This March 2009 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others. Aircraft: Piper Cherokee. Injuries: None. Location: Dover, Delaware. Aircraft damage: What reportedly happened: The pilot, who reported that he obtained his weather information from commercial […]
Over-the-top FAA oversight
I was reading Charlie Spence’s Capital Comments column recently and I became intrigued by the numbers he was quoting from the FAA’s annual forecast. This annual study, which predicts aviation activities over the next 20 years, is used by the FAA to plan for the effects of expected growth. The forecast predicted a rate of […]
Jet-A versus Diesel fuel
Nobody has ever claimed using Jet-A in a diesel engine wouldn’t work, not even Exxon.
FAA issues interim RTTF policy
WASHINGTON, D.C. — New requirements were unveiled Thursday, March 17, by the FAA for residential through-the-fence (RTTF) access agreements at federally-funded airports. An interim policy requires airport sponsors with existing agreements that wish to continue RTTF to develop an airport access plan that outlines how the airport will meet its obligations to operate as a […]
Sonex begins accepting deposits for Onex
Sonex Aircraft is now accepting refundable deposits to reserve kit production slots for the Onex single-place, folding-wing, aerobatic sport aircraft. Onex Airframe Kit deliveries are expected to begin by mid-year, with Tail Kit deliveries beginning much sooner, according to officials with the Oshkosh-based company. The Onex has been a highly anticipated Sport Pilot-eligible airplane kit, […]
The Aviators starts filming season two
The producers of “The Aviators,” the smash hit that airs on PBS stations across the country, have announced a new season premiering this fall. A newly released trailer can be seen at TheAviators.tv or check it out at YouTube. “Season two will be even better. We’ve enhanced our equipment and will spend more time filming […]
Bit of optimism for the Franklins
Things are not as bad as they first appeared for Kyle and Amanda Franklin, who were injured after they were forced to make an emergency landing during an air show last weekend at the Brownsville-South Padre Island International Airport. According to a blog post by Matt Younkin at Indy Transponder: “Kyle was not injured and […]
SuperAWOS now available over XM
After three years of persistence, airport weather information from every SuperAWOS across the USA is now available over XM Weather, providing weather-in-the-cockpit to pilots from all SuperAWOS sites, for free. David Wartofsky, owner of Maryland’s Potomac Airfield, and inventor of SuperAWOS comments, “The weather information industry has become a very strange place: FAA actively blocking […]
Jeppesen completes iPad rapid decompression test
Jeppesen has completed a successful rapid decompression test of iPad 2. The successful test was completed to an altitude of 51,000 feet, proving the integrity of iPad 2 in the unlikely event of sudden cabin pressure loss, company officials note. Last year, Jeppesen completed a similar test of a representative iPad as part of a […]