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: Cirrus SR22. Injuries: None. Location: Gaithersburg, Md. Aircraft damage: Substantial What reportedly happened: The pilot, who had logged 327 hours, including 161 in a […]
The value of aviation
GAN blogger Jamie Beckett was recently invited to speak to the East Polk Committee of 100 at their February 2011 gathering. The topic was aviation — which is right up his alley. After talking about the speech in his blog, many GAN readers asked for a video of the speech. He didn’t have one, so […]
Dedications & Reunions
Drew Steketee was president of BE A PILOT, senior vp-communications for AOPA and executive director of the Partnership for Improved Air Travel. He also headed PR and media relations for Beech, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) and the Airport Operators Council International. I just learned that the city of Boise has named an airport […]
FCC action poses threat to GPS
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A representative of the new Coalition to Save Our GPS told a House subcommittee Friday that a recent action by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) could cause “consequences of disruption” to the Global Positioning Systems (GPS) that will be “far reaching, likely to affect large portions of the population and the federal […]
CAP aids in tsunami warnings
The Civil Air Patrol’s Hawaii Wing launched statewide tsunami warnings Friday following an 8.9 magnitude earthquake off Japan’s northeastern coast. Eight Cessnas with full crews flew pre-assigned warning routes around the islands to look for anybody on or near the shoreline. The planes began sounding the tsunami warning at 10:18 p.m. Thursday Hawaii time, nearly […]
FAA restricts Eclipse to FL300
The FAA has issued an Airworthiness Directive for the Eclipse 500 that, as of March 21, would limit its maximum operating altitude to 30,000 feet, according to a report from Aviation International News. This supersedes an existing AD, issued in November 2008, that limited the jet to 37,000 feet or below in response to carbon […]
Lone Star Flight Museum adds P-51 to its fleet
The Lone Star Flight Museum’s newest aircraft arrived Wednesday, March 9. The museum’s North American P-51 Mustang, which has undergone restoration work over the last year, has emerged as “Galveston Gal,” a P-51 flown by Galveston native Capt. Ray Lancaster. Museum officials will add the legendary fighter to its warbird flight experience program later this […]
U-Fuel launches Sport Fuel Program
U-Fuel, a pioneer of self-service aviation fuel stations, has introduced the Sport Fuel program to expand the use of autogas in general aviation. An outgrowth of the company’s Aviation Fuel Club, the program assists airports, FBOs, flight schools, flying clubs and others searching for 91+ octane, ethanol-free autogas. Pilots buying fuel under the Sport Fuel […]
Latest mission for WWII planes: St. Barths Bucket Regatta
The World War II aircraft of Houston’s Texas Flying Legends Museum will perform at the 25th anniversary of the St. Barths Bucket Regatta March 24-26. “When the opportunity was presented to perform at the Bucket Regatta in 2011, we were very excited to make this mission a reality. However, to accomplish the trip to St. […]