General aviation (GA) drives business activity at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport (SPI) in Springfield, Ill., and airport officials say they will continue to invest in infrastructure to ensure the facility remains an important economic driver in the city. According to a report at NBAA.org, general aviation accounts for 87% of overall traffic at SPI.
Long flight ends in crash
Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Walnut Grove, Mo. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The private pilot had logged approximately 405 hours, of which 340 were in a 172. Of that time, 109 hours were at night. The accident occurred during the last leg of a long VFR cross-country flight. He departed on […]
Hope for the new year
I recently had the good fortune to sit around a rather large table with a group of aviation believers. These are people who know aviation, have faith in it, and understand its importance to the economy of our nation and the world. They are also aware of the tremendous educational benefits aviation provides to its […]
Survivor: The return of Bill Williamson’s Thorp
Bill Williamson was at home in Lakeland, Fla., on the afternoon of March 31, 2011, when the phone rang. It was a friend calling to tell him that his airplane, a Thorp S-18 that was parked at Lakeland-Linder Regional Airport as part of the SUN ’n FUN Fly-In, was one of the casualties of the […]
Oakland Aviation Museum welcomes Thorp T-3B home
Oakland Aviation Museum recently took delivery of a Thorp/Paulic T3B-1 aircraft. This one-of-a-kind plane was donated by the Hiller Aviation Museum of San Carlos, Calif. The T-3B was designed by John Thorp, an instructor at the Boeing School of Aeronautics at Oakland Airport, and built by Rudy and Louis Paulic in 1933. The T-3 is […]
GA growth will help drive aerospace gains in 2013
Sales of general aviation (GA) aircraft and related products and services are expected to increase modestly over the next five years, fueled largely by sales of business aircraft, according to the Aerospace Industry Association’s (AIA) 2012 Year-End Review & Forecast. An analysis of the report by officials at the National Business Aviation Association shows that […]
Construction begins on new hangar at ILN
WILMINGTON, Ohio — Airborne Maintenance and Engineering Services, Inc. (AMES) and the Clinton County Port Authority report they have completed the necessary arrangements to proceed with the financing and construction of a new hangar facility at the Wilmington Air Park (ILN). Construction of the facility is scheduled to begin in January and will take approximately […]
Runway reconstruction alters flight activity at TUL
TULSA, Oklahoma – Reconstruction activity on the airport’s primary runway resumes on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013. The $19.9 million project is the third phase in a multi-phased effort to completely reconstruct the airport’s 9,999-foot runway. Airport staff has worked closely with ATKINS (design team), Interstate Highway Construction, Inc. (contractor), and airport tenants to ensure minimal […]