After 80 years in the airplane manufacturing business, the Cessna Aircraft Co. knows a thing or two about aircraft design development. For starters, it’s easier to develop a jet using wind tunnel tests. When it comes to piston-powered airplanes, however, you have to build a proof-of-concept model and get it in the air, says Cessna […]
Living the dream: Our reporter flies a DC-3
“If this is a dream, please, oh please, don’t let me wake up yet!” That was my mantra the morning of Thursday, April 19. It was the morning that a dream I’ve had since childhood came true. It was the dream of flying a DC-3. I was the left-seat pilot that morning for a flight […]
Around the clock repairs for Sun ‘n Fun’s sweepstakes plane
The good news is that for the first time ever Sun ‘n Fun has a sweepstakes airplane. For $5 a ticket you can buy a chance to win an American Flyer, a high-wing Light Sport Aircraft that made its debut at the April air show. The bad news is that on the way to the […]
Kit plane returns with new owner: VX Aerospaceflies the flag with the FX-300
The airframe may look familiar, but the name has changed. The aircraft kit manufacturer formerly known as Four Winds has returned under the name of VX Aerospace. “We took over the company in December,” explains VX Aerospace CEO Robert Skillin. The company is now based at Morganton-Lenoir Airport in North Carolina. The four-place aircraft, which […]
LSA showroom opens in Salinas
Although the Light Sport Aircraft movement is growing, the only time most people get to see more than one design at a time is at an air show like Sun ‘n Fun or EAA AirVenture. Michael Fletcher of Salinas, Calif., the west coast distributor for several models of LSAs, decided that it would be a […]
e-Bay purchase sparks new interest in search for Earhart
A random purchase off the Internet has sparked interest in another search for Amelia Earhart. Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the South Pacific during a round-the-world flight in 1937. On the morning of July 3 they were en route to Howland Island, a specially created refueling stop, but never arrived. The Coast Guard […]
Golden Jubilee: Planes of Fame celebrates 50th anniversary
During World War II, Southern California was a prime location for the production of military aircraft. Lockheed, Convair, North American, Douglas, Hughes, Northrop and Vultee all had factories there. Today one of the largest collections of airworthy specimens of aircraft produced during this era resides in Chino at the Planes of Fame Museum. The museum […]
Airworthy and active: The Heritage Flight Museum in Bellingham, Wash
You may never have been to the Heritage Flight Museum in Bellingham, Wash., but you have probably seen some of its aircraft. The mission of the museum, located at Bellingham International Airport (BLI) in Bellingham, Wash., north of Seattle, is the preservation of flying military aircraft, so during the spring and summer months the machines […]
Mooney Mites migrate to Portverville, California
Can it really be 30 years since the first gathering of the Western Association of Mooney Mites? That’s what the calendar shows. On May 18, members of WAMM and their friends will flock to Porterville Municipal Airport (KPTV) north of Bakersfield for the annual fly-in. The Mooney M-18 Mite is a low-wing, single-place monoplane. It […]