The average general aviation aircraft is more than 30 years old. However, a number of factors contribute to an aircraft’s true age, which may not be the same as its age in calendar years, according to officials with the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Air Safety Institute. Learn how to recognize the signs of aircraft […]
General Aviation
EAA makes finding transition training in homebuilts easier
The Experimental Aircraft Association has debuted an online listing of Letter of Deviation Authority (LODA) holders for instruction in experimental aircraft. The list, categorized by state, includes CFIs who are authorized by the FAA to offer certain types of instruction for hire in their experimental aircraft for the purposes of type-specific training. FARs otherwise prohibit […]
Poor decision kills two
Aircraft: Mooney M20E. Injuries: 2 Fatal. Location: Colorado Springs, Colo. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The pilot, 25, was a United States Air Force B-1B pilot. He also held multiple pilot certificates for airplane, including those of instructor. He had logged 913 hours, including 58 in the Mooney M20E. The Mooney was not equipped […]
The family Cub
“They look like a field of buttercups,” is how one visitor to AirVenture 2012 described the sea of J-3 Cubs parked in the vintage area of Oshkosh. This year is the 75th anniversary of the popular Piper airplane and as part of the celebration Cubs arrived in droves at the big show, one after another […]
LSA not durable enough? Nonsense! Here’s proof
Again, I heard a common refrain. This time was at the AOPA Aviation Summit in Palm Springs, California. I was speaking with some GA fellows, the kind — like so many — that know well of Light-Sport Aircraft but have opinions about them based on speculation or heresay. This time it was the familiar, “LSA […]
Mogas OK, but avgas hard to get to Havana
As reported recently, the Havana Regional Airport (9I0, Havana, Ill.), located 31 nm SW of Peoria, offers lead-free, ethanol-free mogas from a 24/7 self-service pump. When pilot Michael Gallagher stopped by recently to top-off his RANS S7S, the pump was out of order. Ken Smith, a spokesman for the airport, quickly responded that the problems […]
Mötley Crue frontman launches reality TV series as newly minted pilot
FourPoints Television, producers of “The Aviators,” has signed Vince Neil, lead singer of the rock band Mötley Crüe, to head-up a new reality series based on his exploits as a newly-certified pilot. The series, “Vince Neil Escapes,” will follow Neil in his dream to finalize his pilot’s license, for which flight training occurred on-camera during […]
Jeppesen pilot training textbooks now available in e-books for iPad-based learning
Jeppesen now offers its complete suite of pilot training textbooks as e-book selections for iPad. Available for download through the Apple iBookstore, Jeppesen’s e-book titles include Instrument/Commercial pilot training, Multi-Engine airplane training, and Flight Instructor training from Jeppesen’s Guided Flight Discovery series, and Federal Aviation Regulations/Aeronautical Information Manual (FAR/AIM) and FAR/M regulation reference guides. Student […]
ASA releases new edition of Instrument Flying Handbook
Now available from ASA is the latest edition of the Instrument Flying Handbook. This is the FAA’s primary pilot resource for instrument flight rules (IFR), covering everything pertinent to operating an aircraft in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), according to ASA officials. Readers will find chapters on the national airspace system, the air traffic control system, […]