After Charles Lindbergh made his solo Atlantic crossing in 1927 in the Spirit of St. Louis, he embarked on a national tour to display the Ryan. The aircraft would eventually be placed in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum. The first men to make the first transatlantic crossing from east to west had […]
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Chalk’s hit with multimillion dollar lawsuits after crash
Two wrongful death lawsuits have been filed against Chalk’s Ocean Airways in the wake of a fatal crash Dec. 19. The first was filed on behalf of Kendrick Sherman of Bimini, whose wife and daughter were among the 20 people killed. Attorney John Ruiz says that it is a class action suit “to insure that […]
U.S.-Mexico border TFR created
The FAA has established a TFR along the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona and New Mexico that many pilots don’t think is temporary. The TFR, 300 nm long and 17 nm wide, is designed to prevent U.S. Customs and Border Patrol unmanned surveillance aircraft (UAVs) from colliding with civilian aircraft. Active from 5 p.m. until 7 […]
Commemorative Air Force shifting its focus
For almost 50 years, the Commemorative (formerly Confederate) Air Force’s mission has been to preserve and fly World War II aircraft as a tribute to the men and women who flew, maintained or built them. Last October the membership voted to expand the organization to include combat aircraft flown by the U.S. military during any […]
Air Tractor sets up college assistance fund
The sale of Air Tractor label replacement batteries will now help fund college education for children of pilots who lost their lives in aerial application accidents involving Air Tractor aircraft. Located in Olney, Texas, Air Tractor and its dealers created the Student Outreach and Assistance Resource (SOAR) Fund to help students who might not otherwise […]
Lawsuits follow Chalk’s Ocean Airways crash
Two wrongful death lawsuits have been filed against Chalk’s Ocean Airways in the wake of a fatal crash Dec. 19. The first was filed on behalf of Kendrick Sherman of Bimini, whose wife and daughter were among the 20 people killed. Attorney John Ruiz says that it is a class action suit, “to insure that […]
Bill Morris dies at 98
Nathan “Bill” Morris, one of the world’s oldest active pilots, died Dec. 29 at the age of 98. He had renewed his medical last August and continued to fly until kidney failure grounded him. Morris developed Kentmorr Airpark (3W3) on Maryland’s Kent Island in 1945, laying out a grass airstrip from what had been a […]
Angel Flight Southeast sets record in 2005
It was a record year for Angel Flight Southeast (AFSE), a nonprofit group of more than 1,000 pilots who volunteer to transport thousands of people free, each year. AFSE coordinated 3,617 flights in 2005, up from 2,635 flights in 2004. Most flights are for medical and humanitarian reasons, and 2005’s increase was largely in response […]
A patent for the “flying motorcycle”
Larry Neal, a Texan and inventor of the “flying motorcycle” demonstrated at Sun ‘n Fun last year, received a U.S. patent for it on Dec. 27. “And I’m flying it now!” said the ever-enthusiastic Neal, president of The Butterfly LLC company that builds gyroplane kits. “Every flying vehicle we design and build will be based […]