Look at just about any paved runway and chances are good you’ll see a jigsaw puzzle pattern in the pavement. This kind of deterioration plagues a number of airports, especially where de-icing and anti-icing chemicals are used. A professor at Clemson University in South Carolina has been given the green light by the FAA to […]
News
User fees inevitable?
Last November, at AOPA Expo, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta claimed that the FAA’s funding problems wouldn’t be solved by user fees. “The fuel tax is the best way to finance the needs of aviation,” he told a standing-room-only crowd of pilots. But Mineta’s tune has changed. Mineta recently told the Aero Club of Washington, D.C., […]
Mermaid LSA certified
The FAA has certified the factory-built Mermaid as a special Special-Light Sport Aircraft. The plane is built in the Czech Republic by Czech Aircraft Works of Stare Mesto, and distributed in the United States by Sport Aircraft Works of Palm City, Fla. It is amphibious, so owners can operate from either land or water. The […]
A record breaking year for GA
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) reported a record year in 2005 for general aviation manufacturers. The industry reached an all-time high for billings in 2005 — $15.1 billion, a 27.2% increase over 2004. Year-end, worldwide shipments of GA airplanes totaled 3,580, up 20.8% over the previous year’s total of 2,963 units. All sectors of […]
Tuskegee Airmen receive honorary degrees
At the Sixth Annual Tuskegee Airmen Convocation held Feb. 23 at Tuskegee University, 63 surviving airmen received honorary degrees from the Alabama university. Between 1940 and 1946 approximately 1,000 African-American pilots trained at Tuskegee in segregated units. They earned more than 850 medals during the war, destroyed 260 enemy aircraft — and didn’t lose a […]
It’s now easier to buy a Legend Cub
American Legend Aircraft Co. has launched a new deposit program designed to make it easier to buy a Legend Cub. The Legend Cub is a two-place, single engine piston-powered aircraft designed to meet Light Sport Aircraft category certification requirements. Under the new plan, a customer can secure a production slot for the presently backlogged Legend […]
HEICO eyes Chinese market for its parts
A Hollywood, Fla.-based company is set to tackle the Chinese aviation market. HEICO Corp. has signed a deal with the China Aviation Import and Export Group Corp. (CASGC) of the Peoples Republic of China to sell FAA-approved aircraft and engine replacement parts in China. The cooperative agreement is the first of its kind in the […]
Sun ‘n Fun to celebrate the final frontier
Planning continues for Sun ‘n Fun, scheduled to kick off April 4 at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in Florida. This year’s event, which runs through April 10, includes a tribute to the 25th anniversary of the Space Shuttle program, as well as a 20th anniversary reunion of the volunteers who made the epic flight of […]
Stennis Airport honored for post-Katrina efforts
The FAA’s Southern Region Airports Division has selected Stennis International Airport in Bay St. Louis, Miss., to receive the 2005 General Aviation Airport Safety Award. Immediately following Hurricane Katrina, Airport Manager Bill Cotter and his son cleared debris from operational and safety areas and repaired runway edge lights to allow resumption of night operations. The […]