William T. Piper Jr., scion of the aircraft family that made the Piper Cub world famous, died Aug. 24. He was 95. He was a resident of Marco Island, Fla., and spent summers in Lock Haven, Pa. A pioneer in general aviation, Piper joined the company founded by his father, William T. Piper Sr., in […]
SEADOG gets automated weather
When a hurricane hits, one of the first priorities is to get the local airport back up and running. That’s why the Southeast chapter of the American Association of Airport Executives created SEADOG: the Southeast Airports Disaster Operations Group. Besides sending personnel to help hard-hit airports get back into operation, the organization also has teamed […]
Eclipse 500 auctioned on eBay
The winning bid for an Eclipse 500, auctioned last month on eBay, topped $1.8 million. The winner is Morten Wagner of Denmark, who placed his winning bid of $1,833,945 at 2 a.m. his time on Aug. 11. The 35-year-old Internet entrepreneur took delivery of his jet earlier this month at Eclipse Aviation’s headquarters in Albuquerque. […]
Lightsaber on board next Space Shuttle
A lightsaber, the weapon made famous by Star Wars movies, will be taken into space aboard the next shuttle, slated for launch in October. The weapon, from the original 1977 Star Wars movie, is on loan from Lucas films. Since the beginning of the space program astronauts have taken trinkets into space. This is first […]
the buzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
“This is the center of the universe. There’s nothing better than being at Oshkosh this week.” — Alan Klapmeier, co-founder of Cirrus Design, on AirVenture’s opening day “Don’t drop the airplane to fly the radio. An airplane flies because of Bernoulli, not Marconi.” — GAN contributing writer Mark Grady, who presented an Air Safety Foundation […]
Do you have the Right Stuff? If not, can it be learned?
Everyone knows at least one pilot who has “the right stuff.” “These are the people we trust, whom we look up to — and not just for their stick and rudder skills,” says Bill Rhodes, owner of Aerworthy Consulting, who is kicking off a first-of-its-kind study of what makes a pilot a superior pilot. Dubbed […]
THE LIGHTER SIDE
I just picked up the July 20 edition and read the Scuttlebutt column, “Fear, full frontal nudity. . .and real estate.” Excellent humor! Loved the part about “I want my mommy” when given clearance for a “full approach!” I’m a retired Army aviator now working for Era Helicopters in Lake Charles, La. It’s refreshing to see […]
NO AMOUNT OF MONEY
Being a retired flight instructor, I really enjoyed the article “Why can’t you find a CFI?” in the July 20 issue. The comments of all the people who contributed to that article brought back a lot of memories and this is one of them: We rolled to a stop and I got out of the […]
The stars of the show
Getting a T-shirt from a big show like AirVenture is cool enough for most kids, but 8-year-old Katherine Schwerman, from Genesee, Wis., took it to the next level. When the self-proclaimed aviation enthusiast went to the WASP exhibit, she got a lot more than she expected when she bought a shirt and some replica WASP […]