Powered parachutes became a recognized category of aircraft by the FAA in 2004. Since that time, no writer or publisher has taken on the task of writing a complete textbook that covers all aspects of powered parachute flight. That changed recently with the introduction of Roy’s Powered Parachute Book. Author Roy Beisswenger is a 22-year […]
Plane hits gopher holes
The pilot landed the RANS S-6ES at a private airstrip near Mullen, Neb., where the airplane contacted gopher mounds and soft ground. The nose landing gear collapsed, the airplane nosed over, and it sustained substantial empennage damage. The NTSB determined the probable cause as the gopher holes and soft terrain the airplane encountered, which resulted […]
Picture of the day: A great day to go flying
Steve Sundstrom sent in this photo, noting, “It’s a great day to go flying off my grass field Wolfe Airpark (3T2) outside of Houston.”
Personalize your headset with Airlobes
One day, Chris Day of Fort Mill, S.C., caught a glimpse of his wife’s headset and it gave him an idea. It was a color described by another pilot as “puke green” with no personalization or design whatsoever. What if he could come up with something that would give GA pilots and their headsets a […]
Effect of possible government shutdown on GA
A possible government shutdown is looming on Oct. 1 if Congress does not approve a spending bill by Sept. 30. The last time the government shut down — back in 2013 — the FAA Registry in Oklahoma City closed, virtually halting all aircraft transactions, in addition to threatened shutdowns of the nation’s contract airport towers. […]
Perlan 2 gilder first flight slated for Wednesday
The Perlan 2 glider, an engineless aircraft designed to reach the edge of space, will – weather permitting – attempt its first flight Wednesday, Sept. 23, at Robert’s Field at Redmond Municipal Airport in Oregon. This is the first test flight for the Perlan 2 glider, which will attempt to set a new world altitude record for any […]
Video: See the CarterCopter in action
Carter Aviation Technologies has released a new video showcasing the CarterCopter with its slowed rotor/compound (SR/C) technology. “We’ve been talking about the technical aspects of slowing rotors, flying at high mu/high advance ratio for years,” said Jay Carter. “Unfortunately all of that technical talk was lost on many folks interested in what we were doing.”
Moyle tapped as SAFE executive director
After a six-month nationwide search, the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators (SAFE) has selected veteran aviation educator Bill Moyle as the organization’s executive director. Moyle, of Waxahachie, Texas, succeeds SAFE co-founder Doug Stewart, who stepped down last year to continue instructing in technically advanced aircraft. Former SAFE Board Chair John Dorcey served as interim executive director during […]
New book, ‘High Tech Flying,’ released
A new book, “High Tech Flying,” by Robert Littlefield examines how glass cockpits, NextGen, iPads and drones are revolutionizing aviation. The book examines how these advances are impacting aviation and gives pilots the tools and knowledge they need to fly safely in this new environment. The book explains these technologies in plain English and from the pilot’s perspective, and […]