During an aerial application flight in a tailwheel-equipped Air Tractor AT-602, the commercial pilot departed the airstrip at Ropesville, Texas, with a full load of insecticide, but then realized the plane was equipped with improper spray nozzles, and returned to the airstrip. Considering the fully loaded configuration, he made one low approach and reported that […]
A workhorse
Alex Williams-Hoffman sent in this photo, with a quick note: “Delivering the mail all throughout Kodiak, Alaska. The Cherokee 6 is the workhorse of the island. This photo was taken just before Christmas as we were delivering children’s presents.”
Hey, wanna go flying?
There’s nothing unusual about seeing two guys in the early stages of middle age, looking over a fabric-covered airplane before launching off to seek out a pancake breakfast or watch the sunset over the hills. Nothing unusual at all. Yet there was something about the two guys on the ramp at Orlando Executive Airport that […]
Paper addresses non-traditional uses for GA airports
PITTSTOWN, N.J. — “Effective Outreach: Preserving General Aviation by Putting the ‘Public’ in Public-Use Airports” is a recently released paper from Up, Up, and Away. Written by SAFE members Linda Castner and Rich Stowell, the paper discusses 17 years of experimentation and research exploring non-traditional uses and alternative revenue streams for airports and their businesses. Lessons learned […]
AOPA calls for review of speculation in NTSB reports
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is calling on the National Transportation Safety Board to conduct an internal review to examine why the agency has approved “speculative probable cause reports related to general aviation accidents” despite little evidence to support the conclusions. AOPA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Jim Coon criticized speculative practices […]
Mooney Ultras certified
The FAA has granted full certification to the two latest aircraft from Mooney International Corporation: The M20U Ovation Ultra and the M20V Acclaim Ultra. According to company officials, the newly designed Mooney Acclaim and Ovation Ultras feature a host of improvements, including: Larger and wider pilot and co-pilot entry doors, The latest Garmin NXi avionics, A composite-wrapped cabin for […]
Continental to build new factory
Continental Motors Group will remain headquartered in Mobile, Alabama, company officials said, as they unveiled a three-year global investment plan to “take its manufacturing, customer service and engineering infrastructure to the next level.” This first step is to build a new, state of the art manufacturing facility and corporate office at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley, which […]
Western Aircraft celebrates 60th anniversary
BOISE, Idaho – In 1957, the Morrison-Knudsen Corporation launched its own repair station and 60 years later, the company that would be later known as Western Aircraft is still flying. Western Aircraft began as the corporate flight department for the Morrison-Knudsen Corporation (MK). In 1957, MK responded to a need for aircraft repair services by applying […]
Pilot blinded by sun
According to the pilot, he departed on a cross-country flight to his home airport in Westfield Township, Ohio. He planned to arrive about sunset and land to the west. His last recollection of events leading up to the accident was initiating a right turn from the base to final leg in the traffic pattern. The CubCrafters […]