Aircraft: Cessna 172. Injuries: None. Location: Plattsburgh, NY. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The student pilot, accompanied by a CFI, was practicing touch-and-goes. During the second approach, the airplane’s airspeed and altitude decreased more than the student intended. The left wing hit the runway. The CFI took over the controls and landed the airplane. […]
Ask Paul: Why is my Beagle Pup such a pig to start?
Q: I have a Beagle Pup 150 (the father of the Scottish Aviation Bull Dog) fitted with a Lycoming O-320 engine. When the weather is cold — in the UK this is anything less than 5° C — it has become an absolute pig to start, but once started it runs perfectly. The engine is […]
Innovations: Open up
Casey Hansen, a pilot and CFI in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has launched OpenFlightManual.org, designed to bring the open source concept to flight training. Working with a team of volunteers, Hansen hopes to create and maintain an online depository of aviation information. “We’re building a free, open, sharable, online flight training manual,” he says on the […]
8,000th Van’s takes flight
On Feb. 4, Stephen Watson of Santa Clarita, Calif., took the first flight in his RV-7A, becoming the 8,000th completed RV reported to Van’s Aircraft. Watson works for the Jet Propulsion Labs in California, and chose the RV-7A despite the fact that the airplane is powered by a piston engine, with no rocket or jet […]
WACO kicks off Great Lakes Paint Scheme Contest
The WACO Aircraft Company has launched a Great Lakes Paint Scheme Contest. “With the Great Lakes 2T-1A-1 project coming along quickly, we are looking for a great new paint scheme to use on our first airplane,” officials said in a prepared release. Go to WACOAircraft.com to download the Great Lakes drawings. Submissions will be taken […]
FedEx Express donates 727 to SUN ’n FUN
SUN ’n FUN CAMPUS, LAKELAND, FL. – FedEx Express has donated a Boeing 727 to SUN ’n FUN to use as an interactive aviation classroom. SUN ‘n FUN CEO and President John R. “Lites” Leenhouts commented that, “It is truly an honor for SUN ’n FUN to be recognized by the aviation industry giant FedEx […]
Beringer debuts nosewheel for Twin Otter
The Beringer Co. has launched its new STC’d nosewheel for Twin Otter DHC-6. The wheel is CNC machined from high strength aluminum alloy and is anodized, protecting the part against corrosion, according to company officials. The roller bearings last longer thanks to a waterproof environment (lipseals and O-rings), officials add. The parts are optimized using […]
Janitrol, Southwind heater AD relief from C&D Associates
BUCHANAN, Mich. – Owners of aircraft with Janitrol or South Wind heaters have long had to comply with an airworthiness directive (A.D.) to repeatedly test for heater pressure decay. No longer. The FAA has authorized C&D Associates to overhaul original Janitrol or South Wind heaters with the end result being an aircraft heater free from […]
Warbird nose artist at museum
On Feb. 17, as part of its February Open Cockpit event, the New England Air Museum welcomes Connecticut native Gary Velasco, who has developed a reputation as one of the finest “nose artists” in the business. “Nose art” refers to the caricatures painted on wartime aircraft, an art form popularized during World War II. Velasco […]