Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell announced June 1 that the commonwealth will provide nearly $3 million to 16 airports for safety improvements and facility maintenance. “Airports are important assets that can attract new business and create jobs,” Rendell said. “We are making the smart investments necessary to increase economic vitality and facilitate the more than […]
CAF B-25 flies again after 28-year restoration
A North American B-25N Mitchell World War II bomber returned to the skies on May 31 after a 28 year restoration by volunteers of the Commemorative Air Force aviation museum in Mesa, Arizona. Named “Maid in the Shade” in deference to its extended stay inside the museum’s hangar, the aircraft lifted off the Falcon Field […]
Jet fuels from plants could be certified soon
Jet fuels derived from algae, camelina and jatropha — plants that pack an energy punch, are not eaten as food and do not displace food crops — could be approved and replacing petroleum fuels in commercial flights as early as next year, a Boeing executive said yesterday, according to a May 29 Greenwire report by […]
Overnight curfew for NY airport discussed
New York congressional members want the Federal Aviation Administration to consider an overnight curfew at the Westchester County Airport, Newsday reported on June 1. The airport currently asks airlines and private jets to refrain from flying between midnight and 6:30 a.m. voluntarily, but some flights still take off or land during those hours. Reps. Nita […]
Planemakers challenged to find unleaded fuel option
The elimination of lead from automotive fuel long has been hailed as a top environmental achievement, but finding a replacement for the leaded aviation fuel used in tens of thousands of piston engine aircraft has proven to be much more difficult, wrote The Wichita Eagle’s Molly McMillan on May 30. Eventually, the Environmental Protection Agency […]
Signal Aviation’s Max Green earns advanced line service certification
Signal Aviation’s Line Service Manager, Max Green, has received Advanced ExxonMobil Aviation PremierCare Line Service Certification. Exxon’s PremierCare certification program was developed by technical specialists to cover safety, fuels and refueling procedures, aircraft servicing, quality control and customer service. Based at the Lebanon Airport in New Hampshire, Signal Aviation provides fueling, parking, catering, hangar storage […]
US Aviation to install Pratt & Whitney Turbine Tracker System
Pratt & Whitney Engine Services has issued a dealer and installation agreement to US Aviation allowing it to install P&W’s Turbine Tracker System. The system operates like the black box on an airliner, monitoring all engine activity. It can be expanded to keep track of any airframe setting changes. The hardware and software program provides […]
Luscombe raffle tickets going fast
The WIN ME raffle from the Luscombe Endowment is drawing to a close. According to endowment officials, there are less than 250 tickets remaining for the restored Luscombe T8F WIN ME airplane. The T8F Luscombe is a rare airplane with fewer than 100 originally built, and rarely more than a dozen licensed and flying at […]
A new way to buy parts
Sometimes the big ideas in aviation come from the simplest thoughts. For example, Ken Willaford, AI and owner of Aeromech, Inc., a maintenance facility on Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in Florida, stocked lots of parts. In an effort to expand his business, he put a truck on the road as a roving parts store. But […]