Livio Gustavo Suarez was 25 years old when he decided to follow his vision of a better life. His native Uruguay did not offer the freedoms he dreamed of and heard about in the United States of America. Government regulations all but bankrupted his import-export business and his marriage did not survive the trauma. When […]
Pilots
Northstar Flight Lab takes off
REDMOND, Ore. – RDD Enterprises has added a new advanced flight training center named Northstar Flight Lab, designed to cater to the needs of pilots operating technologically advanced aircraft (TAA). The addition of a Redbird FMX simulator is at the center of the new facility. Northstar Flight Lab’s mission is to provide transition and recurrent […]
Bahamas extends exemption for 406MHz ELTs for GA pilots
NASSAU, The Bahamas – Bahamas Civil Aviation has extended the Feb. 1, 2013, deadline for installing 406 MHz ELTs in aircraft flying to the Bahamas. “Even better news is that this waiver extension will be likely long term, removing uncertainly in the short term about flying your plane to the Bahamas,” said Jim Parker of […]
Props for the prop
This time of year I find myself doing a lot of intro flights. The first question people ask is, “is it safe?” I reply that I’m more concerned about my safety driving to the airport than I am in the airplane. Over the years I’ve learned that there is a fine line between making sure […]
Applications now being taken for summer scholarship program
Applications are now being taken for the Upwind Summer Scholarship Program, which aims to transform a high school student into a licensed private pilot during the summer between their junior and senior year. In partnership with San Carlos Flight Center (SCFC) in San Carlos, Calif., the Upwind Summer Scholarship Program was created to promote piloting […]
Lessons learned from SC glider incident
After a story about the July 26, 2012, arrest of a glider pilot for flying in unrestricted airspace over a nuclear power plant made waves in the aviation community and beyond recently, an official with the sheriff’s department that made the arrest said in a post at AOPA.org that his department had learned several lessons […]
Innovations: Let there be light
North Carolina pilot Chip Davis used to struggle in the dark to get the towbar on the nosegear of his C172A, so he came up with his own solution. He started by noting that the collapsible towbar for Cessna, Beech, Piper, and many tailwheel aircraft has a T-handle made of 3/4-inch tubing. “A single AAA-cell […]
NJ teen earns driver’s permit, soloes on same day
Josh Eichel earned his learner’s permit to drive a car and flew his first solo on the same day in November at Monmouth Executive Airport (BLM). According to a story in the News-Transcript, the Marlboro, N.J., teenager, who had been working toward the solo flight since 8th grade, noted that his Mom thinks flying is […]
GA may get its own runway at IAD for the inauguration
Officials at Dulles International may close the airport’s westernmost runway to accommodate hundreds of private planes expected to descend on the region for President Barack Obama’s inauguration on Jan. 21, according to a report in The Washington Post. The report notes that airport officials expect 300 to 600 arrivals in the three-day period leading up […]