In an effort to provide relief from the sweltering desert heat, organizers of the 34th annual Copperstate Regional EAA Fly-In at Casa Grande Municipal Airport in Arizona, have moved the event back from Oct. 12-15 to Oct. 26-29. National Weather Service statistics show that the shift should reduce the average high temperature from 92° to […]
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Beat the heat
Necessity is the mother of invention. Just ask Greg Turton, an Atlanta businessman who owns a Cirrus. Often spending 30 minutes or more waiting to takeoff in the crowded Atlanta airspace, he realized he needed air conditioning. But at $25,000 to $30,000, it was just too expensive. “I wouldn’t pay that much for it,” he […]
Helicopter pioneer Stanley Hiller dies
Stanley Hiller, Jr., 81, died peacefully at home April 20 of complications associated with Alzheimer’s Disease. Founder of the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, Calif., Hiller began his aviation career while still a teenager. After leading a company that produced thousands of helicopters for military and commercial markets worldwide, he began a second career […]
What’s it like to be a fighter pilot?
What’s it like to fly F-15s? “It’s a great job,” says Capt. Tony Bierenkoven, demonstration team commander and pilot for the West Coast F-15 Demonstration Team, which performed at Sun ‘n Fun. “I’ve flown every day this week.” The team that flew at Sun ‘n Fun is based at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. […]
First flight: Diamond D-Jet
A little more than three years after being announced, the Diamond D-Jet had its first flight April 18. Conducted from the London International Airport in Canada, home of Diamond’s North American operation, the first flight lasted one hour and six minutes. The flight was designed to evaluate 19 test points. After take off and climb […]
Scott Crossfield, supersonic pioneer
Scott Crossfield was a hero who lived up to the expectations of his admirers. Not all of them do, you know. Crossfield died during the night of April 19 after encountering a Level 6 thunderstorm over Georgia, while flying his Cessna 210 toward Virginia. The wreckage was found the next day in a wooded gully […]
Improvements in works for Rocky Mountain Fly-In
Many improvements are in the works for the 28th Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In (RMRFI), scheduled June 24-25 at Front Range Airport (FTG) in Watkins, Colo. Expect to see more classic Warbirds — static displays as well as aerial performers — during the fly-in’s third year at Front Range. Activities include daily aerobatic shows, workshops and […]
Forward looking with Forward Vision
When most of us think of Forward Looking Infra-Red (FLIR) we envision police helicopters looking for people on the ground or expensive all-weather systems in Gulfstream cockpits. It’s hard to imagine FLIR in small general aviation aircraft at a price of $18,680. Harder to imagine than that is the many ways in which FLIR can […]
Gathering of Mustangs ‘Final Round-Up’ site selected
Rickenbacker International Airport in Columbus, Ohio, has been selected as the host airport for the Gathering of Mustangs & Legends, slated for Sept. 27-30, 2007. The 1999 gathering at Kissimmee, Fla., brought together 65 P-51 Mustangs and 12 Legends for what was considered one of the great aviation events of the 20th Century. Columbus is […]