Kelowna unites with United Airlines with daily flights to LA. Castanet's Kelly Hayes reports.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Teen to attempt solo cross-Canada flight: Matthew Gougeon hopes to establish a record to become the youngest person to fly an amphibious aircraft solo from coast to coast
Matthew Gougeon says flying has been a lifelong passion. He begins his cross-Canada solo flight on Friday.A Sudbury teenager is taking to the skies in an attempt to set a record for a cross-country flight.
Sixteen-year-old Matthew Gougeon hopes to become the youngest person to fly an amphibious aircraft solo from coast to coast.
He planned to leave home his home in Sudbury, Ont., Tuesday for Tofino, B.C., where his journey will begin.
Gougeon is set to officially start his solo adventure on Friday and hopes to land in Halifax on July 20.
He'll fly a Cessna 182 with amphibious floats for his cross-country trip and estimates the entire journey will take about 25 hours in the air.
As he attempts to establish a record, Gougeon will also be collecting donations for the Neil Armstrong Fund, which provides flight training to young people.
"The main goal of the flight is to collect donations for those who are not fortunate enough to fly, and have the determination and work ethic to become a pilot," he said on his website.
Confident flyer
The high school student appears to be ready to soar towards his goals.
"I'm pretty confident with my flying right now," Gougeon said in an online video posted five days ago. "Pretty much the hardest part is landing and I've got that pretty much down pat."
The teen will have a camera mounted on his wing to document parts of his trip and plans to keep those interested in his journey updated through his website along the way.
As his trip will be a low-altitude one, Gougeon will need to be able to see the ground at all times, a factor which makes weather a significant element.
"I can't fly without visual reference to the ground," he explained. "Weather could potentially be a big problem and that is really a challenge because that makes it really hard to estimate how many days it will take."
If he runs into any problems mid-air, Gougeon said he plans to tackle them with rational thinking.
"You just have to go with the flow," he said. "Whatever happens you have to think about the possible outcomes of the decisions you're about to make and decide what's best from there."
Personal challenge
While his formal flight training began at 13, Gougeon had already logged many hours in the air with his father, who is also an avid flyer.
Gougeon, who currently has a recreational pilot licence, made his first solo flight a little less than two years ago in an aircraft used for military training in the Second World War.
Last summer, he passed his private pilot written test on the first try.
Gougeon said his trip is a "personal challenge" which builds on years of flying.
"My first flight was one week after I was born," the teen said on his website. "Flying has been a passion of mine all of my life."
Click on the audo button to hear Gougeon's interview with CBC Sudbury Points North host Jason Turnbull.
Article, photo and audio: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/story/2012/07/10/sby-teen-flies-cross-country.html
Related: http://www.northernlife.ca/news/lifestyle/2012/07/04-gougeon-pilot-record-sudbury.aspx
Vital Scan: Jack Roush Segment – Lett R/Campbell K. AIRCAM, N912S, Accident occurred April 19, 2002 in Troy, Alabama
Excerpt from the Discovery show Vital Scan that features the amazing rescue of NASCAR owner Jack Roush from a plane crash.
The docket is stored in the Docket Management System (DMS). Please contact Records Management Division
Accident occurred Friday, April 19, 2002 in Troy, AL
Probable Cause Approval Date: 09/20/2002
Aircraft: Lett R/Campbell K AIRCAM, registration: N912S
Injuries: 1 Serious.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows: the
pilot-in-commands decision to fly at a low altitude and his improper
visual lookout resulting in an in-flight collision static with wires.
On April 19, 2002, about 1804 central daylight time, a Lett R/Campbell K. AIRCAM homebuilt airplane, N912S, registered to Pike Aviation Inc., and operated by an individual, struck power lines, and impacted in a lake while maneuvering near Troy, Alabama. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time. No flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. The airplane was destroyed. The airline transport-rated pilot reported serious injuries. The flight had departed from the Troy Airport, about 1715.
