‘FIFI’ kicks off month-long Florida tour

The Commemorative Air Force’s star attraction, the B-29 “FIFI,” landed late in Daytona Beach March 1 because she flies “VFR only” these days. But she immediately swelled the hearts of World War II vets and awed general aviation flyers here more than a decade after her last Florida appearance. And there’s more to come.

Sun ’n Fun visitors are in for a treat March 27-31. So are the aviation-minded in Titusville March 7-11 at the TICO warbird show, Ft. Lauderdale March 14-18, Punta Gorda March 18-25 at the Florida International Airshow, and in Tallahassee April 3-5.

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Martin Field in Walla Walla adds autogas

Pilots in southeastern Washington are enjoying some of the least expensive aviation fuel in the country since lead-free, ethanol-free 91 AKI autogas recently became available at Martin Field (S95), just outside of Walla Walla.

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Blackhawk-upgraded Caravan transports leopards

A newly upgraded Cessna 208B Grand Caravan recently completed an unusual first mission that contributed to the preservation of one of Africa’s most beautiful animal species.

Just two weeks after its delivery, the Caravan — the first in Africa to operate with the Blackhawk XP42A performance upgrade package — was used to move a male and female leopard on a 600-mile flight from the Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in South Africa’s Kruger National Park to the Majete Wildlife Preserve in Malawi.

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Celebrating Women of Aviation Worldwide Week

Calhoun Air Center at the Calhoun County Airport in Port Lavaca, Texas, will sponsor Girl Power 2 March 10-11, as part of Women of Aviation Worldwide Week. Airport manager Dianna Stanger will be defending her title after 98 flights in a helicopter during last year’s Women of Aviation Worldwide Week.

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FAA Safety Briefing now online

The March/April issue of FAA Safety Briefing is now available online. This issue focuses on the themes of the 3rd Annual FAA Safety Standdown: Loss of control accidents, aeronautical decision-making, and advanced preflight.

Sporty’s debuts MultiSump+

Now available at Sporty’s is MultiSump+, which includes a fuel strainer, which eliminates wasted fuel.

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Registration now open for Ohio Airport Conference

Registration is now open for the 2012 Ohio Airport Conference, slated for April 17-18, in Columbus. The conference will provide an opportunity to network with aviation and airport officials from around the state of Ohio. Representatives of the FAA and Ohio Department of Transportation Office of Aviation will also be present. To register, click here.

 

Soft-field take off demonstration goes bad

This March 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: None. Location: Phoenix. Aircraft damage: Substantial.

What reportedly happened: The flight instructor was demonstrating a soft-field takeoff to his student. During the takeoff roll, he applied full back pressure on the yoke, heard the stall horn, and lowered the nose.

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Weep No More

Paul Beck is an expert at stopping leaks in wing tanks

There is no shortage of unusual businesses serving the general aviation industry, but sealing wing tanks for a living must be on everyone’s short list. That’s because it’s so difficult since our tanks are sealed inside the wings and the access ports are made for Cirque du Soleil performers.

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Flying the Allegro

LSA America builds the Czech-designed Allegro in America as one of the first companies (but not the last, I suspect) to cross the Atlantic. Ironically, this results in an aircraft less expensive than other LSAs that come from Eastern European countries where we once thought low wages and high aviation skills would upset U.S. airplane manufacturing. Funny how life works out, and in only six or seven years.

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