It has been three years since the Sport Pilot/Light Sport Aircraft rule was finalized. In that time there has been continual growth in the number of LSA manufacturers and importers, as well as in the number of people earning Sport Pilot certificates. The Experimental Aircraft Association, one of the key organizations that spearheaded the development […]
Nationwide ADS-B contract awarded: System expected to be operational by 2010
A team led by ITT Corp. is the winner of a contract to develop the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system nationwide. ADS-B, dubbed the future of air traffic control by FAA officials, is expected to enhance safety by using signals from the Global Navigation Satellite System to pinpoint air traffic. “This signals a new era […]
the buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
“We’re still wrecking airplanes pretty much the same as we always did, we’re just more creative in the information that we ignore.” — Avemco Insurance Co.’s Jim Lauerman “We’ve watched people drool over new aircraft, then hear a big sigh, followed by ‘If only I could afford it…’” — Andrew DeMond, president of iFly, a […]
The “Greenies” are coming and we’d better watch out
I don’t want to seem like an alarmist, but the new environmental religion has become a threat to aviation, and the threat is very real. Ten protesters at London’s Biggin Hill were arrested last month while blocking access to private aircraft, which make up most of the traffic at that historic airfield. They were protesting […]
QUIT WHINING ABOUT ETHANOL
There’s the problem with ethanol-based fuel! It may consume more energy in its production that it itself will produce. It may cost more than petroleum-based fuels it replaces. Taxpayers may have to continue subsidizing it until the public comes to its senses. However, until that happens politicians and newspaper editors, particularly here in the Corn […]
A LESSON LEARNED
On a bright, Saturday morning not too long ago, my wife Kathy and I drove to our hangar at the Frederick Municipal Airport in Maryland. Since we were pressed for time, we decided just to make several takeoffs and landings in our Mooney Ovation 2000. During my pre-flight, I noticed that I had about two […]
Would you like mustard with that?
Each Saturday, Sporty’s Pilot Shop at Clermont County/Sporty’s Airport (I69) in Batavia, Ohio, welcomes visitors with a cookout. Guests are invited to chow down on hot dogs and do a little shopping. Since they started serving up the dogs in 1992, they’ve fed a lot of hungry aviators. How many you ask? Earlier this summer, […]
A cure for traffic jams
Would you rather have a Cessna 172 orbiting above you or be parked in traffic on the interstate for several hours while law enforcement officers investigate an accident? The Wisconsin State Patrol has a pretty good idea what the answer is. The agency uses a 2001 Cessna 172SP for, among other things, accident investigation. According […]
Can I use a yellow tagged camshaft in my Wittman Tailwind?
I have a Lycoming O-320-D2A that will be going into a Wittman Tailwind. The crankcase and crankshaft are yellow tagged. The camshaft is really pitted and will need to be replaced. I imagine the followers will need replacing also unless refurbishing them isn’t a big deal. My question is this: There’s a possibility that I […]