General Aviation News
The pilot reported that while decelerating during the landing roll on a grass runway near Sunrise Beach Village, Texas, the Tango 2's nose gear began to skid. The nose gear hit an ant hill, which resulted in a nose over and substantial damage to the fuselage and empennage.
The 80-year-old pilot usually flew with his son and not by himself. On the day of the accident, he intended to fly solo around a lake in his Pietenpol Aircamper and then return to the private landing strip to pick up his son for an additional flight together.
The passenger reported that, about 15 minutes after takeoff on the cross-country flight, the Cessna 175's engine began "stalling in and out." Although the pilot attempted to troubleshoot the issue, he could not remedy it, and selected a dirt road near Pine Bluff, Arkansas, as a forced landing site.
After performing six touch-and-go maneuvers without incident, the pilot receiving instruction and flight instructor contacted air traffic control and requested a climb to 3,000' to perform a simulated engine failure and landing maneuver.
COLUMBIA, Missouri — The FAA’s BasicMed regulation created a greatly simplified medical requirement that serves as a replacement for the Third Class Medical, allowing pilots to operate any aircraft with six seats or less with the submission of a simple medical form and a copy of a valid driver’s license, similar to the LSA Pilot requirement.
A decade after the first delivery of a Kodiak 100, Quest Aircraft has unveiled the next generation of the Kodiak 100: Series II. In the Kodiak 100, Series II, the standard equipment list has been expanded to include Garmin’s next generation G1000NXi, as well as an Angle-of-Attack indexer, digital 4-in-1 standby, Flight Stream 510 and a two-year subscription to the Kodiak Mobile App, backed by Garmin Pilot.
YAKIMA, Washington – CubCrafters will significantly increase production of the line of light two-place tandem aircraft it manufactures in 2019, according to company officials. “Backcountry flying is increasing in popularity and CubCrafters has seen continuous sales growth since the introduction of the Light Sport Carbon Cub in 2009," said CubCrafters’ Director of Sales Brad Damm.
You know the classic Twin Beech Model 18, right? It has twin tails, a tailwheel, and a bit of a pug nose. That is until Pacific Airmotive took it into its Burbank shop and created a tricycle-gear, single-tail, high-forehead pointy-nose business aircraft and commuter airliner in the 1960s from this pre-war design.
Officials with the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) are calling a court's decision to deny — on procedural grounds — the association's petition to overturn a questionable agreement between the FAA and the city of Santa Monica regarding Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO) "disappointing." But NBAA officials note the ruling does not address the merits of NBAA’s legal filing and that work to keep the historic airport open continues.
Officials with the National Business Aviation Association have urged a federal appeals court to legally void a deal between the FAA and the city of Santa Monica, California, that allows the city to shorten the runway and close the Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO) after 2028.
WINTHROP, Washington – Methow Valley State Airport (S52) will close May 14, 2018, for 85 days for a $5 million project to replace the pavement at the general aviation airport. According to officials with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), the runway is tentatively scheduled to reopen at the end of June to avoid interfering with the expected fire season operations of the United States Forest Service (USFS), conducted by the North Cascades Smokejumper Base (NCSB).
The South Carolina Aeronautics Commission (SCAC) has issued a report showing that Donaldson Field leads the state in economic impact among general aviation airports. Located at the South Carolina Technology & Aviation Center (SCTAC) in Greenville, S.C., Donaldson Field is the state's largest general aviation airport, encompassing 1,400 acres.
Worldwide business and general aviation avionics sales were up 13 percent in the first quarter, according to the Aircraft Electronics Association's first-quarter 2018 Avionics Market Report. In the first three months of the year, total worldwide business and general aviation avionics sales amounted to more than $639 million as reported by the participating companies.
Garmin has received FAA Supplemental Type Certification (STC) for the GFC 600 autopilot for the Baron 58/58A (1984 model year or later) and Cessna 340/340A. The GFC 600 is designed as a standalone autopilot that integrates with the G500 TXi/G600 TXi and the G500/G600 glass flight displays, Garmin navigators, as well as a variety of third-party flight displays, instruments, and navigation sources, according to company officials.
