Officials from Sun ‘n Fun and the Polk County School Board broke ground Thursday on a new $7.5 million building that will house the Central Florida Aerospace Academy (CFAA), an aviation-oriented career academy that is already located on the Sun ‘n Fun campus. The new 58,000-square-foot facility, which will house up to 500 high school […]
Next Step helps grow pilot population
Hal Shevers, founder of Sporty‘s, has no doubt what his mission in life is. “When I was 25 years old, I thought I was put on this Earth to make every woman happy and burn as much avgas as possible,” he joked Thursday at Sun ‘n Fun. “50 years later, I know my purpose is […]
Privateer amphib debuts
A few years ago, John Meekins decided he wanted a seaplane. An industrial real estate developer who lives on a lake in the Seattle area, he didn’t want to have to drive to the airport to fly his plane. He tried out a Lake and a Seawind, but found they just weren’t right for him. […]
Safety Stand Down Saturday
The FAA will conduct a national Safety Stand Down Saturday, April 17, with programs at Sun ‘n Fun and locations in all 50 states. The Stand Down will focus on four areas: Owner-performed maintenance; approach and landing; runway safety; and risk management, according to Bryan Neville, who is on the national staff of the FAA […]
Get your passport to the Cherokee Heritage Journey
As Piper Aircraft celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Piper Cherokee, the company is inviting pilots to commemorate this venerable aircraft by logging some time for the Cherokee Heritage Journey. Participants in the Cherokee Heritage Journey get a stamp each time they attend any number of fly-in events across the country. The pilot attending the […]
‘King Cub’ debuts
H.O. Aircraft, a Minneapolis restoration shop that specializes in antique, Warbird and tube and fabric restorations, has just been issued an STC for the installation of a Lycoming IO-390 210-hp engine on the Piper PA-18 Super Cub. The H.O. Aircraft “King Cub” STC covers the installation of the engine, along with a two-bladed MT composite, […]
SimCom’s Falcon, Westwind sims get FAA nod
SimCom Training Centers’ Falcon 20 and Westwind II devices have received FAA approval and statements of qualification designating them as Level C simulators. Acquired late last year from CAE, the devices are located at SimCom’s Park South training center in Orlando, Florida. Prior to entering service with SimCom, both were updated with wide-screen visual system, […]
Flight Guide eBook launches
The Flight Guide eBook displays airport diagrams, airspace graphics, pertinent airport and supplementary information on portable Sony and Kindle DX Readers. Airports are organized by identifier, airport name or city. Once your airport is displayed, you can easily flip through its pages accessing detailed airport diagrams (with taxiways identified), airspace graphics (class B, C and […]
Piper ups production
While 2009 was a tough year for the aviation industry, things were a bit different for Piper Aircraft. The company, flush with funds from its new owner, Imprimis, an investment company with offices in Bangkok, Singapore, and Brunei Darussalam, increased production rates more than 50% last year and hired 240 people, including 60 engineers for […]