The pilot stated in a letter that, "I have no recollection of the accident nor any other incidents which occurred on 4/19/02." According to witnesses, the airplane had been flying around the area low level for about 45 minutes, when it struck power lines, about 70 feet above a lake, and then fell into the water. The crash site was located about 2 to 3 miles southeast of the Troy Airport. According to witnesses at the scene the airplane was found lying inverted at the east end of the lake, in about 6 to 8 feet of water. The airplane was only partly submerged with the nose on the bottom of the lake. A witness jumped into the lake and rescued the pilot from the submerged wreckage. There were no reports of any mechanical problems before the airplane struck the power lines. There were no reported obstructions due to weather, and the reported visibility about the time of the accident was 10 statute miles.
Toxicological tests were conducted on specimens obtained from the pilot during admission to the hospital by the Federal Aviation Administration, Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The tests were negative for Ethanol in Serum, and positive for Lidocaine in Serum.
Monday, July 9, 2012
WATCH: Sneak peak of Farnborough
CNN's Ayesha Durgahee gets a sneak peek at what's hot at this year's Farnborough International Airshow.
Live Streaming from Farnborough International Air Show 2012
Videobuilder is producing this 4 day live broadcast with audio visual & IT rental specialists DB Systems. This exciting project encompasses multiple cameras, on site studio, military grade imaging systems from FLIR Systems, and never seen before air to air footage using a satellite downlink.
This is the most advanced streaming event ever put on by a UK
magazine and we’re delighted to be part of it. The live action happens
between 2.15 & 4pm (GMT) on Monday 9th July – Thursday 12th July
http://www.themarketingblog.co.uk
Historic planes coming to Springfield-Branson National Airport (KSGF), Missouri: Public can tour cockpit of World War II-era bomber
A flying piece of history will be touching down on the Springfield-Branson National Airport runway this August.
The last flying B-29 Superfortress warplane in the world, nicknamed “Fifi,” is stopping in Missouri on the last leg of its Midwest summer tour on Aug. 13, accompanied by a much smaller and more agile P-51 Mustang fighter that saw action in World War II.
During its visit, the public will get a chance to see the aircraft, tour the B-29 cockpit and potentially take a half-hour ride above the town in either plane — all for an entry fee of $10.
The planes are owned by the Texas-based Commemorative Air Force, which restores, maintains and tours more than 150 vintage military planes around the country.
“If you can hear the engine, you can smell the exhaust, you can see it in flight doing the job it was built to do — it’s an incredible experience,” said Kim Pardon, a tour media correspondent with the CAF’s B-24/B-29 Squadron, which maintains the plane and organized the tour. “It leaves a much more lasting impact.”
B-29s are most famous for their role in World War II as large-capacity bombers, including the Enola Gay warplane that dropped the first atomic bomb in combat on Hiroshima, Japan.
“It was the next in line of big bombers,” said Bob Faenger, a member of the board at the Air and Military Museum of the Ozarks in Springfield.
Bigger than the B-17 or B-24 before it, Faenger said, the B-29 was aimed squarely at a Japanese empire that was digging in its heels as its ally Germany faltered. Thousands of B-29s were built, then fell out of use after WWII until the Korean War in the 1950s.
Pardon said she expects interest in that history to bring out big attendance numbers come August.
“We draw a huge crowd everywhere we go,” Pardon said, adding veterans, plane-builders and their families are a significant part of those crowds.
“And then there are just people who like military aviation and just go crazy over any kind of plane,” she said. “There’s just such a huge following for all warbirds.”
Read more here: http://www.news-leader.com
During its visit, the public will get a chance to see the aircraft, tour the B-29 cockpit and potentially take a half-hour ride above the town in either plane — all for an entry fee of $10.
The planes are owned by the Texas-based Commemorative Air Force, which restores, maintains and tours more than 150 vintage military planes around the country.
“If you can hear the engine, you can smell the exhaust, you can see it in flight doing the job it was built to do — it’s an incredible experience,” said Kim Pardon, a tour media correspondent with the CAF’s B-24/B-29 Squadron, which maintains the plane and organized the tour. “It leaves a much more lasting impact.”
B-29s are most famous for their role in World War II as large-capacity bombers, including the Enola Gay warplane that dropped the first atomic bomb in combat on Hiroshima, Japan.
