Today, the successful worldwide spread of free-market capitalism, alongside the frustrations of even first-class airline transportation, suggest to me that general aviation has astonishing opportunities for growth. That growth is almost certain to benefit our thousands of smaller airports rather than the handful of great city hubs. Except for the financial centers, most business – […]
Making their debut… Epic expecting twins, while Comp Air plans to fly turboprop to Sun ‘n Fun
Epic Air, which has made a habit of introducing new, high-performance aircraft at Sun ‘n Fun, plans to unveil two new airplanes on the event’s opening day this year. “We’ll just say that, together, they will have two engines, one spinner and 16 windows,” Epic CEO Rick Schrameck teased while failing to say much more. […]
Children’s Air Corps Guild
“Your child has cancer” is one of the most devastating sentences a parent can hear. Richard Newman, a pilot from Washington state, heard these words when his daughter Carli was diagnosed with lymphoma, but this wasn’t the only thing that inspired him to create the Children’s Air Corps Guild, an organization geared toward raising funds […]
Cirrus facing wrongful death lawsuit in Lidle crash
An attorney representing the families of New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle and flight instructor Tyler Stanger, who died in the crash of the Cirrus SR20 in Manhattan, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Cirrus Design Corp. The complaint alleges product liability, negligence and breach of warranty against Cirrus. Teledyne, Hartzell Propeller, S-Tec, Honeywell […]
Catching up with Kitfox
Last May, John and Debra McBean, former SkyStar employees and owners of Sport Plane LLC, an Idaho-based builder’s assist center, purchased the assets of SkyStar Aircraft Corp., makers of the popular Kitfox. The McBeans announced their intentions to continue manufacturing kits. But as anyone who has been in the aviation business for even a short […]
New jet center markes new age for California airport
Two years ago pilots and airport officials at Buchanan Field (CCR) in Concord, Calif., were fighting a developer’s plan to close the airport to make way for homes and a shopping center. When the FAA and the local community raised objections, the developer dropped the idea. It was then that — finally — airport officials […]
F-14’s seized by Uncle Sam
Four retired and stripped F-14 aircraft were seized recently by the federal government as the result of a 17-month investigation into the illegal sale of aircraft parts to Iran. The aircraft, including three that were at museums at the Chino Airport in Southern California and one that was a Hollywood prop, had been in civilian […]
Airport vs. an old-growth forest: Which will be left standing?
Every pilot thinks that his airport is special. Sky Harbor Airport (KDYT) in Duluth, Minn., is special for several reasons, or so say pilots, the people who live near the airport and the government agencies that are charged with managing and protecting not only the airport, but the surrounding area. Sky Harbor Airport, as the […]
Developer’s plans shot down by pilots — and everyone else
When a developer started eyeing a piece of property for a housing development less than a mile from Centennial Airport (APA) in Centennial, Colo., just outside Denver, it wasn’t just the aviation community that raised the alarm. The business community and local homeowners association raised the cries of opposition, as well. The proposal was to […]