General Aviation News
The private pilot had owned the amphibious airplane for three weeks, and had performed about 30 water landings in the Maule M7-235B. He noted that during takeoff on the accident flight, the airplane was veering "severely" to the left, however he continued the takeoff.
The pilot departed on a cross-country flight in his experimental, amateur-built Zenair 601XL, which was equipped with an electronic ignition system. He did not detect any electrical system anomalies before departure, but, about 14 minutes into the flight, the avionics switched to internal battery power.
The pilot was relocating the recently-purchased Cessna 150J, departing on the three-hour flight with full fuel tanks, which provided an endurance of about five hours. During the descent to the airport in Bixby, Oklahoma, he advanced the mixture control to full rich, applied carburetor heat, and began to retard the throttle.
The airline transport pilot and commercial copilot were conducting a mosquito abatement application flight near Slidell, Louisiana. Although flight controls were installed in both positions, the pilot typically operated the Beech 65.
Sonaca Aircraft will unveil the Sonaca 200, its new two-seat single-engined aircraft, at Aero Friedrichshafen, the European general aviation show, which runs from April 18-21, 2018. The Sonaca 200 has completed its flight test program and is about to be EASA certified in the CS-VLA category, according to company officials.
DENVER, Colorado – The prototype Sun Flyer 2 aircraft had its first flight April 10, 2018. The prototype aircraft flight test program, which began in late March, is being conducted at Centennial Airport (KAPA), south of Denver, Colorado, and is now progressing to increased speed, altitude and endurance capabilities, according to officials with Bye Aerospace, which is developing the electric trainer.
Tecnam and Lakeland Linder’s International Aero Academy announced on opening day of SUN ’n FUN an aircraft purchase agreement for an initial six P2008 aircraft with the first delivery scheduled in the sec0nd quarter of 2018.
Rotorvox Aero will display the Rotorvox C2A for the first time in the United States next week at SUN 'n FUN, which runs from April 10-15. The C2A is an all-carbon monocoque gyroplane developed and produced in Germany by Rotorvox Lift Air GmbH, a division of LIFT Air in Eisenach, Germany.
Workers are putting the finishing touches on a new putting green at North Carolina's Moore County Airport (KSOP), which serves the golf-crazy village of Pinehurst, N.C. “Pinehurst is the golf capital of America,” said Dan Maples, the golf architect who designed the new putting green.
McKINNEY, Texas – McKinney National Airport (KTKI) is hosting an event Friday, April 20, 2018, at 11 a.m. to celebrate the groundbreaking of its new 17,000-square-foot FBO and executive terminal. The new transient hangar, which broke ground last month, and executive terminal are designed for the McKinney Air Center, which is the FBO providing fuel and services to the aviation community at McKinney National Airport.
By MATT McVICKER “You should have seen this place back in the 1970s.” I often hear this phrase passionately tossed around in the FBO lounge. The pilot is usually sucking back a blazing hot cup of coffee that has been curdling on the warmer for hours.
SANTA ANA, Calif. – 100LL fuel sales at John Wayne Airport (KSNA) topped 316,000 gallons from April 2017 through January 2018 compared to over 220,000 gallons for the previous 10-month period.
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.
The folks at the FAA say they have a sense of humor too, but an April Fool's joke that the agency is extending the ADS-B deadline is just that. https://youtu.be/l4xEh6VWhGs As stated in the final rule published with industry input in May 2010, all aircraft flying in designated controlled airspace — generally the same busy airspace where transponders are currently required — must be equipped with ADS-B Out avionics by Jan.
Duncan Aviation's Satellite Avionics Shop in Atlanta has moved into a new facility, according to company officials. The Satellite Avionics Shop has moved into a newer, larger hangar owned by Hill Aircraft.
After more than 40 years spent evolving pilot courses from in-person delivery, to VHS tapes, to computer installations, King Schools has said goodbye to discs and is delivering 100% of its pilot courses online.
