General Aviation News

Teamwork of the highest order

Jamie Beckett — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 01:04:22 +0000

Last Friday evening, while standing at the front of a packed ballroom, with microphone in hand, Mayor Gow Fields announced, “Aviation has reached a new high in Lakeland.” When's the last time you heard a mayor say something positive and hopeful about aviation? Wait! Before you reach too far back in your memory banks to come up with an example, there's more. Continue Reading »

===> Posted on February 20th, 2012 by Jamie Beckett. 1 comment. © GAN 2012.

They dared to fly

Jamie Beckett — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 00:46:00 +0000

For three days in early February the south hangar at Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida, was packed with visitors. They were seated in long rows of folding chairs, and stood on the gleaming painted hangar floor. Everyone faced the raised platform near the eastern wall, paying rapt attention to the reminiscing of three elderly gentlemen who had remarkable tales to tell. This was the first installment of the 2012 Legends and Legacies symposium series at the central Florida aviation-themed attraction. “They Dared to Fly” focused on the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, and to tell that story accurately, three graduates of the program sat at the dais and shared their memories and experiences during two sessions each day. Continue Reading »

===> Posted on February 20th, 2012 by Jamie Beckett. 1 comment. © GAN 2012.

Fantasy of Flight to host Camporee

Janice Wood — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:29:37 +0000

Scouts of all ages will gather at Fantasy of Flight in Central Florida for the Annual Scout Aviation Camporee, Friday, March 16, through Sunday, March 18. Continue Reading »

===> Posted on February 20th, 2012 by Janice Wood. 1 comment. © GAN 2012.

Tanis releases ‘Just Plug It In’ video

Janice Wood — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:32:48 +0000

Tanis Aircraft Products has released its video “Just Plug It In” highlighting the safety benefits of helicopter preheat. The video describes the functions and features of the company’s helicopter preheat systems. Tanis preheat technology allows an operator to preheat critical driveline components and fluid reservoirs prior to flight. “Just Plug… Read More

Heli-Expo breaks records

Janice Wood — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 20:51:21 +0000

The Helicopter Association International’s Heli-Expo 2012 concluded Feb. 14 in record-breaking fashion. By the time show ended Tuesday afternoon, 19,239 people had walked through the doors, breaking the old record of 17,995 — set in 2009 — by more than 1,200. Continue Reading »

===> Posted on February 19th, 2012 by Janice Wood. 1 comment. © GAN 2012.

Pre-existing medical condition leads to crash

Meg Godlewski — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 13:01:23 +0000

This February 2010 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others. Aircraft: Piper Cherokee. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Location: Gatesville, Texas. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The pilot's medical history included an accident that resulted in a traumatic brain injury that put him in a coma in 1993. This was accompanied with persistent cognitive deficits and frequent intermittent episodes of amnesia. In addition, he had severe chronic lung disease Continue Reading »

===> Posted on February 19th, 2012 by Meg Godlewski. 1 comment. © GAN 2012.

100 mayors denounce Obama’s attacks on GA

Charles Spence — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 00:30:36 +0000

WASHINGTON, D.C. — General aviation is a vital part of our economy and national infrastructure, and we are concerned about the repercussions of your statements about it. That, in essence was what the mayors of 100 communities in 48 states recently sent in a letter to President Obama. Continue Reading »

===> Posted on February 16th, 2012 by Charles Spence. 25 comments. © GAN 2012.

Study claims ties between avgas and lead in children’s blood

Kent Misegades — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:54:10 +0000

In what is sure to provide more fodder for the ongoing debate over the future of leaded avgas, the Children’s Environmental Health Initiative, at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment in Durham, N.C., recently released a study "A Geospatial Analysis of the Effects of Aviation Gasoline on Childhood Blood Lead Levels". In this research, authored by Marie Lynn Miranda, Rebecca Anthopolos and Douglas Hastings, the blood levels in children living near airports in six of North Carolina's counties were investigated. Continue Reading »

Love is in the air

Janice Wood — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:25:09 +0000

The folks at Greenville Downtown Airport (GMU) in South Carolina know a thing or two about young love. That's why they were all so accommodating when Courtney Blackwell asked airport authorities if she could surprise her fiancee, John Harmon, by taking their engagement photos at the airport. You see, John is crazy about aviation. Continue Reading »

A story that should have been told years ago

Deb McFarland — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 01:38:51 +0000

David Joseph Rushlow was an extraordinarily kind man. I never saw him without a smile on his face, and I never heard him say an unkind word to or about anyone. He often flew around with candy and a bag of toys for the airport kids in his Stinson 108, his Citabria, or the Stinson Reliant he affectionately called “Big Fred.” I should have written about Dave years ago, and I am terribly sorry now that I did not. I can claim it was a testament of his good nature that every time we got together at 19A or at JZP, we always talked of flying or just went flying. Grass fields and $100 hamburgers beckoned. Interviews were for rainy days or for when we were too old to fly. Continue Reading »