was invited by Mr. & Mrs. Tumbling Bear, Rob and Susan Harrison. I was unable to attend in 2017 but was determined to attend the 2018 show.
Located in the California high desert locale of Apple Valley, this was the 17th year this airshow was put on by the San Bernardino County Department of Airports for local airshow fans. Unfortunately the typical clear desert skies of the region chose not to participate on this particular day. Instead overcast skies and light rain delayed the start of the show for the thousands in attendance.
When conditions improved, umbrellas were put away, planes were wiped down, and pilots happily began preflighting their aircraft. First to take to the skies was the Tumbling Bear, Rob Harrison himself, to check conditions before starting his aerobatic routine. [Read more…]
Video: Celebrating one year as a pilot
A new video posted to YouTube celebrates the first anniversary of receiving a private pilot certificate and how that has changed this young aviator’s life. [Read more…]