If avgas, also known as 100LL, disappeared tomorrow, what would you use to power your airplane? The folks at DeltaHawk Engines have an answer to that: A diesel engine designed for aviation. During AirVenture the company showed off the new design mounted in a Cirrus SR20. The Cirrus is the proof-of-concept model and during the show […]
Flying Cup Challenge winners compete at Oshkosh
Performing in an airshow is on many a pilot’s bucket list. Twelve young men from all over the world had that special opportunity at AirVenture this year through the Flying Cup Challenge. The young men competed against one another in a Redbird FMX, a full-motion flight simulator placed on the main stage in the center of […]
VFR into IMC kills one
Aircraft: Beechcraft Musketeer. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Dayton, Va. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: Before departing, the non-instrument-rated pilot obtained a weather briefing and was advised several times that VFR flight was not recommended due to existing and forecasted instrument meteorological conditions along his intended route of flight. He declined to file a flight plan and took […]
Airplane stalls on departure
Aircraft: Aeronca 11AC. Injuries: 1 Minor. Location: Comfort, Texas. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot took off and at an altitude of 250 feet AGL, initiated a left turn. During the turn, the left wing dropped 60° to 70°. The pilot was unable to regain control and the airplane crashed into a fence. The pilot stated […]
Homebuilding okay in hangars
You probably know someone who is building an aircraft in a hangar at a publicly owned airport. It may surprise you to know that, until recently, the FAA considered that activity outside the appropriate use of a hangar. On July 22 the FAA released a proposed policy statement stating that the final assembly of homebuilt […]
Expedition Amelia seeks funding to finally solve Earhart mystery
On May 21, 1937, Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan boarded their Lockheed Electra and took off from Oakland, California, on their second attempt to fly around the world. This time, they flew to the east. Earhart was supposed to have landed on Howland Island, a coral island some 1,700 miles from Honolulu for […]
Saving Ocean Ridge Airport
In the 1930s when Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney needed to raise money, they found themselves a barn, got the gang together and put on a show. These days fundraising is done online through crowdsourcing, where lots of people donate whatever they can. In Gualala, Calif., the owners of Ocean Ridge Airport (E55) have turned […]
KN51 in the middle of a tug of war
How would you feel if the local government was trying to acquire property that had been in your family since 1939 — whether you wanted them to or not? That is the situation facing the Solberg family in Readington Township, in central New Jersey. They own 726 acres, which includes Solberg-Hunterdon Airport (KN51). The family will […]
Redbird Challenge on final approach
Think you have mad pilot skills? Are you willing to prove it and possibly win a free trip to AirVenture? You can, if you enter the Flying Cup Challenge sponsored by Redbird Flight Simulations, Flying Magazine, Jeppesen and ForeFlight. Introduced at SUN ’n FUN, the challenge has proven popular with pilots. “Challenges are being flown […]