Megan Vande Voort sent in this photo with a note: “After getting nearly a foot of snow in Iowa, the skis were quickly put on Shane Vande Voort’s 1999 Citabria. The last couple years there hasn’t been enough snow to enjoy ski plane flying, so Shane and sons weren’t going to let this snow day pass them by.”
The gateway to the Texas Hill Country
Nestled in the heart of Central Texas, Gillespie County Airport (T82) is the gateway to the Hill Country and tourist cities like Fredericksburg, just a couple of miles to the north, with rich German history and military museums.
NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter mission ends after three years
Originally designed as a technology demonstration to perform up to five experimental test flights over 30 days, the first aircraft on another world operated from the Martian surface for almost three years, performed 72 flights, and flew more than 14 times farther than planned while logging more than two hours of total flight time.
Regional flight training winners revealed
Six flight schools and six flight instructors were chosen as the most excellent in their region in the 2024 Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association’s Flight Training Experience Survey.
New novel features B-17 hijacked during air show
The Lost Bird is the story of two modern-day families, criminals without conscience, and an awkward partnership formed in an attempt to find the missing plane.
Pilot loses control landing on frozen lake
The loss of direction control while maneuvering off the plowed surface to avoid a collision with a vehicle.
Picture of the Day: Future Top Gun pilot
Bergenn Hedrick submitted this photo and note: “Lee Hedrick, 4, landed a Cessna 172 in a Redbird FMX by himself with only his mother on the rudder pedals. He spotted the airport and lined up on the runway on his own. The future Top Gun pilot takes lessons every Wednesday in the simulator.”
Just one more
Dennis Kirkwood thought he was done building airplanes at 77. Then COVID hit and he and a partner built a Hummel UltraCruiser.
Researchers compare climate impact of electric aircraft vs those powered by fossil fuels
The key takeaway from the study is that small electric aircraft can have a notably lower climate impact — up to 60% less — and other types of environmental impacts than equivalent fossil-fueled aircraft. However, there is a trade-off regarding mineral resource scarcity — about 50% more even in the most favorable scenario, mainly due to rare metals in the batteries of the electric aircraft, according to researchers.