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 […]
There are no simple answers to complex problems: And no magic pill for unleaded avgas
In my last column I berated the author of a letter to the editor about a simple solution to the unleaded fuel crisis (The definition of insanity, Sept. 7 issue). In my last column I berated the author of a letter to the editor about a simple solution to the unleaded fuel crisis (The definition […]
September 2005 Accident Reports
The owner/builder’s inadequate fuel tank inspection during construction, which resulted in fuel contamination and subsequent fuel starvation.
The Albatross Lady: Julie Fetco and her flying yacht
Her name is Julie Fetcko, but those who have met her at air shows call her “The Albatross Lady.” She and her husband, John, own and fly the spectacular Grumman Albatross of that name, turning up at air shows and fly-ins all across America, summer after summer. They bought the Albatross as a “flying motor […]
Seawind crash kills test pilot: All employees laid off as owner looks for answers and investment capital
The amphibious Seawind 300C certification test airplane crashed Aug. 16, killing the company’s test pilot and destroying the aircraft. A “temporary interruption of business has been instituted,” said the company’s founder and CEO, Richard Silva, a few days after the crash. “It will be in effect until we can determine the cause of this event […]
BRS continues work on jet chute
When new airplanes are unveiled these days, Larry Williams and the gang from Ballistic Recovery Systems are invariably at the announcements. That’s because many new planes offer the BRS whole-airplane parachute system as standard equipment, while the rest offer it as options. That held true at this year’s AirVenture, where several new aircraft joined the […]
Are three parachutes better than one?Start-up company is betting on it
A family owned company is developing a emergency landing system for GA planes that uses three parachutes. The ASR TriChute Landing System features one parachute for the plane’s fuselage and a parachute for each wing. “The fact is, three parachutes are better than one,” explained Dario Manfredi, a finance executive who is the son of […]