A second Sport-Jet prototype is being built to replace the one lost last June in a spectacular, but remarkably injury-free, crash. Bob Bornhofen, Sport-Jet founder, says the new fuselage is being built now and should be flying early next year. The original proof-of-concept Sport-Jet crashed during takeoff on June 22, 2006, after 25 hours of […]
Relive a bygone time at Massey Aerdrome
The Massey Aerodrome and Museum (MD1), tucked away in the northeast corner of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, is a hidden treasure — but you don’t need a treasure map to find it. A sectional chart or a decent road map will do. The actual aerodrome is a grass airfield that started as the dream of four […]
Virginia Fly-In grows into Expo: Event lands at Suffolk Executive Airport
Suffolk Executive Airport (SFQ) at Suffolk, Virginia, will be the site of next year’s Virginia Regional EAA Expo, according to Gordon Campbell, president of the Virginia Council of EAA Chapters, sponsors of the annual event. The event, traditionally held in October at Dinwiddie County Airport (PTB) near Petersburg, will move up to June 14-15 in […]
BUT COULD IT BEAT A CAR?
While modern air races pit airplanes against airplanes, like Reno favorite “Dago Red,” early air races had airplanes racing against cars — with the cars winning most of the time. The ‘good old days’ of racing The very first air races were not races between airplanes, but rather races between airplanes and automobiles. It was […]
F-22 Raptor wins Collier Trophy
Lockheed Martin and the F-22 Raptor team have won the 2006 Robert J. Collier Trophy from the National Aeronautic Association. Created in 1911, the trophy is considered to be one of the most prestigious aviation awards. It is granted each year “for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America during the preceding year.” […]
Honda establishes HQ at Greensboro NC
Honda Aircraft Co. will establish its world headquarters in Greensboro, N.C., where it will build a new 215,000-square-foot facility at Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTI). The company also confirmed its long-rumored plan to build the HondaJet at a new plant to be built close to its new headquarters. Honda plans to begin delivery of the […]
Master the E-6B flight computer
Even if the FAA’s current proposal to allow the use of personal computer flight simulators to maintain currency doesn’t make it into the FAR/AIM, you can still use Microsoft Flight Simulator to develop your pilot skills. Bruce Williams, a Seattle-based flight instructor, tells you how in “Microsoft Flight Simulator as a Training Aid.” The book […]
Study shows older pilots perform better: Not a surprise to older pilots
Does age affect a pilot’s ability to fly? That question was asked of scientists at several clinical research centers in California. Their answer, after three years of study, was reported in the Feb. 27 issue of Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Their findings showed that older pilots performed better than younger […]
Bob Hoover celebrates 85th birthday
Bob Hoover turned 85 on Jan. 24. He has been called a “living legend,” “a magician in the cockpit” — even “the greatest stick-and-rudder pilot who ever lived.” Hoover may actually deserve all that fulsome praise, for his has been a life of doing wonderful, almost magical things with airplanes, not only thrilling a great […]