By TOM HOFFMANN, Managing Editor, FAA Safety Briefing Your aircraft’s registration number or approved call sign is critical to the integrity of the ADS-B Out system, defining who you are in the National Airspace System (NAS).
By DAVE HUGHES, FAA As of Jan. 1, 2020, ADS-B-Out will be required in most controlled airspace — and that includes pilots who are practicing aerobatics, performing in an airshow, or competing in an event such as this week's SUN ’n FUN.
EAA Chapter 241 recently held its first pancake breakfast fundraiser of 2018, attracting more than 400 guests to DeKalb-Taylor Airport (KDKB) in Illinois. The fundraiser was held under a stunning, rich blue sky and perfect late spring temperatures, according to chapter officials.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Florida – Licensed pilots now have direct access to F-104 flight training reservations through an online reservation process. This follows Starfighters Aerospace’s recent authorization from the FAA that opens the skies above NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for pilot training in the legendary supersonic aircraft.
Sarina Houston of Pittsboro, North Carolina, was awarded the third Martha King Scholarship for Women Flight Instructors during the annual Women in Aviation International Conference. This scholarship consists of $5,000 toward flight training and free, lifetime access to all King Schools courses, including FIRCs for life.
A Shortfield Takeoff and Landing Workshop has been slated at Havana Regional Airport (9I0) in Illinois May 18-19, 2018. Havana's 2,200' grass strip is not exactly a short field, but by the time you are done with this workshop you should only need half of it, organizers promise.
Q: I pulled cylinders #1 and #2 to replace the base "O" rings due to oil leaks. The engine is a Lycoming O-360 A3B6D with 650 hours and is a factory reman from 1994 due to Chevron Oil fuel contamination.
Q: Paul, I fly my single engine Comanche two to three times a month during our cold winter months here in Wisconsin. During EAA chapter meetings and fly-outs, we debate what is the best engine oil to use?
Q: Is it possible to increase the horsepower of this engine to 260? or even 300? I'm a relatively new to all things airplanes as I have just been flying rental planes, but I just picked up a Velocity XL-RG and an O-540 from a Piper Cherokee.
Q: May I ask a question regarding our engine in a Cessna 152? When we shut down from flight, there's a foam or steam inside the engine and it will come out at the breather like water.
I flew co-pilot on a 19-seat turboprop during my airline pilot rookie year. One hot summer day, we landed at Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport (KROA), deplaned our passengers, and loaded up 19 more.
I had a flight instructor once demonstrate how to take off, fly a pattern, and land a Cessna 172 using only power, rudder, and trim controls. Many years later another flight instructor demonstrated the same thing to me during a Boeing 717 simulator session.
During one of my airline simulator training sessions, the instructor put us about 10 miles from an initial approach fix, then she asked us to turn around so she could show us something.
GPS and air data computers make en route navigation the most precise it’s been in aviation history. In some ways, too precise. Transoceanic airliners began to suffer hours of sustained turbulence caused by dozens and dozens of wide-body aircraft flying on the same track, through each other’s wake vortices.
By Jim Posner, Poulsbo, Wash. I have long thought that the FAA should NOT be in the medical certification business, at least for Part 91 operations. Ever since my denial – despite letters from my doctors specifically stating that I am good to go – I have tried to understand why they should consider themselves more qualified to determine my fitness to fly than my own experts.
By Dick Knapinski, EAA Communications I had the opportunity to read your column regarding the AirVenture ATC fees being assessed by the FAA. You’re absolutely right – it’s complicated. There are some significant differences in your comparison between the FAA and the Oshkosh Police Department, and other points to consider as well, however: As some commenters mentioned, GA has already paid for FAA’s services through fuel taxes.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: I believe it was in 2003 that my brother told me about a program called the Mattituck Engine Workshop sponsored, as you can guess, by Teledyne Mattituck Services.
By Lindy Kirkland, President, The Air Care Alliance First, let me say a big thank you for helping make the Volunteer Pilot Safety Stand Down (Sit up?) a big success. All the comments I heard from pilots attending were very positive and encouraging.
