American Legend Aircraft Co. has launched a new deposit program designed to make it easier to buy a Legend Cub. The Legend Cub is a two-place, single engine piston-powered aircraft designed to meet Light Sport Aircraft category certification requirements. Under the new plan, a customer can secure a production slot for the presently backlogged Legend […]
Tuskegee Airmen receive honorary degrees
At the Sixth Annual Tuskegee Airmen Convocation held Feb. 23 at Tuskegee University, 63 surviving airmen received honorary degrees from the Alabama university. Between 1940 and 1946 approximately 1,000 African-American pilots trained at Tuskegee in segregated units. They earned more than 850 medals during the war, destroyed 260 enemy aircraft — and didn’t lose a […]
A record breaking year for GA
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) reported a record year in 2005 for general aviation manufacturers. The industry reached an all-time high for billings in 2005 — $15.1 billion, a 27.2% increase over 2004. Year-end, worldwide shipments of GA airplanes totaled 3,580, up 20.8% over the previous year’s total of 2,963 units. All sectors of […]
Mermaid LSA certified
The FAA has certified the factory-built Mermaid as a special Special-Light Sport Aircraft. The plane is built in the Czech Republic by Czech Aircraft Works of Stare Mesto, and distributed in the United States by Sport Aircraft Works of Palm City, Fla. It is amphibious, so owners can operate from either land or water. The […]
User fees inevitable?
Last November, at AOPA Expo, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta claimed that the FAA’s funding problems wouldn’t be solved by user fees. “The fuel tax is the best way to finance the needs of aviation,” he told a standing-room-only crowd of pilots. But Mineta’s tune has changed. Mineta recently told the Aero Club of Washington, D.C., […]
Clemson professor’s research leads to safer runways
Look at just about any paved runway and chances are good you’ll see a jigsaw puzzle pattern in the pavement. This kind of deterioration plagues a number of airports, especially where de-icing and anti-icing chemicals are used. A professor at Clemson University in South Carolina has been given the green light by the FAA to […]
Florida poker run helps kids
Advocating 4 Kids is holding a poker run and fly-in benefit in central Florida, winding up at Jumbolair Estates (17FL), near Ocala, on March 19. The event supports the recruiting and retention of volunteer child advocates for the Florida Guardian Ad Litem program, which covers special needs for about 5,000 child abuse victims in central […]
Extra celebrates milestone
Extra Aircraft celebrates a milestone this year: its 25th anniversary. Executives are predicting a record year for the company, which produces the aerobatic EA-200 and EA-300, as well as the EA-400, a six-seat piston aircraft and the EA-500, the turboprop version of the 400. Extra Aircraft will have a number of events and giveaways throughout […]
A new Sport Aircraft center for Florida
Sportsplanes.com, a major Light Sport Aircraft distributor, has established a Sport Aircraft Regional Center (SARC) for central and northern Florida. It is the latest in a growing number of SARC territories across the United States. Darrell Hamilton opened the center with a Breezer aircraft, to be used for flight training and demonstrations. Hamilton expects to […]