Slated for closure in 2003 but pardoned through the influence of pilots, nearby residents and historians, the future of Smith Field (KSMD) in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is not only secure, but bright, according to a report in the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. The city’s first airport, once visited by such aviation pioneers Charles Lindbergh and Jimmy Doolittle, was […]
Commemorative Air Force names Shepard VP of education
DALLAD — The Commemorative Air Force (CAF) has added Bill Shepard to its staff as the vice resident of education. Shepard will oversee the design, execution and funding of CAF’s national education program, called RISE ABOVE. He has been a CAF member for four years and is deeply involved with the CAF Red Tail Squadron serving as […]
Spatial disorientation fatal for two
Before the flight, the pilot obtained weather information for an airport near the departure airport and for an airport about 275 miles south along his route of flight. He did not file a flight plan, did not receive any other services for the flight, and departed in night visual meteorological conditions. According to GPS and […]
Pictures (and video) of the day: First aerobatic flight
Gabriele Simpson sent in these photos of her first aerobatics flight, as well as her first flight in a biplane at Springs Airfield in South Africa. “I made my own little video and uploaded it to YouTube,” she added. https://youtu.be/mQYLBwH9d6w
Video: A peek at maintaining Colorado mountain AWOS
Colorado has 12 automated weather observing systems (AWOS) in mountain locations. These locations are crucial to flying safely. Tag along as crews trek up to a mountaintop AWOS station and enjoy the views along the way.
Epic E1000 takes flight
BEND, Ore. – Epic Aircraft achieved a milestone in its E1000 certification program in late December, with the successful maiden flight of its first conforming flight test article, code named FT1. The company remains on track to achieve Type Certificate and begin customer deliveries in 2016, according to company officials. The Epic E1000 prototype took its […]
CAP 172 crashes in Alaska
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The pilot of a small plane that smashed into a building in downtown Anchorage on Tuesday was not authorized to fly the aircraft used in volunteer search-and-rescue missions, Civil Air Patrol authorities said. According to a report from NBCNews.com, Doug Demarest, 42, of Anchorage, died when the Cessna 172 clipped an office […]
Museum launches virtual tour
The San Diego Air & Space Museum has launched its BEAM Virtual Tour Program, which enables both school groups and people who are physically unable to visit the museum to take tours through the use of a computer and Internet connection. Virtual visitors can see museum exhibits in real-time with an interactive tool that moves, sees, […]
Sporty’s releases 2016 webinar schedule
Sporty’s free webinar series continues in 2016, with webinars planned on a number of trending topics in aviation, including drones, ADS-B, and more. Complete descriptions of the webinars are available at Sportys.com/webinars. Live presentations are scheduled nearly every month. All webinars will begin at 8 p.m. Eastern time. If you can’t make a live presentation […]