SPLOG By DAN JOHNSON It begins! The long-awaited arrival of Cessna into the ranks of Special Light Sport Aircraft has begun, with the first Shenyang-produced SkyCatcher arriving in Wichita. The company reports taking more than 1,000 orders. At Oshkosh 2009, company officials said production would commence as originally planned in 2009 but that 2010 will […]
MKC nears completion of $70 million improvement project
In August 1927, just months after his heroic solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, Charles Lindbergh landed on a dusty strip of land along a bend in the Missouri River, dedicating one of the nation’s great inner city airports and officially launching Kansas City’s aviation industry into the national spotlight. That airfield, now known as […]
PrayerFlight slates next effort
The next national PrayerFlight will be held over Thanksgiving weekend. PrayerFlight coordinates GA pilots and aircraft owners with volunteers who pray over cities and states. The organization’s board hopes to complete two national PrayerFlight events each year, with the primary focus being the National Day of Prayer in May. For the effort this month, organization […]
Continental kicks off sale
Teledyne Continental Motors (TCM) has kicked off a limited time special offer on engines purchased during the week of the 2009 AOPA Aviation Summit in Tampa, Florida. The summit begins Nov. 5 and closes Nov. 7. While the order period is brief, anyone in the market for a factory-new or factory-rebuilt TCM engine can take […]
GAMA 2010 leader revealed
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The board of directors of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) has elected Robert Wilson, president of Honeywell Business and General Aviation, as GAMA’s chairman for 2010. Wilson previously served as GAMA’s vice chairman and chairman of GAMA’s Technical Policy Committee. John Rosanvallon, president and CEO of Dassault Falcon Jet, was voted […]
Kodiak receives additional certifications
Quest Aircraft Co. recently received Canadian type certification for the Quest Kodiak. This follows the receipt of type certification from Papua New Guinea and type acceptance certification from Indonesia in June. “From the outset, we had planned on receiving numerous international certifications for the Kodiak,” said Paul Schaller, Quest Aircraft’s president and CEO. “The airplane […]
Oregon Aero taps 17-year employee as COO
Tony Erickson, 17-year employee of Oregon Aero, Inc., has been named the company’s Chief Operating Officer. As COO, he will manage Oregon Aero’s daily operations. “Tony brings to the COO position a deep and thorough understanding of the principles and objectives of Oregon Aero,” says Mike Dennis, president, CEO and co-owner of the Scapoose, Ore.-based […]
Author’s focus on female flyers garners Combs Gates Award
The National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) has awarded its Seventh Annual Combs Gates Award to author and historian Sarah Bryn Rickman and her trilogy based on the Women Pilots of the Ferry Command. Rickman receive a $20,000 cash award in recognition of her research on women pilots during World War II, according to hall […]
‘Mama Bird’ turns 100 today
Evelyn Bryan Johnson, known affectionately as “Mama Bird” by her many flight students, turns 100 today. According to a report at AOPA.org, Johnson will be recognized today by Willard Scott on NBC’s Today Show. Johnson has logged more than 57,635 hours, qualifying her as the highest-time female pilot and the highest-time living pilot in the […]