While airline pilots have to retire at 65, there’s no mandatory retirement age for general aviation pilots. A new story in Air & Space magazine asks the question: Can you be too old to fly? According to the FAA’s Active Civil Airmen Statistics, in 2016 there were about 41,600 pilots over 70 with an active […]
Tecnam founder flies west
Professor Luigi Pascale, the founder, president and chief designer at Tecnam Aircraft, died March 14, 2017, after a brief illness. He was 93 years old. Luigi “Gino” Pascale was a native of Naples, Italy, whose passion for aviation began during the 1930s. He and his brother Giovanni, won many model plane races. The two brothers’ first […]
Southern Utah University buys 10 Cirrus SR20s
CEDAR CITY, Utah — Southern Utah University (SUU) has purchased 10 new SR20s from Cirrus Aircraft. Deliveries are expected to begin in June. “Globally, the aviation industry is expanding rapidly and the demand for qualified pilots is high,” said SUU President Scott L Wyatt. “The addition of the Cirrus aircraft will elevate our program by offering the […]
Continental’s Southern Avionics re-opens after move
Continental Motors Group‘s Southern Avionics and Interiors has re-opened after relocating to H.L. Sonny Callahan Airport (KCQF) in Fairhope, Alabama. Founded 30 years ago, Southern Avionics was based at Mobile Downtown Airport (KBFM). With the move, the avionics subsidiary is joining Continental Motors Services (CMS) in a facility that includes three maintenance hangars and a 25,000- […]
Stratus Power debuts
Stratus Power, a new TSO-certified dual USB Standard-A charging port from Appareo, will keep your tablets and smartphones powered up while in use in the cockpit. It debuts at a list price of $349. https://youtu.be/VZ48DRey4NE?t=9s “Our goal with Stratus Power was to provide the best-value charging port with the minimal amount of installation time,” said […]
182 pilot attempts takeoff, but not on a runway
According to the pilot, the runway he intended to depart from at the airport in Waycross, Georgia, was parallel to the taxiway and parking ramp. He assumed that after making two right turns he would be on the runway. He reported that he did not have any airport diagrams to navigate with, while operating on the […]
Smokin’!
Smitty Smith from FunPlacesToFly.com sent in this photo with a brief note: “Viper! Smokin’! Shot taken at the Waxahachie Fly-In in Texas.”
Of Wings & Things returns
This is the inaugural relaunch of a grand tradition, the wonderful and eclectic “Of Wings & Things” column created in 1972 by aviation historian and renaissance man Peter M. Bowers. For more than three decades, Pete blended a series of photographs with his encyclopedic knowledge of aviation to create an interesting story in each column. […]
Video: Caribbean Zenith flight taunts those stuck in the cold
As winter — and the weather — drags on, seeing this Zenith CH701 in — and above — the beautiful Caribbean waters is almost more than I can take. Amazing to see how much flex there is in the Full Lotus floats.