Matthew McCoy submitted the following photo and note: “Float flying near the Columbia River.”
[Read more…]Westbound round-the-world record attempt happening now
Flying around the world isn’t for the faint of heart. Especially in a general aviation aircraft.
Efficiency expert Bill Harrelson, flying his Lancair IV (N6ZQ), is mid-attempt as I type this. At present, he’s over the Pacific Ocean enroute to Jakarta from Honolulu.
[Read more…]Video: Warbirds and Van’s RVs
FunPlacesToFly.com just posted a new video to YouTube documenting a trip to Sherman, Texas, for EAA Chapter 323’s pancake breakfast. Smitty Smith reports that all sorts of aircraft flew in, including several warbirds and several Van’s RVs.
[Read more…]Piper opens applications for apprentice program
Piper Aircraft has opened the application period for the 2020 Apprenticeship Program.
The 2020 group, which will begin in late July, will be the second apprenticeship class at Piper Aircraft’s world headquarters in Vero Beach, Florida. The two-year program includes a combination of on-the-job training, as well as classroom instruction designed to qualify the participants as a Journeyman in Aircraft Assembly. Each apprentice is a paid employee of Piper Aircraft and receives a full benefits package.
[Read more…]Drone community to help FAA develop recreational drone flyer test
The FAA has asked 12 organizations, companies, and educational institutions to help it develop the new recreational drone flyer test.
The test will be “an important opportunity to educate recreational flyers about the rules of the sky as we continue to safely integrate drones into our nation’s airspace,” FAA officials said.
[Read more…]Separated cylinder head results in forced landing to road
After takeoff for an instructional flight, when the Cessna 172 reached 1,800′ mean sea level, the student pilot began a left turn toward the destination.
Shortly after, the engine went silent and stopped producing power.
[Read more…]Picture of the Day: A serendipitous alignment
Ken Thompson submitted the following photo and note: “My son took this photo of me above 06R in Bellville, Texas. I was in my 1946 Ercoupe 415-C, overflying the field before entering the pattern. It’s a beautiful, if serendipitous, alignment. And, just for the record, I was well below the cloud layer and had NOT just come down through the sucker hole.”
[Read more…]Where the magic happens
EAA Chapter 229 bears a strong resemblance to a great many of its peer chapters. The membership is overwhelmingly male and old.
As I sit on the verge of turning 61 years old, it concerns me that I am one of the younger members of the group. Attendance at gatherings is low enough that meetings are only held during the colder weather months when Snowbirds move south to mix in with the natives. Even then, the hangar is never full. If a dozen members show up at the same time, it’s a big deal.
Seven miles away from EAA Chapter 229’s hangar/workshop is the local public high school. Inside that school building sit more than 150 students who are taking an aerospace course that will eventually lead to the completion of their private pilot ground school requirements. Some want to fly, some want to turn wrenches, some want to become engineers who design the aircraft of the future, and some want to do some combination of two or more of those things.
It doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to see the irony of the situation. One group wants very much to find new, younger members who might revitalize the organization. The other is made up of young people who seek a means of getting through the chain-link fences, the barbed wire, and the Do Not Enter signs, to begin their careers in aviation.
[Read more…]e-Beaver makes first flight from Fraser River
Electric motor powered aircraft have flown before. So this wasn’t that kind of first flight. But that doesn’t make it any less significant.
On Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019, Harbour Air CEO Greg McDougall flew the company’s MagniX500-powered deHavilland Beaver from the Fraser River in Richmond, British Columbia.
[Read more…]uAvionix tailBeacon approved for rotorcraft
uAvionix’s tailBeacon has been accepted by the FAA for installation on rotorcraft, with no further updates or changes required.
FAA officials reported in early December 2019 that only 53% of rotorcraft will be equipped with ADS-B Out by the Jan. 1, 2020, deadline.
“There is a significant gap left to cover, and the FAA is motivated to close that gap,” said Ryan Braun, uAvionix COO.
[Read more…]