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Texas duo win Air Race Classic

June 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

More than 100 air race pilots competing in the 36th annual Air Race Classic descended on the Clermont County/Sporty’s Airport late last month, after flying a 2,330 nm cross-country course in four days. Starting on June 19, the racers left Lake Havasu, Arizona, on a course that would take them east, north, and finally southeast to Sporty’s.

The first racers began to arrive early on Friday, June 23, and continued streaming in throughout the day, Sporty’s officials report. The winning team, based on fastest handicapped speed, was Dianna Stanger of Fort Lavaca, Texas, and Victoria Holt of Belton, Texas, who flew a Cirrus SR-22.

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Honor Flight at Oshkosh as part of Salute to Veterans

June 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), American Airlines, and Old Glory Honor Flight, have joined together once again to give World War II veterans the opportunity to visit the powerful memorials dedicated in their honor with an Old Glory Honor Flight departing from EAA AirVenture 2012 on Friday, July 27.

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Cessna launches Discover Flying Challenge

June 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Cessna Aircraft Co. has launched its Discover Flying Challenge, challenging aviation students to see who can generate the most awareness and hands-on experience for the company’s Light-Sport Aircraft (LSA), the Skycatcher.

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Air Race Classic lands at Sporty’s

June 25, 2012 by 1 Comment

More than 100 air race pilots competing in the 36th annual Air Race Classic descended on the Clermont County/Sporty’s Airport in Ohio last week, after flying a 2,330 nm cross-country course in four days. Starting on June 19, the aircraft left Lake Havasu, Arizona, on a course that would take them east, north, and finally southeast to Sporty’s.

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Shades of grey

June 24, 2012 by 3 Comments

General Aviation News columnist Dan Johnson recently wrote about LSAs vs. Cessna 150s. The post discusses the pros and cons of a new Light-Sport Aircraft versus the venerable Cessna 150. Dan was a long-time 150 owner and is “the man” when it comes to new LSAs, so he’s as much an expert on both — at the same time — that any of us could hope to find.

Suffice it to say, neither a brand-new LSA or a 30-year-old 150 is the perfect airplane for everyone. The comments quickly evolved into most “cost-effective” and most “expensive” arguments. Very black and white, which makes no sense to me.

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Interactive map pinpoints common accident sites

June 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Air Safety Institute’s interactive accident map shows that pilots keep getting caught by the same snags that have trapped others before them. The map reveals year-by-year patterns in accidents related to takeoff, landing, fuel management, VFR-into-IMC, and stall/spin accidents. Check it out here.

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Remember your first?

June 21, 2012 by 3 Comments

Do you remember the first airplane you flew? For many people, this event is right up there with your first kiss.

And some aviators are lucky enough to find their first and make it their own many years later. Randall Patterson of Palm Coast, Fla., is one of those lucky people. He owns the very 1947 Aeronca L-16A that he logged his first hour in.

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FAA test questions should be public

June 21, 2012 by 1 Comment

A report just released by an FAA rulemaking committee says the FAA should return all of its test questions to the public domain, so the aviation industry can help to review and revise the knowledge required of pilot applicants, according to a report by Mary Grady at AVweb.

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Taking to the air

June 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The history of aviation is a long record of man’s restless urge to emulate soaring eagles and swooping hawks, to escape the earth and reach the freedom of the skies.

Even though the air had been harnessed for centuries with aerodynamic devices such as the feathers on an arrow or the shape of a boomerang or used to power sailing ships and windmills, it took eons for the principles to be applied to human flight. In attempts to achieve human flight, mankind failed for millennium to put principles witnessed in bird flight and sail power into practical application. Let’s examine some of the steps taken to progress from myth to tower jumpers, from kites to gliders to arrive at the airplane in a short pre-history of flight.

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Pilot’s Bill of Rights blocked in Senate

June 18, 2012 by 1 Comment

U.S. Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.) took to the Senate floor June 14 to ask for passage of his Pilots Bill of Rights legislation. The effort, however was blocked by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.) and ranking member Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), according to a report at RotorNews.

The bill would require, among other things, that the FAA notify pilots when they are under investigation, along with beginning a process to improve NOTAMs (Notice to Airmen), but with the top two lawmakers in charge of aviation opposed, the bill is unlikely to be considered in the Senate anytime soon, the report concludes.

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