The folks at Scheme Designers are justifiably proud these days — five aircraft wearing Scheme Designers paint schemes took home awards from EAA AirVenture this year. Diana Stanger and her Aero Vodochody L-139 received the award for Best Jet; Drew Bowlds and his RV-8 took home the Kit Champion – Bronze Lindy; Thomas Irion and his Velocity […]
Drone reports up dramatically
Pilot reports of unmanned aircraft have increased dramatically over the past year, from a total of 238 sightings in all of 2014, to more than 650 by Aug. 9 of this year, according to the FAA. “The FAA wants to send out a clear message that operating drones around airplanes and helicopters is dangerous and […]
Wings & Wheels at GMU Oct. 3
Wings & Wheels will be held Oct. 3 at Greenville Downtown Airport (GMU) in South Carolina, featuring automobiles, aircraft and motorcycles. Expected at the event are classics like a 1965 Mercedes 230 SL to a new Maserati or Lotus, unique aircraft like a YAK 52W, and new bikes made by BMW, Ducati and Triumph. Wings & […]
iFly Version 9 introduced
Adventure Pilot has released its Version 9 software update to the iFly GPS app for Apple, Android and the company’s dedicated devices. This update delivers Seamless HD Charts, Customizable Map Layers, redesigned “NRST” function, a “Smart Search” keyboard that finds airports while you type, and the ability to hide specified SUAs. A 30-day free trial of […]
A.E.R.O. debuts cable socket tool
A.E.R.O. has introduced its new Aircraft Cable Socket Tool, an engine control cable socket and nut kit. The two-piece socket set with an open channel design fits over engine control cables. It is designed to get to those hard-to-reach nuts that secure throttle, mixture, and other control cables. The kit includes a 1-inch driver socket assembly, […]
Low-altitude turn brings Air Tractor down
The pilot was performing aerial application of chemicals to a field near Simmesport, La., when the Air Tractor AT-301 began to settle during a low-altitude turn. The settling was consistent with flight at a high angle-of-attack or high drag condition, and the airplane may have been near or at its stall speed. The pilot was […]
Picture of the day: Flying with enthusiasm
Star Novak, who has contributed many great photographs to General Aviation News, was going through her hundreds of photos from this year’s AirVenture in Oshkosh when this photo stood out to her immediately. “I was on the front line when the multitudes of parachutists started to land, and I turned my camera just in time […]
A bucket full of luck
By IVY McIVER. They say that pilots start out with an empty experience bucket and a bucket full of luck. The trick is to fill the experience bucket before your luck bucket is emptied. Though one can make deposits into the experience account without making a withdrawal from the luck account, it would be foolish […]
FAA funding up in the air
The unfinished debate over highway funding in Congress is likely to ground hopes for passing a new funding bill for the FAA, according to a report from The Hill. The FAA bill is scheduled to expire Sept. 30. But Congress is expected to return its focus on highways upon returning to Washington next month, because […]