Able Flight has awarded seven flight training scholarships to applicants from across the country. Able Flight was created by pilots who believe that the life-changing experience of learning to fly is best shared, and designed the Able Flight scholarships to enable people with disabilities to pursue that experience.
American businessman John Rost has become the first to complete a new FAA-approved F-104 flight training program at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The new civilian astronaut training program for licensed pilots is offered exclusively by commercial space marketing company Infinity Space, Inc.
Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus is working with law enforcement to offer a training course specifically targeted at how first responders can use unmanned aircraft systems in daily operations and safety procedures.
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.
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.
I checked off a New Year’s resolution in 2017 when I successfully added Unmanned, small Aircraft System Remote Pilot to my list of pilot certifications. I am one of the more than 23,000 people who has earned that license since the FAA began issuing it in 2013.
Last year I gifted my readers with stories of men and women pilots who acted heroically, and lived to tell about it. This holiday season I’m going in a different direction.
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.
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.
The decade of the 1920s was a transitional time for American military aircraft design and construction. Early fighters of the era, though better than the machines of the recently concluded Great War, were hardly revolutionary.
An age-old component of aviation has been the pilot-in-the-loop. A pilot brings sophisticated human faculties to bear in solving problems of flight and making judgments on proper actions. But sometimes, the presence of a pilot can be detrimental — to the pilot.
For the past few months I’ve been shopping for a house. Not a particularly big house. Or an impressive one. Just a house that my family and I can move to where we’ll be dry when it rains, warm when it gets cold, and comfortable when the Florida sun beats down in August.
Under normal circumstances I’d be writing this column from the comfort of my home office. I probably wouldn’t be wearing closed toe shoes, or long pants, and I sure wouldn’t be wearing a sports jacket.
Generally speaking, most people are pretty decent. Given the chance to offer help to others, they will. Or at least they’ll try. Unfortunately, we often mistake that willingness to assist for the ability to be helpful.
The human mind is an intriguing piece of biological equipment. It can conceive of amazing inventions. Machines, devices, and processes that have never existed come to being first in the mind of someone not significantly different from you or me.
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.
The 14th running of the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo vigorously launched the 2018 season of airshows. The show ran Jan. 24-27, 2018, at Sebring Regional Airport (KSEF). The central Florida airport — directly adjacent to the famous Sebring Raceway — hosts the annual event and lucked out with an opening day of gorgeous weather of clear blue skies and modest breezes in the high 70s.
American pilots are extraordinarily fortunate. We have a freedom to fly that many around the world can barely comprehend, much less enjoy as we do. Yes, I’m well aware many American aviators don’t pay much attention to flying outside U.S.
"I thought your platform would help me figure out how introduce the following idea to my husband," began the email that appeared in my email box on April 15. "I'm just beginning in my quest to find flying lessons to give to him as a gift.
On March 15 I opened my email and found the following message from Stephanie Smith: "Many years ago (2012 to be exact), my husband, Dennis, and I met you during the Minam Airlift, based in Joseph, Oregon, to deliver supplies to Minam Lodge.
If you can break yourself away from the breathless stream of negative news that invades our collective inbox (digital and physical) it becomes rather easy to see all the good that is happening around us.
I can’t imagine letting any of my kids fly an ultralight at 13 years old. And yet that is exactly what my parents let me do. Granted, I grew up on an airport and had flown with my Dad for years by the time I was 13.
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.
Many years ago, I received some great advice from several friends at Continental Motors. They told me that the way to deal with the FAA was as follows: First, find the right person to deal with.
After a review of the notes I received last year, the number 1 area of interest again was octane and engine knock. The latest question was about blending octane number. For example, if you blend a 100/130 (commonly referred to as 100LL) fuel with a 90 octane mogas, will a 50/50 mix give you a 95 octane fuel?
In a past column I gave some background on what happens during break-in of a new or overhauled aircraft engine. Since then I have received numerous questions about why leaded fuel is needed during break-in.
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