If you take a Systems and Procedures Course from the Cessna Pilots Association, CPA Executive Director John Frank promises, “You will learn more about your Cessna airplane than 99% of Cessna owners ever will.” Each Systems and Procedures Course instructor is an experienced mechanic, aircraft owner and high-time pilot, he notes. The course takes the […]
Night flight ends in fatal accident
This January 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 SR20. Injuries: 3 Fatal. Location: Menomonie, Wis. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The private pilot received his instrument rating about a month […]
How long can fuel be safely stored?
Ben Visser is an aviation fuels and lubricants expert who spent 33 years with Shell Oil. He has been a private pilot since 1985. Asking about the storage life of 100LL and auto gas is like asking a doctor, “How old will I live to be?” For example, a person’s life expectancy is affected by […]
Call for no user fees in budget
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Although he is no longer chairman of the House Aviation Subcommittee, Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Ill.) is still active in seeking elimination of user fees for general aviation. He is circulating a letter urging President Obama not to include general aviation user fees in the budget for Fiscal year 2112. Costello remains a […]
Book review: Heart of a Lion
The setting: It’s the Golden Age of aviation, and one man decides to explore it with his wife and two little girls. He envisions flying to all 48 states to promote aviation, then flying all over the world in a Sikorsky Amphibian. Accompanying the family is a pet lion cub. While it sounds like the […]
The runway behind, the sky ahead
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association President Craig Fuller recently sent out a review of 2010, as well as a look ahead to the opportunities and challenges for 2011, unveiling the organization’s theme for 2011: Rally GA. “It’s meant to energize those who fly and dream of flying to slip those surly bonds of earth and […]
Blame Continental sale on 1994 law
The sale of Continental Motors to a Chinese company controlled by the government has caused enormous concern, and no shortage of blaming greedy corporations for selling off American iconic companies to make a quick buck, states J. Mac McClellan in his EAA Sport Aviation blog, noting that while “those are heartfelt sentiments… they miss the […]
A different kind of flying machine
The flying abilities of even the most prosaic bird put airplane maneuvers to shame, experts at the University of Montana Flight Laboratory say in a New York Times story called “Flying machines, amazing at any angle.” The story quotes Dr. Kenneth Dial, who founded the lab in 1988: “Birds can do some pretty spectacular things. […]
New FAR-AMT app from ASA
ASA’s new app puts maintenance regs at your fingertips and in your pocket. Reference, study, and review is now as close as your iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. ASA’s new FAR-AMT app features an intuitive, user-friendly interface and contains complete and up-to-date information from Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR), as […]