“It was the next in line of big bombers,” said Bob Faenger, a member of the board at the Air and Military Museum of the Ozarks in Springfield.
Bigger than the B-17 or B-24 before it, Faenger said, the B-29 was aimed squarely at a Japanese empire that was digging in its heels as its ally Germany faltered. Thousands of B-29s were built, then fell out of use after WWII until the Korean War in the 1950s.
Pardon said she expects interest in that history to bring out big attendance numbers come August.
“We draw a huge crowd everywhere we go,” Pardon said, adding veterans, plane-builders and their families are a significant part of those crowds.
“And then there are just people who like military aviation and just go crazy over any kind of plane,” she said. “There’s just such a huge following for all warbirds.”
Read more here: http://www.news-leader.com
Future Pilots Can Learn at Atlantic Cape Community College
COURT HOUSE, New Jersey -- Ever gaze skyward and watch a private plane or a jet
soaring even higher and wonder what it would be like to be a pilot?
For those with lust for the wild blue yonder, something the Atlantic
Cape Community College’s Board of Trustees did June 26 may impact their
future.
The board, meeting at the Cape May County Campus here voted on the
2012-13 tuition and fee schedule previously approved, and upgraded it to
include fees for two of the college new aviation programs: instrument
pilot course, $12,000 and commercial pilot course, $21,000.
Aviation Studies and a professional pilot option, will both lead to the award of an associate in science degree.
The Aviation Studies Associate in Science program is focused on
providing students with the first two years of a baccalaureate degree in
areas of study such as airport management, aviation business
administration, professional pilot, air traffic control and air
transportation management.
According to the course description, the program is “designed with a
substantial prescription of both general education electives and program
courses so students may tailor their coursework to meet their transfer
goals.”
Students “should identify the institution to which they plan to
transfer and, through academic advisement, complete courses at Atlantic
Cape that will not only transfer to baccalaureate degree granting
institution, but also count as an equivalent course at the receiving
institution.
Atlantic Cape has arranged transfer articulation agreements with several colleges.
James Taggart is contact and faculty adviser.
Those seeking a professional pilot option will be prepared for an FAA
license as a commercial pilot with an instrument rating and for
possible transfer to a baccalaureate program.
Prior to enrolling in that program, students must meet the physical and legal requirements for becoming a commercial pilot.
Students are required to prove U.S. citizenship or TSA approval and have a valid second-class medical certificate to enroll in the program.
A second application is required for admission to this program. Those
interested in that program are directed to contact Barbara Clark
(343-5006).
Both courses require 66 total credits each. The cost, per credit in
the aviation program, is $300 which covers the upkeep and maintenance of
the flight simulator and leasing of classroom space at Atlantic City
International Airport. The per-credit fee goes to the college.
Program fees for instrument pilot and commercial pilot go to Big Sky
Aviation of Millville and cover aviation fuel, flight instructor,
maintenance and aircraft insurance.
Taggart stated he feels the college’s programs are competitively
priced with similar programs. He stated those who call him to learn more
about the programs are not surprised at the cost, since they have
likely previously researched what other programs charge.
Atlantic Cape has rescheduled its Aviation Open House for July 17 at 6
p.m. in Cafeteria-B, Mays Landing Campus, according to Kathy Corbalis,
executive director, College Relations.
Those who successfully complete the course may someday hear through
their headphones, “You are cleared for take off.” Then the throttle will
pushed forward, control yoke pulled back and the sky will be the limit.
http://www.capemaycountyherald.com
http://www.capemaycountyherald.com
RAW VIDEO: Beechcraft King Air C90A, PR-DLA (SBJD) Fluid leak – aircraft on takeoff and emergency landing
Passando uma tarde em SBJD (Jundiaí) flagrei um C90B em emergencia,de acordo com alguns pilotos,isso foi vazamento de fluido hidraulico,mas está aberto nos comentarios as possiveis causas deste incidente. Desculpe por eu falando atras “pane,pane” hausuhahus
estava eufórico,e tambem pela “camera instável” to sem tripé!
