Last year Sherry Nesbitt Gettinger attended AOPA Expo as a newly minted pilot, garnering the event’s “Newest Pilot Award.” With the ink still wet on her ticket, she had every intention of buying a Cessna 182. But what a difference a year makes. Now instrument rated, Gettinger, of Asheville, N.C., took delivery of a new […]
Cessna’s LSA and NGP grab lots of attention at Expo
This year was a busy one for the Cessna Aircraft Co. and it doesn’t look like 2007 will bring any kind of slowdown. During AOPA Expo in Palm Springs last month, Cessna President and CEO Jack Pelton outlined some of the milestones the aircraft manufacturer hit in 2006, as well as plans for the upcoming […]
EADS pulls plug on Wilga
For several years officials at Sealand Aviation have been working toward developing a North American market for the Polish-built Wilga Aircraft. A monkey wrench was thrown into the works last month, says Sealand Aviation President Bill Alder, when the factory, EADS/PZL, and parent company CASA, decided to cancel production of the PZL 104MA Wilga 2000. […]
Veterans Day celebration at Flabob draws thousands
Combining country fair fun with a salute to veterans, Flabob Airport at Riverside, Calif., celebrated Veterans Day with thousands of military veterans and area residents. Featuring entertainment in the USO style, along with enough airplanes to give Flabob the feeling of a very relaxed air base, the large crowd never lacked for things to do […]
Can anyone become a Wright Brothers Master Pilot?
Given time — a lot of time, perhaps. But if you have someone in mind you’d like to recommend who meets the criteria, get hold of your local FAA FSDO and go for it! Master Pilots must: • Have been a U.S. citizen for a minimum of 50 consecutive years; • Have held a CAA/FAA […]
NTSB issues severe weather safey alert
The NTSB recently issued a safety alert to pilots warning them to actively maintain awareness of severe weather along their entire route of flight. NTSB officials say they have identified several accidents in which in-flight encounters with severe weather were the cause — or contributed to — accidents. All the accidents involved aircraft operating under […]
Van Bortel integrates Centurion 1.7 diesel engines into new Skyhawks
The Thielert Centurion 1.7 diesel aircraft engine is now being installed in new Cessna 172 Skyhawk aircraft by Van Bortel Aircraft, Inc. Van Bortel, based at Arlington Municipal Airport in Arlington, Texas, bills itself as the world’s largest Cessna dealer. The shop replaces the 172s’ standard Lycoming engines with the diesel engines, then sells the […]
Piper picks Williams to power its new jet
Piper Aircraft, Inc. has selected the Williams FJ44-3AP engine to power its new PiperJet. A close derivative of the FJ44-3A, the FJ44-3AP is based on proven engine technology with more than 2.5 million hours of flight time to its credit. According to Williams officials, the FJ44-3AP is Williams’ most efficient engine with a TBO of […]
13,000 attendees at 2006 AOPA expo
A record-setting 13,000 attendees, and 2,550 aircraft, flew in for this year’s AOPA Expo in Palm Springs.