There are a couple of good reasons Gilbert and Barbara Pierce’s bright red 1949 Piper PA-16 Clipper occupied Space 1 on Row 1 of the vintage aircraft parking at this year’s SUN ’n FUN. First, they were early arrivals and, more importantly, their aircraft is a past champion and always receives a prime display spot. […]
Going fast on less gas
Would anyone be interested in a 250-horsepower aircraft capable of crossing the continent in just over eight hours at an average speed of 252 miles per hour while using only 61 gallons of aviation fuel, about 40 miles per gallon in cruise? That’s what California aviator Klaus Savier did the day before SUN ‘n FUN […]
AOPA Fly-In succeeds despite the rain
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association leadership and membership both turned out in impressive numbers despite rainy weather for the year’s first regional fly-in at Michael J. Smith Field in Beaufort, N.C., May 20-21. AOPA President Mark Baker brought the top members of the management team from the association’s headquarters at Frederick, Md., for the fly-in and […]
Flying a Helio Courier
Four years ago John and Jan Sessions were looking for a plane with short field capability. John was in the process of bulldozing a flat 700-foot-long spot on top of a hill in the Texas backcountry and needed a plane that could take off and land in that space. He chose a Helio Courier, one […]
Award-winning Bellanca Cruisair Senior turns heads at SUN ‘n FUN
South Carolina aviator Jeff Warren liked the look of the Bellanca Cruisair Senior the first time he saw it. And when the opportunity came to buy one, Warren, an architect from Simpsonville, S.C., jumped at the chance. That was in 1991 and Warren says he has been answering questions about his plane ever since. “It is […]
Alaska Highway Log: Return from Fairbanks to South Carolina
This is part four in a series of stories about flying to Alaska. Read about Bill’s trip planning, Flying to Alaska, and Flying the Alaska Highway. My co-pilot Albert Finocchiaro and I launched July 23 from Chena Marina (AK28) in Fairbanks en route home to the Lower 48. We hoped to reach Watson Lake, Yukon Territory, […]
Flying the Alaska Highway
This is part three in a series of stories about flying to Alaska. Read about Bill’s trip planning, Flying to Alaska and Return from Fairbanks. It took four days flying from South Carolina to reach Fort Nelson, British Columbia, 283 miles up the Alaska Highway from its starting point at Dawson Creek. And more than 1,100 road miles — […]
Flying to Alaska
This is part two in a series of stories about flying to Alaska. Read about Bill’s trip planning, Flying the Alaska Highway and Return from Fairbanks. This past summer I crossed off a significant item on my flying bucket list — Alaska. The journey from my home airport near Myrtle Beach, S.C., to Fairbanks and back covered more than […]
One pilot’s Alaska trip prep plan
This is part one in a series of stories about flying to Alaska. Read about Bill’s Flying to Alaska, Flying the Alaska Highway and Return from Fairbanks. Recently a friend asked me to help him prepare for a flying trip to Alaska. I said I would, using notes taken from my own 3,500-mile journey in a Cessna 172 from […]