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By John McVey, The Journal
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Thomas Guy Reynolds Jr. eased back on the stick of his Evektor SportStar light sport aircraft and it lifted effortlessly off the runway at the Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport (MRB).
He circled the field three times, making a couple of low passes over the runway for pictures, and softly set his plane down.
That would not be extraordinary, but Reynolds flew Dec. 1 on his 100th birthday.
PilotMall.com has launched its annual “12 Days of Savings” event featuring a new, discounted gift idea each day through Dec. 9.
Remember those colorful 1930s “Yellow Peril” Army trainers and their bright yellow wings with blue roundel and red-dotted star? That classic design, which inspired a generation of pilots, is now recalled as Pilot Mall’s first “Twelve Days of Savings” gift idea.
No, I did not leave a zero off in the title to this piece. Although general aviators have long joked about the lure of the $100 hamburger, I think it is time we downsized, right-sized, and economized our way into a larger population. So I recommend the $10 hamburger. It’s available for a tenth the price, but has the potential to pack quite a wallop.
Perhaps some context is in order.
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.”
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 Muffet” emblazoned on the side.
“Miss Muffet was what Dad called me when I was a little kid and I was in trouble,” MaDonna said. [Read more...]
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 of the Skyhawk’s landing gear, but Davis was able to land and wasn’t hurt. The two people in the car, a couple on their way to the airport diner, were treated for minor injuries. So why didn’t the car stop for the plane? Read more here.
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. He described the recent successful action by pilots in his country to gain approval of the Petersen mogas STCs from Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority:
Haim in his club’s glider towplane
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, how to master the language of aviation, and an inside look at how the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) can impact your flying.
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 free event also incorporates the ownership services [Read more...]
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 newspaper in San Francisco to New York City, working for publications owned by the Hearst Corporation.
This was at the height of the general aviation flying boom following World War II. [Read more...]
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