Ben Riecken, a 25-year-old flight instructor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, wants to be one of the first people to become a space tourist. Since that’s difficult to do on a flight instructor’s salary, he’s trying to raise some supplemental income by selling ads on his new website, MyTripInSpace.com. Place your ad […]
PBY in Lake Mead now open to divers
Divers who enjoy exploring submerged airplane wrecks have a new target in Lake Mead, Nevada. The National Park Service (NPS) has released the location of a submerged PBY Catalina. The plane sits in two sections approximately 190 feet below the surface in the Boulder Basin Area of the lake. Because of the depth it is […]
Jacksonville anti-airplane ordinance to be revised: Pilots to work with councilman to rework law
A showing by members of the Experimental Aircraft Association during a Feb. 27 meeting of the Jacksonville, Fla., City Council has prompted the councilman who penned Ordinance 2006-543-E to rework the measure. The ordinance, which was adopted last summer, bars anyone from building, repairing, testing, operating, modifying, or altering flying craft or airboats anywhere on […]
St. Louis Airport: A study in self-sufficiency
How is your airport supported? Does it rely on contributions from the municipal general fund or is it completely self-sufficient? The staff at Spirit of St. Louis Airport (KSUS) in St. Louis, Mo., are proud to note that their facility is one of the few airports in the United States that is completely self-sufficient – […]
Develop your pilot skills with MS Flight sSimulator
One of the books that should be in every pilot’s library is a current copy of the Federal Aviation Regulations/Aeronautical Information Manual (the FAR/AIM). Every so often the FAA updates the FARs. This is one of those times. The FAA recently released a 50-page Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) on proposed changes to Part […]
Xwind: A better way to practice crosswind landings
“Line the nose up on the runway with your feet,” Dutch, my flight instructor, intoned. I felt his feet tapping on the rudder pedals, letting me know that I needed to use more rudder. “That’s it. Now put it into a slip,” he coached. “Keep it lined up with the centerline! Right before you flare, […]
Flying the looking glass
It is said that necessity is the mother of invention. When Max Trescott, a Master CFI and publisher, couldn’t find any user-friendly materials to help him learn and teach G1000 technology, he decided to create his own. Trescott is the author of “The G1000 Glass Cockpit Handbook” and the “VFR & IFR G1000 CD-ROM Course.” […]
You, too, can think like a rocket scientist
Now anyone can think like a rocket scientist, thanks to a new book by a Purdue University professor. “This book is for people who would like to learn the methods rocket scientists use and have them told in a way that you can apply to your everyday life,” said James Longuski, a NASA veteran, professor […]
It’s a long way down… French skydiver hopes to break Kittinger’s records
French skydiver Michael Fournier plans to break skydiving records that have held since 1960, in August. If successful, he will drop from a balloon-supported capsule floating some 130,000 feet over Saskatchewan, Canada, free-fall for about six minutes, and almost certainly exceed the speed of sound. He calls his adventure Le Grand Saut, The Super Jump. […]