Being on a waiting list for hangar space doesn’t do your aircraft any good while it’s sitting out on the ramp exposed to the elements. Finding indoor space is particularly difficult when your airplane is 75 feet long and has a 103-foot wingspan. Members of the Gulf Coast Wing of the Commemorative Air Force know […]
A Warhawk Resurrection: Warhawks Inc. makes grand debut with award-winning P-40
Aircraft restoration is very much a niche market. One of the newest shops to open is also geared to one of the most beloved warbirds. Warhawks Inc., in Granite Falls, Minn., is dedicated to the restoration of Curtiss P-40 Warhawks. The company made its debut on the warbird scene at EAA AirVenture this summer with […]
Bowerman Field on endangered airports list: Washington’s Port of Grays Harbor wants out of the airport game
Is there a difference between making plans to close an airport and asking the FAA to release a sponsor from the covenants on its deed? That’s what the users of Bowerman Field (HQM) in Hoquiam, Wash., want to know. Last month the news that the Port of Grays Harbor was seeking a way to be […]
Cirrus unveils silver edition
“Chute happens. Live with it.” This is on a bumper sticker handed out by the Cirrus Design at AOPA Expo. One of the things that sets Cirrus apart from other aircraft is the built-in parachute from Ballistic Recovery Systems. This can be a double-edged sword, noted Alan Klapmeier, Cirrus co-founder, because some people in the […]
Columbia delivers 500th plane: Deliveries so far this year surpass all of last year
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 […]