When Paul Besing was building an RV-6A in the 1990s, disaster struck. “I had my builder log on a spread sheet and when I reformatted my computer, I forgot to save it,” he said. “I lost everything.” In the process of recreating the logs, an idea – and a company – was born. “I started […]
‘Reel’ pilots
Most people know Gen. Chuck Yeager as the man who first broke the sound barrier, but did you know he was also a movie pilot? Yeager flew one of the F-86 Sabre jets seen in the 1950 epic “Jet Pilot,” staring John Wayne. Produced by Howard Hughes, the film was shot over three years, from […]
Cousin to the Hughes Racer?
Have you ever seen a Harlow PJC-2? If you have, count yourself lucky. The low-wing single-engine design came about in 1940 as a class project. PJC stands for Pasadena Junior College in Southern California. The numeral two identifies the aircraft as the second design instructor Max Harlow had his students build. The airplane bears a […]
One sky, one voice
It is all one sky. No matter how you use it, or what your involvement with it, all of aviation’s many segments fly through or in some way make use of the same sky. The implication, then, is that all of us – private pilots, airlines, business aircraft owners, agricultural services, fuel companies, weather services […]
A flying Honda
As small jets become increasingly common, both for business and personal transportation, perhaps it is natural that Honda is interested in airplane and aircraft engine manufacturing. After all, Ford, another company that brought automobiles to the masses, bought into the airplane business in 1925, just as air transportation caught the public imagination. Honda may see […]
Czeching out the Allegro 2000
The Allegro 2000 is no Johnny-come lately, except in the U.S. Certified by the FAA in May as a Special-Light Sport Aircraft, the Allegro 2000 has been flying for about 12 years and can be found in 16 countries. So far, about 1,200 have been delivered. Built by Fantasy Air in Pisek, Czech Republic, you […]
Blue Angels founder Butch Voris dies
Retired Navy Capt. Roy M. “Butch” Voris, a World War II ace and organizer of the famed Blue Angels flight demonstration team, died at his home in Monterey, Calif., Aug. 9. He was 85. In 1946, Fleet Adm. Chester Nimitz, who then was Chief of Naval Operations, went looking for a crack Naval Aviator to […]
Slam Dunk
I don’t care how well you think you are ready for an emergency, nothing beats professional training to make sure. My wife, Staci, and I often fly our Cardinal RG over water to favorite diving destinations. And so it was that we were sitting in a classroom of Survival Systems USA, Inc. (SSUSA) in Groton, […]
“Something for everyone” from Oshkosh
An estimated 700,000 people attended this year’s AirVenture in Oshkosh. While the highlight of the week was the arrival on opening day of White Knight and SpaceShipOne, this year’s big show was non-stop, with the Global Flyer making an appearance, as well as the debut of the new HondaJet and the unveiling of many new […]