When you think of corporate aviation, you probably don’t think of Newton, Iowa, as its birthplace. You should, says Drew Schumann, an amateur historian and president of EAA Chapter 456, which is based there. “Newton was the home of the first business aircraft, a 1929 TravelAir 6000 B built by Walter Beech for Henry Ogg, […]
NASCAR sets sights on land next to Bremerton, Wash., airport
Bremerton International Airport (PWT) in Bremerton, Wash., may soon have a new neighbor: a NASCAR speedway. International Speedway Corp. has secured an option to buy land near the airport for a track. The land is private property and covered with woods and brush. PWT, a non-towered airport, is a few miles west of Seattle in […]
Missing L-39 found
An L-39 that went missing while on a flight from Seattle to Lewiston, Idaho, in 2004 has been found. Hikers found the wreckage in mountainous terrain in eastern Washington several weeks ago, but did not immediately notify authorities because they thought it was an old crash. According to a preliminary report from the National Transportation […]
Wal-Mart heir dies in ultralight crash
Billionaire John T. Walton, an heir to the Wal-Mart fortune, died June 27 when his ultralight crashed shortly after takeoff from the Jackson Hole Airport (JAC) Grand Teton National Park, in Wyoming. He was 58. John Walton was the second son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton and served on the board of directors of the […]
The race for space, Part 2
The race for space has trickled down to — of all things — a trailer park in the Mojave Desert. Kayo’s Trailer Park, right next to Mojave Airport — the scene of SpaceShipOne’s successful flights into space — has a new name: Spaceport RV Park. Originally built in the 1940s to tap into the new […]
Must-see TV
When Discovery Wings went off the air earlier this year, many pilots went into mourning. Well, that can end now, because the Outdoor Channel just debuted a new show called “Wings to Adventure” that’s perfect programming for pilots. The show is the brainchild of Tom Gresham, a pilot, writer, producer and television personality who has […]
Sport Pilot’s potential hindered by insurance
In a letter in the May 20 issue, Jason Blair writes about his problems in obtaining insurance to teach sport pilots in a Champ. I have had exactly the same experience he has with insurance. Although I have never had an accident, and I have given over 4,700 hours of dual instruction (nearly half of […]
More tolerance for human foibles needed
In the June 3, 2005, issue, both Dave Sclair (Lost pilots hurt us all, Page 14) and Charles Spence (How did two Cessna 150 pilots cause worldwide hysteria?, Page 11) apparently don’t know that a Cessna 150 is a single pilot aircraft. Although a “student pilot” was also aboard the aircraft that violated the ADIZ […]
A different view
Dave Sclair’s editorial concerning the Cessna 150 violation of the DC ADIZ (Lost pilots hurt us all, June 3 issue) implies that the pilot is a real criminal and should be punished to the maximum. AOPA claims that this thinking has been the popular response they have received also. Well, I have a different view. I […]