Now available is “Topgun Days,” by Dave “Bio” Baranek, a Naval Aviator who was an instructor at Topgun, the Navy’s elite Fighter Weapons School who assisted in the making of the Tom Cruise movie, “Top Gun.” Bio’s book describes his experiences as a regular guy thrown into the crazy world of fame and movies, and […]
Pilots
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 […]
Video captures plane hitting car
Student pilot William Davis was on final approach to land at Northwest Regional Airport in Roanoke, Texas, on Saturday, when his Skyhawk collided with an SUV that was crossing the airport. According to a report at AVweb, Davis’s wife, Kandy, was filming his descent and caught the collision on video. The collision knocked off part […]
Israel’s CAA endorses mogas
Evidence of the continued worldwide expansion in the use of lead-free, ethanol-free mogas in general aviation comes from this report from Israel. Haim Zaklad, a private pilot there, recently requested details on our study of the FAA’s aircraft registry showing that over 80% of all piston engine aircraft could operate today on lead-free, ethanol-free mogas. […]
General aviation around the world theme of latest FAA Safety Briefing
Now online is the latest issue of the FAA Safety Briefing with the theme of “Small Airplane, Big World.” The issue explores the significance of general aviation on a global scale and focuses on tools and resources that can help you operate safely beyond our borders. Feature articles include: A review of overseas flying requirements, […]
Arizona Aircraft Expo this weekend
Arizona’s aircraft dealers are working together to create the 4th Annual Arizona Aircraft Expo, where the latest models of general aviation aircraft will be on display at one venue Nov. 9-10 at Landmark Aviation at Scottsdale Airport (SDL), including models from Cessna, Cirrus, Beechcraft, Eclipse, Embraer, Piper, Pilatus, Lancair, Quest, CubCrafters, Husky and more. This […]
Embry-Riddle to test precision landing approaches for GA airports
A team of researchers at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has received funding for a project to assess the performance of pilots when they land small airplanes at general aviation airports using an approach normally employed at airports with longer runways. The results could help shed light on the feasibility of letting GA aircraft use GPS-aided approaches […]
Don’t reinvent the wheel
In the great pantheon of mottos there may be none more pertinent than this: Don’t reinvent the wheel. It’s short. It’s pithy. It’s easy to remember. Maybe best of all, it’s true. So with that in mind, I will make this suggestion: If you are a fan of general aviation, if you believe human beings […]
Learning to fly in a Cub
As a student pilot flying a Piper J-3 Cub, on any beautiful Sunday afternoon it was not unusual to be 8th to 10th on downwind at Zahn’s Airport at Amityville on New York’s Long Island. The year was 1954. Finally, I was able to take flying lessons, having been transferred from my position on a […]