Popular history has a way of making icons of some aircraft and almost ignoring others. In the case of American World War I biplane trainers, the Curtiss JN-4 and JN-6 Jenny series of biplanes are undisputed icons of their era.
If everything aeronautical seemed possible in the heady post-war jet age, some aircraft designs found where the limitations were. The Convair F2Y Sea Dart was one of four delta-wing jets in design or production by that San Diego company in the 1950s.
Long before entrepreneurs launched cars into space, pilots of the 1920s and 1930s were beholden to people of wealth who could sponsor record flights or offer cash prizes for the first intrepid aviator to achieve a specific milestone flight.
The current ease of making digital color photographs is a taken-for-granted marvel that aviation photographers of earlier generations lacked. The search for practical and permanent color photography began in the mid-19th Century.
When I was 15 years old I was approximately as smart as a sweet potato. That’s not flattering, but it bears a reasonable resemblance to the truth. What’s worse is that the sweet potato was in general more useful than I was.
Something happened over this past weekend that could be seen in one of two ways. It was either a perfectly ordinary event that is hardly worthy of notice to anyone but those directly involved, or it was a remarkable achievement deserving of applause.
Summer comes early in South Florida. Temperatures rise into the 80s and 90s while much of the north is still contending with melting snow, cold wind-driven rain, and yet one more oil delivery to keep the furnace running.
When the idea of flying first became real to me, I became a voracious reader of aeronautical magazines. My imagination went wild with the idea of not just flying, but of actually owning an airplane.
SUN 'n FUN 2018 ended a record event on a Sunday. Traveling home Monday, I had less than a 24-hour turnaround before jetting across the Atlantic for Aero Friedrichshafen 2018, which started Wednesday.
Unveiled only nine months ago, Just Aircraft’s Part 103 unfinished prototype is generating a surprising amount of interest. Overall this seems part of a surge in Part 103 interest, for plenty of good reasons: Greater freedom (no license or registration required), No medical of any kind needed, and The aircraft can be delivered ready-to-fly.
One of the most celebrated names in light aviation is Rans, a company name that both hinges on and reflects its designer and company boss, Randy Schlitter. Recently this now-familiar producer celebrated 35 years since the initial flight of its first single-seat aircraft.
This article may either excite you or annoy you. I understand. I have mixed feelings about a new class of airplanes I don’t understand as well as familiar, legacy ones. Perhaps like you, I’m annoyed because I didn’t foresee this and because these new proposed machines are not my experience over many decades of flight.
During SUN 'n FUN I had an opportunity “fly” ALSIM’s AL250 flight simulator. Stepping into the cockpit of the AL250 brought me back to the 1980s when I attended the University of North Dakota and flew countless hours in Frasca simulators.
In the business world, it doesn’t get any better than hearing a client is happy. Really happy. And that is a happy client. God’s Country Aviation is a family owned and operated air taxi based out of Bethel, Alaska, that serves remote regions of Alaska.
Lately, I’ve had two images stuck in my head. The first is an Interstate highway overwhelmed by gridlock. The second is a graph of the population of the United States. As the population continues to climb, real estate continues to increase in value.
Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention. That is certainly the case for Pete and Shiley Nelson from Challis, Idaho. The husband and wife have owned and operated Middle Fork Aviation in the backcountry of Idaho for more than two decades.
When I got out of college in 1967 and started work, most companies were run by technical people who supported research and development. In the lab we were allowed a lot of latitude to work on related projects that may not have an immediate payout.
Lately, I have received numerous questions about grease. The general theme of most of them is “why can’t I use synthetic grease from the local parts store in my aircraft?” Synthetic lubricants are one of the present “now" or "buzz” words.
In a previous column, CYA, the FAA and the new unleaded avgas, I discussed the problems the FAA may have with the new proposed unleaded 100 octane avgas. In addition to the lower octane characteristics of the avgas, one of the big concerns is exhaust valve recession.
At what temperature does piston aircraft engine oil break down? This is not the same as the maximum oil sump temperature allowed for your engine. Both Lycoming and Continental recommend a maximum oil temperature of around 245°F.
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