Spending an afternoon in SBJD (Jundiaí) caught him in an
emergency C90B, according to some pilots, it was leaking hydraulic
fluid, but comments are open on the possible causes of this incident.
I’m sorry for talking behind “crash, crash” hausuhahus was euphoric, and
also by the “camera unstable” to handheld!
Airbus A319: Detailed thrust levers and A/THR operation on FLEX TO & LG
This is a completely technical video, so please go easy on the introduction music! The idea is to demonstrate the use of the THRUST LEVERS along with the A/THR system for a FLEX TO, in another words the NOT use of them since all you do is move forward for takeoff, after initial power reduction you keep them at CLIMB during the entire flight and set it back to IDLE for landing. There is a lots of information coming straight from the aircraft’s manual and hopefully it will be useful.
Aircraft Airbus A319
Flight: SBBR to SBTE
SOUNDTRACK: Kill Bill (Soundtrack) (Vol.1) – Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood
FAQ
1-? Ok pessoal, acho que nesse eu peguei um pouco pesado no inglês
pois o vídeo é completamente técnico e as informações copiadas e coladas
do manual da aeronave. Dessa forma a idéia é mostrar o uso, ou pouco
uso das manetes de potência, juntamente com o sistema de A/THR.
Basicamente demonstro como se faz uma decolagem com potência reduzida
(ou FLEX TO como chamamos). Espero que as informações, que não são
poucas, sejam de utilidade para os “simuleiros” de plantão.
Aeronave: A319
Voo entre Brasília e Teresina
Aeronave: A319
Voo entre Brasília e Teresina
Signs in the sky: Pilot tows aerial ads up and down the shore
Photo by Amanda Steen / Monitor
Paula Maynard (left) and Gene Gray work together on getting a banner laid out properly to test fly before it goes up in the air on Saturday, June 28, 2012. The banners can be as large as 30 feet tall by 100 feet long. The pair flies banners around New England and are based out of Hampton Airfield in North Hampton
From 800 feet in the air, the Atlantic Ocean that laps at
the New Hampshire shore is the color of green sea glass. From 800 feet
in the air, the beaches at sunset look deserted all the way from Rye to
Ipswich, Mass. The mansions look like detailed plywood miniatures and
the marshes like nubbly green wool.
At 800 feet in the air, Gene Gray’s cubicle might be tiny, but it has one of the best office windows in the world.
“It’s a great view, and it’s always changing,” he said during a recent flight, laughing.
His graying ponytail, cut-off T-shirt and white Hulk Hogan-style
moustache give him the aura of a biker, but his laugh is youthful, eager
and full-bodied.
Gray, who lives in Billerica, Mass., operates Sky Line Ads with his
fiancee, Paula Maynard. If you’ve been to the beach in New Hampshire or
Maine in the past six years, you’ve probably seen Gray. Or at least,
you’ve seen his plane and its eye-catching cargo.
From the night’s entertainment options and the phone number for a Jet
Ski rental company to countless proposals of marriage and even one “Do
you want a girl puppy or a boy puppy?” Gray tows banners for businesses
and individuals, anyone with a message they want to get across.
It’s a job that comes with endless hours and uncertain costs, but
it’s a way for a boy from New Jersey to make money doing the thing he
loves.
“Flying is freedom,” Gray said. “You feel like a bird. The
visibility, the view, there’s all sorts of reasons to love it. They’re
endless, but it’s mostly the freedom and the peacefulness. When you’re
flying for fun, you can just float around. You can go places other
people can’t go and see things from a different perspective.”
He first caught the love of flying when he was a kid in New Jersey.
His grandfather worked as a mechanic for United Airlines at LaGuardia
Airport. Back in the 1950s and 1960s, Gray and his brother and cousins
could just walk through the airport out to the tarmac, visit the
mechanics and play around the planes. He’s the only one who has taken to
the skies since then, though.
He got his pilot’s license in 1989 and worked at a car dealership to
earn money for more flight time. In 1998, at age 42, he was getting
ulcers and aches and pains from the stress of work. Maynard encouraged
him to quit, so he did, and got a job running the ground crew for a
banner towing company in Lawrence, Mass. Owning their own business was
always something of a dream for the couple. In 2006, the company he
worked for put one of its SuperCubs up for sale, and Gray and Maynard
bought it for $50,000 with a loan from her father. A few months later,
another banner company closed and sold them a used set of red letters, 5
feet tall each.
