Wing walker Teresa Stokes and her business partner and boyfriend, air show pilot Gene Soucy, share more than the love of aviation. They also share a kidney. In 2003 Stokes donated one of her kidneys to Soucy, who was living with a progressive kidney disease. They now tout organ donation during their performances at air […]
Bobbing for aircraft: The USS Macon exhibit in Monterey
One of the most popular exhibits at the Maritime Museum of Monterey was never intended to go into the ocean. The USS Macon exhibit, which will be on display through December, features the airship that crashed off the California coast in 1934. “It’s a big part of the local history,” notes Tim Thomas, a museum […]
Flying the SparrowHawk
A gyroplane looks like a cross between an airplane and a helicopter. First developed in the 1920s, the gyroplane is one of the oldest forms of aviation technology. However, gyroplanes are not very common in the general aviation world, perhaps because of a reputation for being difficult or dangerous to fly. It’s an undeserved reputation, […]
Potomac Airfield closed for alleged security violations
November began on a sour note for pilots at Potomac Airfield (VKX). The Transportation Security Administration issued a letter informing the airport that its security program has been suspended. Simply stated, the airport is closed. The Maryland airport had been notified recently – and repeatedly, according to Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta – about its […]
‘Dago Red’ still for sale
Although more than 40 people put in bids when “Dago Red,” the word’s fastest P-51 Mustang, was auctioned on eBay, no one wanted it enough to meet the $1.5 million reserve price. The plane, a perennial favorite on the air race circuit, was put up for auction Oct. 10. Bids were accepted for 10 days. […]
Repairs continue at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport
Although the airport has been open for commercial operations more than a month, officials say it will take years to repair the damage done by Hurricane Katrina at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY). “The airport still has a lot of repairs to do,” notes Michelle Duffourc, public relations manager. “Everything has been made […]
Daley to dig up the dead
How would you feel if your city government wanted to dig up and relocate the graves of your loved ones to expand an airport? The congregation of St. John’s Church of Christ in Chicago is taking a dim view of the idea. The church has gone to court to keep O’Hare International Airport (ORD) from […]
Young Eagles crash kills three
Three people taking part in a Young Eagles rally in Washington State died Oct. 15 in the crash of a Piper Cherokee. It was the first fatal accident in the 13-year history of the Young Eagles program. Pilot David Hokanson, Kandyce Cowart, 14, and Brittany Boatright, 15, were killed shortly after takeoff from Snohomish County […]
Cessna 190: A classic from the day it rolled off the assembly line
“A classic from the day it rolled off the assembly line.” That’s how owners of Cessna 190s and 195s describe their machines. The cantilevered, high-wing, round-cowled airplanes were among the first to be mass-produced as America shifted back to a peacetime economy after World War II, yet because they evolved from the 1930s AirMaster, the […]