SUN ’n FUN CAMPUS, LAKELAND, Florida — SUN ’n FUN has named Lori Bradner Executive Director of Education, charged with leading the transition of the Florida Air Museum “as it becomes a world class, aviation-based, interactive educational experience,” officials said. The new “Aerospace Science Center” will use aviation values and traditions to help students of […]
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The “Miss Muffet” Stearman
Stripes and spiders — not a combination most people would think of when designing a paint scheme for a vintage airplane, but that’s exactly what Merrill and MaDonna McMahan of Wausau, Wis., decided to do when they painted their 1941 Stearman. The red, white and blue airplane sports small black spiders and the name “Miss […]
A poetic checklist
When Kenneth Karnes, now 75, recently started flying again after a several-year hiatus, he bought a Cessna 210 and began studying the airplane and procedures. One day his son, David, picked him up from the airport and noticed he was reading something. It turned out the elder Karnes had written a poem to help him […]
AOPA names Spence permanent secretary general of IAOPA
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) has made Craig Spence the permanent secretary general of the International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Association (IAOPA). He was named acting secretary general in May. Spence, son of General Aviation News Capital Comments columnist Charles Spence, joined the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association in June 2008 as […]
Avionics legend Monte Mitchell passes away at 83
The Aircraft Electronics Association is reporting that its former president and a legend in the avionics industry, Monte R. Mitchell, passed away Oct. 16, in Lee’s Summit, Mo., at the age of 83, following a brief illness. Mitchell served first as the AEA executive director, then as president of the association from 1977 to 1996. […]
16-year-old Georgia boy spends birthday soloing three different aircraft types
A solo flight series showcasing one young man’s efforts to learn to fly three different kinds of aircraft was successfully accomplished over the weekend, beginning with a night three ship formation flight launched at midnight Oct. 14. The day began early for Drew Gryder of Hampton, Georgia, as he sat strapped in his single engine […]
Michael Grana joins Banyan Aircraft Sales
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Michael Grana recently joined Banyan Air Service as aircraft sales associate. In his new role, he will be responsible for aircraft research and aircraft brokerage listings. Grana has five years of aircraft sales experience, has held several positions as a corporate pilot, and has assisted in corporate aircraft management. He is […]
The return of White Lightning
Polished metal, blue, green, yellow, red — these are the colors I’m used to seeing on Ercoupes. So it was downright exciting to find a solid black Ercoupe parked in the vintage display area of this year’s AirVenture, with the name “White Lightning” emblazoned on the side of the cowling. “The color wouldn’t have been […]
Back in formation
By RaeAnn Slaybaugh A retired military and TWA pilot trades in the big jets for his own vintage Chinese training aircraft — and rediscovers a 41-year-old passion for deceptively challenging formation flying. If you’ve ever attended the annual COPPERSTATE Fly-In & Aviation Expo, held every October at the municipal airport in Casa Grande, Ariz., the […]