“You can work your butt off working for a company and in the end it
doesn’t matter, they’ll throw you to the side,” Maynard said. “The times
when it’s not busy, we have time to spend with our parents and the kids
and the grandkids. Right now it might be tougher, but the times when
it’s not busy, it gives you flexibility.”
They’re looking for another plane now, hoping to double their
business and give Gray more time to meet with clients while another
pilot flies. But planes have gotten a lot more expensive since the pair
opened their own business.
SuperCubs on the market today are $100,000, and out of reach for now.
“You have to really love doing this, because you’re not making money
doing it, and you put a lot of hours into it at a time,” he said.
Take Thursday, for example. Gray went to sleep about 2 a.m., after a
long day flying over the Esplanade in Boston, advertising a local car
dealership to the July 4 crowds. By 11 a.m., he was back in the air,
towing a banner for Canobie Lake Park up and down the coast a few times.
After a little more than an hour, he turned around and headed back to
the Hampton Airfield.
The airfield truly lives up to its name: There’s no paved runway, but
just an open field with grass, clover, rocks and a groundhog or two. He
traded in one banner for another, and then another, and then another,
until 6 p.m.
Today, he expects to fly 11 hours, and since 1998, he’s flown 4,000
hours, he said. The plane eats 10 gallons of fuel an hour, fuel that
costs more than $5 a gallon in Hampton and sometimes almost $8 a gallon
at Massachusetts airfields where he might need to stop and refill during
days towing in Boston.
General Aviation Service
Når vi flyver skoleflyvning kan flyene godt få nogle knubs. Det ved vi, og det er der taget højde for ved at have et værksted af international standard tilknyttet skolen.
Kontakt: CAPA 46191919, centerair@centerair.dk
The sky is their limit
They can be easily mistaken for college students, but
these three women shoulder a tremendous responsibility on a daily basis.
As pilots, they fly hundreds of passengers across the globe. But what
made them choose a career in a traditionally male dominated field? Arman
Ahmad finds out
FOR First Officer Chin Tze Yee, the surge of excitement felt every time she pilots a plane is what attracted her to the job.
“I like flying. Whenever I look at a plane on the runway, I get excited.”
Chin, 27, made a life-changing decision when she enrolled in the
AirAsia cadet pilot training programme while studying for a management
course at Universiti Tuanku Abdul Rahman.
Since joining the airline, she has clocked 3,600 hours flying the Airbus A340 and A330 aircraft.
“I have flown to Paris, London, New Zealand, New Delhi and Mumbai.”
But being a pilot does make her the odd one out among her friends and family.
“You rarely meet a female pilot,” she said, adding that her family supported her wholeheartedly throughout her training.
“They were quite happy that I decided to become a pilot.”
Chin initially found ground school tough as she had to sit about 20
to 30 exam papers. It involved 18 months of learning about
instrumentation, meteorology and navigation.
But all those hours of training paid off when she made her first solo flight.
“I still remember my first time flying solo. It was an exhilarating
experience. All of us start by doing a circuit take-off and landing.
This means you drop your instructor off, do a take-off, turn around and
land again.
“When I landed, my batch mates pelted me with 18 eggs. It’s a tradition at the flying school. That was very memorable,”
For Melissa Nathan, 29, her path to becoming a pilot was less direct.
She said she had always loved physics, but never had an interest in aircraft as a child.
But this all changed when she saw a plane on the tarmac at the Subang
airport (now the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Airport) when she was 16
years old, and was amazed by the roar of the engine.
After graduating with a diploma in aeronautical engineering from
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, she got a job doing aircraft maintenance
at AirAsia.
As the only rose among the thorns, her colleagues were more than happy to show her the ropes.
When AirAsia started its cadet pilot programme, she was among the 20 selected.
The life of a pilot was up her alley, said Melissa, as she was “the type of person who can’t sit in a confined cubicle”.
