The Civil Air Patrol Board of Governors has welcomed three new members, including the first three-star commander of Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command Region-1st Air Force (NORAD) and Air Forces Northern (USNORTHCOM), U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Stanley E. Clarke III. Other new members are retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Leon Johnson, the […]
Fast approach leads to poor landing
This December 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: Stinson 108-3. Injuries: None. Location: Clarksburg, Calif. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The pilot was attempting to land. His approach was high and […]
What’s wrong with user fees?
The Oct. 7 issue of General Aviation News included several articles warning against the dire consequences of user fees being proposed by our federal government. In a letter to the editor, Kevin Mossey even made the astounding claim that we “all need to sacrifice” by accepting higher fuel taxes. One can only imagine that he […]
FAA restores BARR to let pilots block flight info
Pilots on IFR flights will no longer have to submit a Certified Security Concern to the FAA in order to prevent their flight information from being broadcast over the Internet. FAA officials announced the reversal Friday, Dec. 2, after Congress ordered it in the fiscal year 2012 appropriations bill. Previously pilots could “opt out” of […]
Long suffering, belated first solo
We recently asked pilots on our Facebook page to share the story of their first solos. Here’s the second entry we received, from a pilot who wishes to remain anonymous: My first solo wasn’t really the exciting, giddy experience that I had imagined when I first started flying. The trip to my first solo was […]
‘The Nation’s Hangar’
“The Nation’s Hangar: Aircraft Treasures of the Smithsonian” peers into the aircraft collection that is the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. The book packs more than 225 full-color and 75 black and white photos in its 254 pages. Author F. Robert Van Der Linden offers much detail beyond the pictures. The […]
New reality TV series seeks ‘bush pilot’
AOPA’s Dan Namowitz reports that the call has gone out to cast a bush pilot to become one of 12 people who will be brought together “in a remote area of Alaska,” where they will rely on their own resourcefulness while building a homestead in a new Discovery Channel series tentatively called “The Frontiersmen.” At […]
Story of ‘Glacier Girl’ to highlight Wright Brothers banquet
The story of the P-38E Lightning “Glacier Girl” will be told through the eyes of Bob Cardin, one of its rescuers and restorers, at EAA’s annual Wright Brothers Memorial Banquet on Friday, Dec. 16. The banquet, held in the Founders’ Wing of the EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh, will commemorate the 108th anniversary of the […]
Repainted B-26G Marauder now on display at D-Day Museum
PPG Industries’ aerospace business has donated coatings used to repaint a B-26G Marauder bomber airplane now on display at the D-Day Museum at Utah Beach in Normandy, France. The aircraft honors a B-26 flown by Maj. David Dewhurst Jr., father of current Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. The Marauder was repainted in preparation for its […]