Residents of Montana jest that there are only two seasons in the Big Sky State: winter and forest fire season. There is some truth to the joke and that is why the Montana Mountain Flying Museum in Missoula has a great deal of material related to aerial firefighting. “Montana is where smokejumping — that is, […]
Mooney Mites migrate to Portverville, California
Can it really be 30 years since the first gathering of the Western Association of Mooney Mites? That’s what the calendar shows. On May 18, members of WAMM and their friends will flock to Porterville Municipal Airport (KPTV) north of Bakersfield for the annual fly-in. The Mooney M-18 Mite is a low-wing, single-place monoplane. It […]
Airworthy and active: The Heritage Flight Museum in Bellingham, Wash
You may never have been to the Heritage Flight Museum in Bellingham, Wash., but you have probably seen some of its aircraft. The mission of the museum, located at Bellingham International Airport (BLI) in Bellingham, Wash., north of Seattle, is the preservation of flying military aircraft, so during the spring and summer months the machines […]
Golden Jubilee: Planes of Fame celebrates 50th anniversary
During World War II, Southern California was a prime location for the production of military aircraft. Lockheed, Convair, North American, Douglas, Hughes, Northrop and Vultee all had factories there. Today one of the largest collections of airworthy specimens of aircraft produced during this era resides in Chino at the Planes of Fame Museum. The museum […]
e-Bay purchase sparks new interest in search for Earhart
A random purchase off the Internet has sparked interest in another search for Amelia Earhart. Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the South Pacific during a round-the-world flight in 1937. On the morning of July 3 they were en route to Howland Island, a specially created refueling stop, but never arrived. The Coast Guard […]
LSA showroom opens in Salinas
Although the Light Sport Aircraft movement is growing, the only time most people get to see more than one design at a time is at an air show like Sun ‘n Fun or EAA AirVenture. Michael Fletcher of Salinas, Calif., the west coast distributor for several models of LSAs, decided that it would be a […]
New airport proposed for Amariloo
Movers and shakers in Amarillo, Texas, want to build a new airport in the community, catering to general aviation. “We are calling it an industrial airpark,” said Ernie Houdashell, spokesman for the Randall County Airpark Advisory Committee. “It is basically an industrial park with an airport attached to it. We couldn’t really do it any […]
the buzzzzzzzzzz
“We are building an education center for children. It is a great legacy to have. Our youth will carry forward long after we are gone.” — Ed Maloney, founder, Planes of Fame “In our proposal, Joe Pilot in a Cessna 172 will experience an operating cost increase of about $4 per hour. In other words, […]
Hard-hit GA businesses to be reimbursed for Sept. 11 losses
Almost seven years after Sept. 11 — and long after airlines received billions of bailout dollars — the U.S. Department of Transportation issued a final rule April 9 authorizing up to $17 million to reimburse GA businesses at five Washington, D.C.-area airports for financial losses incurred while they were shut down by the federal government. […]