There’s a lot of talk about the future of air taxi operations. But the future is now at the Greenville Downtown Airport (GMU) in Greenville, S.C. That’s where Smart Air Travel Solutions, or SATSair, is headquartered. Operated by Rhino Aviation, a 20-year-old charter business, the air taxi operation has taken off since its inception in […]
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Chalk’s Turbo-Mallard crashes
Chalk’s Ocean Airways, flying since 1919, suffered its first passenger fatalities on Dec. 19 when one of its Grumman G-73T Turbo-Mallards crashed in Miami’s Government Cut shortly after takeoff. The plane was less than 300 feet off the water when, according to witnesses, the right wing burst into flame and separated from the fuselage. The […]
GlobalFlyer to do it again
Adventurer-pilot Steve Fossett plans to set a record for the longest non-stop flight of an airplane, starting from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center sometime in February. His mount, once again, will be the Burt Rutan-designed GlobalFlyer. The exact takeoff date will depend on the weather, following preflight preparations scheduled to start Jan. 6. Fossett’s plan is […]
Sun ‘n Fun to honor astronauts and Rutan
John Young and Bob Crippen, commander and pilot of the first Space Shuttle flight, are set to appear at this year’s Sun ‘n Fun evening program on April 8. The fly-in runs from April 4 to 10. The program is part of a celebration of the first Shuttle launch, April 12, 1981. Programs honoring the […]
AOPA educating the non-flyign public
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association ran a series of television commercials on The Weather Channel during the Christmas season. They showed many benefits of general aviation, from assisting with hurricane relief efforts to air ambulance and other humanitarian flying. They emphasized that GA is a vital part of American life which poses no threat. […]
‘Wings for History’ preserves history of women in aviation
To preserve the history of women in aviation, the Ninety-Nines Museum of Women Pilots is launching a worldwide fundraising campaign. Its “Wings for History” endowment fund is asking for donations of airplanes. Helen Holbird of Oklahoma City was the first donor. Money from the sale of her Cessna 172 initiated the museum’s new endowment. The […]
A DC-3 anniversary
Dec. 17 – the 103rd anniversary of the Wright brothers’ first flight – also was the 70th anniversary of another first flight that changed aviation. That was the day in 1935 that the Douglas DC-3 first took to the air. Donald Douglas apparently saw nothing remarkable in the event, although he did schedule it for […]
It takes a village to buy an airplane
An African proverb says it takes a village to raise a child. It also takes a village — and a pile of money — to buy an airplane. Given the amount of money involved, it pays to do your homework and assemble an acquisition team. Consulting firm Conklin & de Decker says the first person […]
Top questions about owning an airplane
The aviation services department of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) gets a lot of calls about aircraft ownership. Here are the most common: Q: How can I determine the true value of an airplane? A: You can use the AOPA website (AOPA.org) to determine an airplane’s value. Keep in mind that there are […]