A Montana-based aircraft leasing company, LAFT, LLC, placed firm orders for 35 Liberty XL2 aircraft late in January. LAFT, in turn, leased the two-place planes to Florida-based Ormond Beach Aviation, which will use them as trainers. Ormond Beach Aviation plans to operate the XL2s as replacements for its current single engine Cessna and Piper training […]
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Fred Quarles is an axemplary Southern Aviator
“General aviation pilots are an untapped national resource,” says Fred Quarles. He reached that conclusion after organizing a phenomenally successful effort to rescue survivors of Hurricane Katrina, many of whom were facing imminent death. Quarles, who operates an international aircraft delivery service based in Charlottesville, Virginia, organized the rescue effort, called Operation Teacup, immediately after […]
NTSB investigatesfewer accidents
The National Transportation Safety Board is sending investigators to ever-fewer fatal airplane accidents – particularly those involving small aircraft – and that has safety experts worried, according to Brian Riley of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). GAMA has urged Congress to give NTSB more money to hire more investigators, but sees little hope that […]
Want to see ADS-B in action?
On Saturday, March 11, the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Aviation Division and Wings of Carolina Flying Club plan to provide rides so that interested pilots can see ADS-B in action. Paul Wilder, Flying Club president, said that six or seven planes will be involved, so “not only will secondary contacts from air to ground […]
Ormand Beach Aviation leases 35 Liberty XL2’s
Ormond Beach Aviation, Inc., based at Ormond Beach Airport (OMN) in Florida, has agreed to lease up to 35 Liberty XL2 aircraft from LAFT, LLC of Helena, Mont. The XL2s will replace the flight school’s single-engine Cessna and Piper training aircraft. Ormond Beach Aviation offers specialized accelerated residential flight training to pilots, particularly from Europe, […]
Ninety-Nines launches fundraising campaign
The Ninety-Nines Museum of Women pilots has launched a worldwide fundraising campaign. Through it’s “Wings for History” endowment fund, the Oklahoma City museum is asking for support through donations of airplanes. Helen Holbird of Oklahoma City, a member of the Ninety-Nines, was the first to donate an aircraft. Money from the sale of her Cessna […]
WWII airmen remains identified
The remains of a World War II airman found atop a California glacier have been identified as Leo Mustonen, 22, of Brainerd, Minn. Mustonen was one of four cadets killed when their AT-7 navigational trainer went off course and crashed during a training flight Nov. 18, 1942. Hikers in King County National Park discovered Mustonen’s […]
SBA weighs in against ADIZ
The Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy has added its voice in opposition to the Washington, D.C., ADIZ. In comments filed Feb. 6 — the last day for the public to comment on the FAA proposal to make the Washington, D.C. Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) permanent — the agency urged the FAA to get […]
Want to put your C172 on floats
Love your Cessna 172, but wish it could be on floats? It can. Old or new, all models of the Cessna 172 can now be floated on Wipline floats. Wipaire, Inc., of South Saint Paul, Minn., has received Supplemental Type Certificates (STCs) for the addition of straight or amphibious floats for all Cessna 172 aircraft […]