First Landings Aviation, a sport pilot flight school at Orlando Apopka Airport (X04) in Florida, has added a Piper Cub to its fleet. The addition of the Cub allows First Landings Aviation to offer both conventional gear (taildragger) training, as well as tricycle-gear training in its Remos and PiperSport aircraft, according to company officials. The […]
‘My Enemy, My Friend’
Two Vietnam War fighter pilots who once flew combat against each other will lecture at The Museum of Flight in Seattle on March 19 at 2 p.m. While serving as a U.S. Air Force pilot in Vietnam during 1972, then-Maj. Dan Cherry shot down a North Vietnamese MiG-21, and saw the plane’s pilot, Nguyen Hong […]
Third generation takes over at Wipaire
There’s a new boss at Wipaire, but he’s definitely not a stranger to the business or the GA community. Late last year Chuck Wiplinger was elected by the board of directors president of the company founded by his grandfather, Ben, in 1960. He takes over the reins from his father, Bob (known as Wip), making […]
Nall Report: Good news in some areas, concerns in others
The new edition of the Joseph T. Nall Report, the most comprehensive review of general aviation (GA) safety published by the Air Safety Institute (formerly the AOPA Air Safety Foundation), is now available online. It contains some surprisingly good news about commercial GA operations, but raises significant concerns in other areas, especially with homebuilts. “The […]
Proposed DOT rule invasion of privacy
A new rule that would allow anyone to access the flight plans of private aircraft would constitute an “unnecessary and undesirable invasion of privacy, hampering the mobility of citizens and companies,” according to officials with the Aerospace Industries Association. “The Block Aircraft Registration Request program functions much like a ‘Do Not Call’ list for private […]
Coalition to save GPS launched
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Representatives from a wide variety of industries and companies have joined together to form the “Coalition to Save Our GPS” to resolve a serious threat to the Global Positioning System (GPS). The threat stems from a recent decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to grant a conditional waiver allowing the expansion […]
Gleim releases Seaplane Refresher Course
Gleim has just released its newest online course: the Seaplane Refresher Course, which enables seaplane-rated pilots to stay current and pass their next flight review in a seaplane. This course is an interactive study program that is designed to achieve two important goals. First, the course assists pilots who are preparing for a flight review […]
R&D bill boon to GA
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The introduction of H.R. 942, The American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2011, a bipartisan bill that will strengthen the research and development (R&D) tax credit from 14% to 20%, is being lauded as a boon to GA. Representative Kevin Brady (R-Texas) introduced the bill, which was cosponsored by Representatives John Larson […]
Hypersonic jet engine to be unveiled Monday
Aerospace engineering researchers and students at the University of Virginia are helping to create a hypersonic “scramjet” engine that can travel at five times the speed of sound — or 3,700 mph. That’s about twice the speed of a bullet, and it’s technology that could one day allow a plane to fly from New York […]