Q: I have a Glasair with a Lycoming IO-360-B1E engine. After reading your article in the May 11 issue, I tried to get a copy of Lycoming’s SI1325A to see if I should change the timing from 25 to 20 degrees BTDC, but was not able to find that instruction. Can you help? RON WALTERS, […]
Opinion
The streamlined decade
During the decade of the Great Depression, the streamlined form stood as an optimistic symbol of progress and efficiency. Streamlining was applied to cars, trains, ships, buildings, and even household appliances. This new idiom replaced the angular, art deco forms of the 1920s. By the mid-1920s aircraft construction was in need of a new design […]
More veterans launch skyward
Ageless Aviation Dreams continues its tour of the Pacific Northwest taking veterans and seniors for a ride in its Boeing Stearman. The barnstorming tour also attracts “good news” stories on local news channels. See the KVAL.com story here.
Contact!
In the old days, the word “Contact!” was central to the process of getting things going. The pilot yelled “Contact!” The mechanic then responded in kind while laying hands on the prop. Seconds later, after a grunt, a flip of the prop, and a puff of smoke, an airplane would leap to life. Technology has […]
What role does radio-controlled flying have in GA?
At the Arlington Fly-In in July I bought a Blade Scout radio-controlled (RC) helicopter. It’s a beginner-level RC. It’s also an absolute blast to fly. Horizon Hobby was the exhibitor. “We are trying to reach new markets, that’s why we are here in Arlington,” said Kim Payne from Horizon Hobby. “We’ll be at AirVenture as well.” Both displays were packed with people every […]
GAMI’s search for an avgas alternative
Recently, my wife and I decided to take a road trip to Texas to visit friends and fill up on good Cajun and Tex-Mex food. On our return, I stopped to visit GAMI — General Aviation Modifications, Inc. — in Ada, Oklahoma. GAMI builds and sells a line of parts designed to improve performance for […]
Lightning Man
My Old Man met Johnny Smith during an act of of immeasurable kindness. We were finally able to relocate back to Henry’s hometown of Canton, Georgia, in the early 1980s. With our few worldly possessions moved, it was time to fly the Luscombe 8A to her new home. I drove Henry to the grass field […]
Lessons from the Cub
There was a particularly compelling event at AirVenture this year. One I wish I had been there to see. Sadly, I was unable to attend. But that puts me in the same boat with many thousands of aviation enthusiasts. I was interested, but from afar. I was motivated, but constrained by circumstance. In short, I […]
Inspector General to assess NextGen progress
Is the FAA moving as it should in decisions and actions relating to the Next Generation Air Transportation System — NextGen — and if not, why not? That is what the office of Inspector General of the Department of Transportation will try to determine in an audit of the FAA’s progress on the program. The […]