Longtime Alaska resident and aviation pioneer, M. Rodger “Lone Ranger” Borer, died Dec. 26, 2004, at his home in Anchorage of natural causes. He was 82. An aviation mechanic, Borer was a founding member of the Alaska Airmen’s Association. He still holds the record for longest continuous membership in the organization. In 1957 he opened […]
D-Day veterean C-47 donated to New York’s 1941 Historical Aircraft Group Museum
Members of the 1941 Historical Aircraft Group Museum in Geneseo, N.Y., were overwhelmed on Christmas weekend when it was announced that a C-47 was donated to the museum. The C-47 cargo aircraft, affectionately known as the “Gooney Bird,” was the workhorse of the Army Air Corps, serving in all theaters during World War II. In […]
Gary Schmidt, Tanis Aircraft president, dies in crash
Gary E. Schmidt, president and owner of Tanis Aircraft in Glenwood, Minn., died in an aircraft accident near the Glenwood Airport Dec. 9, 2004. Schmidt bought Tanis Aircraft Services in January 2002 from the family of Peter Tanis, the company’s founder. Schmidt had a long career in marketing and used his skills to promote Tanis […]
Night flight compared to drunk flight
Is there a link between flying at night and flying drunk? Researchers at Johns Hopkins University say a recently completed study seems to point to one. According to their findings, 52% of alcohol-related aircraft accidents happen between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. Continued flight into deteriorating weather, something that leads to accidents even when the […]
2005 funding for NTSB increases
Congress recently passed legislation increasing the 2005 funding for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Congress appropriated $2 million above the requested budget for the NTSB and directed the agency to use the extra funds to hire additional accident investigators for its regional offices.
Steve Fossett to launch round-the-world flight flight Salina, Kansas
Salina, Kan., may not be the center of the world, but it’s close enough for aviation adventurer Steve Fossett. The record-setting pilot plans to use the Salina airport for the beginning and end of his attempt to fly the first solo, non-stop, non-refueled circumnavigation of the earth. Fossett will fly Scaled Composites’ Model 311, a […]
Global Express XRS completes maiden flight
Bombardier’s new-generation Global Express XRS business jet has successfully completed its maiden flight. During the four-hour, four-minute flight, the bizjet reached an altitude of 47,000 feet and a maximum true airspeed of 518 knots (596 mph). The jet, which can fly 6,150 nm nonstop, is expected to receive its Certificate of Airworthiness shortly. Customer deliveries […]
Kodiak completes 50th flight just 3 months after maiden flight
Quest Aircraft’s Kodiak has successfully completed its 50th flight, just three months after the airplane took its maiden flight. With 40 flight hours on the prototype, the company is approaching its formal certification flight test program. The utility aircraft has successfully flown at maximum gross weight as well as in various CG scenarios, including extremes […]
Let’s Talk: What we have here is a failure to communicate
Aviation must learn to speak with one voice, writes Steve Bill Hanshew elsewhere in this issue of General Aviation News. It is a theme which we have tried to nurture in the past, with little to show for it. We still think it a good — indeed a vital — idea. Hanshew cites the National […]