The first of several text messages — I and thousands of others will likely receive — from the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) during AirVenture 2017 offered a stark reminder…and I wasn’t even onsite yet. “Welcome to #OSH17!” the message starts. Immediately followed by a wet blanket over the excitement that is OSH: “Take a stand […]
Opinion
Cirrus Embarks on a new training journey
If you buy a pre-owned Cirrus, Cirrus wants to embark on a journey with you — a training journey. Whether you buy that aircraft through Cirrus’ pre-owned sales network or from an independent seller, Cirrus Embark is something you’ll be able — and should — take advantage of. New owners who register online will get up to […]
Hardware is not the issue
Like pretty much everyone else involved in aviation, I frequently engage with people who say things like, “Oh, I could never fly an airplane. They’re too dangerous.” These same people limit the scope of their lives with similar comments about motorcycles and other pieces of hardware that are widely perceived as too dangerous for the […]
Pilot Perspectives: Wayne Handley
By DEREK ROBERTS. Naval aviator, crop duster, aerobatic competitor and airshow pilot Wayne Handley knows his way around an aircraft or two. A traditional start flying an Aeronca Champ in 1957 led to a stint piloting F4D Skyrays in the Navy and ultimately a successful career as a business owner and crop-dusting pilot. It wasn’t […]
Opportunity is knocking…hard
It’s a well-worn bromide of our society: “Children are our future.” Yet, in real life we tend not to conduct ourselves as if we believe that to be true. Another more specifically instructive aphorism suggests, “When opportunity knocks…open the door.” Let’s consider that second quote for a moment. Two weeks from this moment, opportunity will […]
Tell Congress, then tell a friend
A little more than 44% of all airline flight delays between May 2016 and April 2017 were categorized as Air Carrier Delay. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics defines Air Carrier Delay as “within the airline’s control (e.g. maintenance or crew problems, aircraft cleaning, baggage loaded, fueling, etc.).” So it feels a tad misleading when Southwest […]
R.E.S.P.O.N.S.I.B.I.L.I.T.Y.
Not long ago, I did something stupid in an airplane. Gulp. The scenario looked like this: I departed a non-towered airport that lies under Class B airspace. As my flight home was a short one, I didn’t use Flight Following, as I normally would. Instead I simply took off, climbed to 2,000 feet, and settled in […]
Jenny a century later
The World War I Curtiss Jenny trainer evolved from less-than-optimal JN-1 and JN-2 models of 1915 to the definitive JN-4D that found its stride 100 years ago. In the spirit of centennial commemorations, a look back at the Jenny is in order. The earliest Jennies employed control wheels. By the advent of the JN-4D, a more traditional […]
Flying the SeaMax
In summary, I’d call SeaMax a “performance LSA seaplane,” peppy and demanding a bit more pilot attention, but it gets up and goes.