Recently released is “The X-15 Rocket Plane: Flying the First Wings into Space” by Michelle Evans. With the Soviet Union’s launch of the first Sputnik satellite in 1957, the Cold War soared to new heights as Americans feared losing the race into space. The X-15 Rocket Plane tells the story of the hypersonic X-15, the […]
Jackson Jet Center joins Air Elite Network
Jackson Jet Center, located at Boise Gowen Field (BOI) in Boise, Idaho, has joined the growing Air Elite Network. Jackson Jet Center’s newly-remodeled facility is located on the north side of Boise Airport. As a combination of the former Boise Air Service and Boise Executive Terminal, the new 9,400-square-foot facility includes a flight planning center, […]
Darkness leads to spatial disorientation
Aircraft: Cessna 182. Injuries: 2 Fatal. Location: Erwin, N.C. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The private pilot, 79, held an instrument rating. According to a logbook recovered from the wreckage, he had accumulated 1,973 hours. In the 12 months preceding the accident, he logged 12 total hours of flight experience, of which 0.2 hours […]
Mountain high
April 4, 2013, marked the 80th anniversary of the successful aerial assault on Mt. Everest undertaken by two Royal Air Force pilots, David Fowler McIntyre and Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, flying modified, open-cockpit, Westland biplanes to an altitude of 30,000 feet. It was a triumph for aviation, particularly for the skill and organization demonstrated by the British […]
NTSB concerned about go-arounds
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Transportation Safety Board wants the FAA to modify its procedures for directing traffic around major airports. This is to reduce the possibility of mid-air collisions when a landing aircraft must conduct a go-around. Five incidents involving departing aircraft and go-arounds were studied by the NTSB. In each case the crews […]
Jet market forecast to grow
The market for the sales of business jets is expected to grow over the next 20 years, according to a report issued by Bombardier Aerospace. The forecast estimates that worldwide, about 24,000 business jets will be delivered in the years before now and 2032. Sales this year are expected to remain about as they were […]
Hartzell joins forces with RV8tors
UK-based aerobatic team, The RV8tors, are collaborating to display Hartzell Propellers’ Advanced Structural Composite (ASC-II) propeller in airshows across the UK and Europe over the next year. Alister Kay and Andy Hill, The RV8tors, have been flying their Van’s RV8 aircraft as an aerobatic duo since 2010. They expect to perform for more than three […]
FBO opens new terminal at PVD
Northstar Aviation at T.F. Green Airport (PVD) in Providence, R.I., recently opened its new executive terminal. The full-service FBO, part of the Avfuel network, sports a lounge as well as access to showers, laundry facilities and a gym. Fully equipped conference rooms are available at no charge. Plane-side catering, onsite rental cars, transportation, accommodation arrangements […]
‘Trial offer’ maintenance plan launched for Honeywell engines
Propulsion International has introduced a trial offer introductory option coupled to a guaranteed “not-to-exceed CAM/Overhaul price” on its Honeywell-backed Group Maintenance Plan (GMP) for TPE-331-series turboprop engines. “Whether they are flying a single aircraft or a large fleet, operators are looking for ways to help control the costs of maintaining and overhauling their Honeywell TPE-331 […]