The FAA has issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin concerning fatigue cracks showing up in some ECi cylinders on Continental engines. The bulletin recommends inspecting ECi cylinder assemblies that have logged more than 500 hours on Continental 520 and 550 series engines. It suggests inspecting them every 50 hours, looking for cylinder wall fatigue cracks […]
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Maverick developing another light jet
Maverick Jets of Jackson, Wyoming, revealed early this month that it is working on a “next-generation Maverick” to be called the SmartJet, a certified version of the company’s current, custom (51% owner-built) Leader. According to Jim McCotter, Maverick Jets’ president and owner, the SmartJet will be a five-seat twin turbofan of all-composite construction. It will […]
Superior’s Vantage engine earns European certification
Superior Air Parts received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) type certification for its 180 hp Vantage engine early this month. The engine, already certified by the FAA, earned Canadian certification in June. Mike Caban, Superior’s director of sales and marketing, pointed out that both current versions of the Vantage, the O-360 and fuel-injected IO-360, are […]
WANTED: Wiley Post memories
A group dedicated to relocating and rebuilding the Curtiss-Wright Wiley Post Hangar at Wiley Post Airport in Oklahoma City is on the hunt for memorabilia. The hangar was built in 1929 by the Curtiss-Wright Corp., in keeping with its plan of developing model airports in cities that were deemed “progressive and air-minded.” It served as […]
TBM gathering breaks records
Earlier this fall, the TBM Owners and Pilot Association (TBMOPA), made up of EADS Socata TBM 700 and TBM 850 owners, held a record-breaking annual convention in Cœur d’Alene, Idaho. More than 70 TBM aircraft — representing almost 24% of the privately owned TBM fleet — flew in for the event, making it the biggest […]
Traveling in style
If you’re going to make the rounds at Oshkosh — or any other airshow — follow Tyler Eldrup’s lead. Tyler, 4, from Deer Park, Wis., rode around the AirVenture grounds this summer in a stroller styled after an Air Force fighter. Tyler’s father built the stroller which, we were told, also can be converted into a […]
The Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
“I think everyone is scratching their head, wondering how it is possible that an aircraft can be buzzing around Manhattan. It’s virtually the Wild West. There is no regulation at all, other than ‘don’t run into anything.’” — Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., who has been lobbying for rule changes since 2004. “We have very few […]
Cessna’s LSA makes first flight
Cessna’s entry into the Light Sport Aircraft race made its first flight Oct. 13. The proof-of-concept aircraft launched from McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita and flew for approximately 30 minutes. Company officials said the aircraft flew at speeds in excess of 110 knots. Cessna Chairman and CEO Jack Pelton proudly noted that this proof-of-concept […]
Clayton Scott, first Boeing corporate pilot, dies at 101
Clayton L. “Scotty” Scott passed away Sept. 28 in Mercer Island, Wash. He was 101. Scott began his aviation career in 1926 by persuading airmail pilots to give him flight instruction. By 1928 he had an airplane of his own and was giving rides at an airport in the Seattle area. An in-flight emergency made […]