Mid-Continent Instruments is celebrating its 45th anniversary as a provider of aircraft instruments. Established in 1964, Mid-Continent Instruments began as a small repair station supporting Wichita’s growing aircraft industry. Today, the company has more than 160 employees between two locations and operates one of the world’s largest overhaul/exchange facilities with the expertise to overhaul more […]
Fat Gecko camera mount debuts
Delkin Devices Inc. introduces Fat Gecko camera mount. The Fat Gecko is a dual suction cup mount that enables aviation enthusiasts to create videos of their flying for training, business, legal reasons or fun. The suction cups enable the Fat Gecko to attach to the inside of any window, windshield or non-porous canopy. It is […]
AvWXWorkshops.com debuts
Chesapeake Aviation Training, in Fort Mill, South Carolina, has launched Aviation Weather Workshops.com. The subscription-based website introduces pilots to many aspects of preflight weather analysis and planning through a growing library of online mini-workshops and personalized training, according to company officials. “There’s little debate that weather impacts our flying activity more than any other physical […]
Goodyear Aviation introduces lightweight tires
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s Aviation business has introduced the world’s first aluminum core bead for use in aviation tires. The patented light weight alloy bead core using aluminum is a revolution in weight savings, according to Goodyear officials. The traditional construction of the bead has a steel center wrapped by strands of high […]
Pilot hits sign when crosswind landing goes awry
The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during landing.
A hint from an old-timer
Many faithful readers of General Aviation News know that this writer has spent a large part of his 75 years in the air and on the water. Here’s a safety hint based on that experience: Don’t wear polarized sun glasses. Why not? Polarization can mask a glint from something in the air, in the water […]
An interesting history of Lycoming
Hemmings Motor News, perhaps the most comprehensive source of ads for antique and otherwise-used automobiles, recently published a short piece about the history of Lycoming Engines. That should come as no surprise, since Lycoming’s earliest engines were for cars and trucks. Indeed, many automobile manufacturers during the 1910s and 1920s used Lycoming engines in their […]
The first flight to Bermuda
The first successful aircraft flight to Bermuda from the United States occurred in April, 1930. The plane was a Stinson SM-1FS “Detroiter.” According to “The Flying Boats of Bermuda” by Colin Pomeroy, published in 2000, there was an unsuccessful attempt to fly from the U.S. to Bermuda in 1928, and “It was to be almost […]
A wing (or two) and a prayer?
A March 30 ABC News story expressed safety concerns over Red Bull‘s use of a 55-year old Grumman HU-16E Albatross as a marketing tool. ABC reported that the old amphibian had been grounded twice over concerns about its “aged wings failing, but it flies over the heads of hundreds of thousands of people a year […]