On Feb. 20, California Power Systems (CPS) held a first-of-its-kind Rotax Renewal Course, welcoming back the elite of the Rotax maintenance technicians, according to officials with the San Leandro, Calif.-based company. These technicians have reached 24 months of field service and were back to renew their ratings under the LSA directives for Rotax Aircraft engines. […]
Flightwise PlaneXML Flight Tracking API available
Flightwise, a web-based flight tracking service, is now offering direct access to its aircraft positional data via the PlaneXML Flight Tracking API. The API is a standards-based, XML/SOAP web service, making it easy to integrate with existing application development platforms, according to officials with the Orlando-based company. “We’ve spent the last decade building the infrastructure […]
A fun weekend of ski flying
Reader Blake Hermel sent us some photos of a gathering this weekend of a group of ski pilots from Mankato, Minn., who got together to “put on some mileage.” “We headed for Hayward, Wis., to see the American Birkebeiner cross-country ski race, and followed it up by spending Sunday flying around the Mankato area,” he […]
Wright B replica prepares for 100th anniversary of first military flight
Volunteers from Wright “B” Flyer Inc. in Dayton have assembled and taxi-tested lookalikes of two Wright Model “B” Flyers in preparation for the Military Flight Centennial on March 2, at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. According to foundation officials, 13 volunteers are taking part in the all-volunteer organization’s biggest ever deployment. The event will […]
Tsunami warnings prove CAP’s preparedness
The 13th Air Force, in support of the state of Hawaii Civil Defense, launched planes from Civil Air Patrol’s Hawaii Wing Saturday morning for statewide tsunami warnings following an 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chili. About 80% of the shoreline in Hawaii does not have a fixed base siren, said Hawaii Wing Commander Col. Roger Caires, […]
Speaking up for GA
In a column printed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, talk show host — and pilot — Neal Boortz opines about the anti-GA crowd flying off the handle after the Austin crash. He tries to set things straight: “Let me start with the idiot talking heads I heard on the cable news channels in the hours after […]
On the horizon: Hybrid planes
A former president of Cessna Aircraft is working on a project to use electric hybrid propulsion instead of aviation fuel to power GA aircraft, according to a story in The Wichita Eagle. Charlie Johnson, the former Cessna leader, is chief operating officer and one of the founders of Bye Aerospace, and its subsidiary Bye Energy, […]
Diversity a hallmark of WAI conference
The theme for the 21st Annual International Women in Aviation (WAI) Conference, held Feb. 25-27 in Orlando, Florida, was “Aviation: It’s a Small World,” but, by the tone, composition and look of the conference, the theme could have been “Aviation: It’s a Diverse World,” organizers said. With more than double the international attendees than at […]
Ninety-nines celebrate 100 years
Susan Larson, president of The Ninety-nines, has committed to flying women who have never flown in both her Cessna 182 and Hughes 500 helicopter during the week of March 6-12 in celebration of 100 years of licensed women pilots, according to a story at AvStop.com, which quotes her as saying: “I can’t imagine a more […]