It’s a simple idea, really: Put airplane projects in the hands of high school kids. The initial mission of Build A Plane is to help kids learn how to be mechanics, as well as the skills needed to build a plane — skills they can then use in the workplace. But the program does so […]
Excel-Jet sues FAA for Sport-Jet crash
Excel-Jet Ltd. has filed suit against the FAA over the crash of the company’s Sport-Jet prototype last June at the Colorado Springs Municipal Airport. In its filing, the Colorado Springs-based company claims air traffic controllers caused the June 22, 2006, crash when the plane was cleared for takeoff behind a de Havilland Dash-8-200 in violation […]
Sturgell nominated as FAA administrator
Robert “Bobby” Sturgell has been nominated by the Bush administration to replace Marion Blakey as FAA administrator. He has been serving as acting administrator since Blakey’s departure and was deputy administrator prior to that appointment. None of the general aviation alphabet groups has shown any marked enthusiasm for Sturgell, who is a supporter of user […]
TFR-busters off the hook
Some of the pilots heading for the annual Hagerstown Fly-In in Maryland in antique airplanes, most without radios, found themselves in unexpected trouble Oct. 7. A dozen flew into airspace they didn’t know had been restricted for a visit by President Bush to a nearby memorial service for firefighters, according to the FAA. Four were […]
Flying Tiger ‘Tex’ Hill dies
Brig. Gen. David Lee “Tex” Hill was exactly the sort of man we describe as a living legend. He died Oct. 11 at the age of 92, very much a legend in his own time and, doubtless, for a long time to come. He was affable, candid, endowed of a great sense of humor, a […]
Nolan Herndon, Doolittle Raid navigator, dies at 88
Nolan A. Herndon, a member of the Doolittle Raiders who was held captive in, then escaped from, the Soviet Union after participating in the famous bombing raid on Japan, died of pneumonia Oct. 7 at the age of 88. He was the last survivor among the three Doolittle Raiders from South Carolina. Herndon was a […]
From Secret Navy Bomber to Flying Camper
The Beech 18 was a workhorse during the war years. “It has been estimated that 90% of American bombardiers and navigators in World War II were trained in military model Beech 18s,” according to Jane’s Encyclopedia of Aviation. The aircraft was sturdy and versatile. It could be configured as a bomber trainer (the M18R and […]
Talk about a fish story!
You know that you are immersed in aviation when your company’s pet fish is placarded and lit up by a spotlight made from the piston of an aircraft engine. Betty the Beta lives in a bowl in the lobby of Sporty’s Pilot Shop in Batavia, Ohio.
Keep the pressure on in user fee battle
Candice Miller is not a pilot, but she has become a voice for GA in the House of Representatives. Miller, a Republican who is serving her third term as representative of the 10th District in Michigan, has joined the battle against user fees, working to pass the House FAA Reauthorization bill. The daughter of a […]