The lass of Indian and Chinese descent said people were still quite
amazed when they learn that she was a pilot and were always eager to
know where she will be flying off to and what her life was like.
“But being a pilot is something I am really proud of. In the morning, when I put on my uniform, it feels really good.”
In Ilyana Nazli Shah’s case, watching her father go to work in his uniform inspired her to pursue a career as a pilot as well.
Ilyana’s father was an air force pilot, who later joined AirAsia as a commercial pilot.
“When I was 16, we went to Pangkor Island for a holiday. It was
before September 2011 and passengers were still allowed into the
cockpit. I sat in the cockpit with my dad and I was just amazed at the
view before me and that such a huge machine could be airborne.
“From that moment on, I knew I wanted to be a pilot. That experience sealed the deal.”
She recalls her male classmates making fun of her when she voiced her dreams of becoming a pilot.
“After my SPM, I applied to be a cadet pilot and enrolled at the Malaysian Flying Academy in 2004,” she said.
Like Chin, Ilyana’s first solo flight was particularly memorable.
“I was flying the Piper Warrior when the instructor asked me to drop him off at the tower.
“His final words were very encouraging, ‘Don’t crash the aircraft’.”
She had 20 hours of flying under her belt and was quite nervous at
landing the plane, but the weather was good and “everything was calm”,
and she passed her test with flying colours.
Ilyana recalled one incident during training that was particularly challenging.
It was a navigation exercise that required her to fly from Malacca to
Kluang and Mersing and onwards to Bukit Tinggi before following the
coastal route back to Malacca from Johor Baru,
In Mersing, the weather took a turn for the worse. She pressed on in low clouds.
When she arrived in Mersing, she suddenly lost all visual. She immediately ascended.
“That area is scary because there are many mountains.
“Looking down, you can see the shadows of the mountains. By the time I landed, I was weak in the knees.”
Now, after clocking in 4,700 flying hours in six years, Ilyana is
qualified to become a captain and will be interviewed for the post next
month.
She recalled some of the best moments in the early days of her
career, one of which was being the first officer on an all-girl flight.
“The pilot was Captain Belinda Fleming and the cabin crew were all female.”
An even more memorable occasion was when Ilyana was the first officer
in a plane captained by her father, and they became perhaps the first
father-daughter team to fly in AirAsia.
AirAsia currently has 21 female pilots. Twelve of them fly with
AirAsia operating the Airbus A320 while the remainder fly for AirAsiaX,
the long-haul low-fare affiliate of AirAsia, operating the Airbus A330.
Read more: The sky is their limit – General – New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/the-sky-is-their-limit-1.104091#ixzz1zzEcyJsT
PHOTO GALLERY: Michigan Aerobatic Open 2012 hit the skies Saturday
JACKSON, MI – Pilots from all around the Midwest and Canada flew, free falled and flipped over Jackson this weekend. The pilots were competing in the annual Michigan Aerobatics Open 2012 at Jackson County Airport, 3606 Wildwood Ave., in Jackson.
The competition is put on by the International Aerobatic Club (IAC). Christian Smith, an 18-year-old from Midland, made his first aerobatics flight Saturday morning.
"This is the first step to getting some aerobatic work," Smith said. Smith, who graduated this spring from Midland Dow High School, is heading to University of North Dakota with hopes of being a member of their aerobatic team.
The team has won four consecutive national championships in the U.S. National Aerobatic Contest.
See photos: http://www.mlive.com
Cirrus SR22 instructores practicando posiciones anormales – Cirrus SR22 AERIS instructors practicing abnormal positions
by AERISClubdevuelo
En esta ocasión, los instructores de AERIS practican la salida de
posiciones anormales que se haya podido producir de manera involuntaria.
Es parte de un entrenamiento anual que ayuda a mejorar a los pilotos de
Aeris su seguridad en vuelo y por tanto les concede mayor tranquilidad.
Somos una organización orientada a pilotos que quieran disfrutar de su
licencia, en aviones nuevos, perfectamente mantenidos y equipados, y
compartiendo su afición con otros “locos por volar”. También realizamos
cursos de PPL y alquiler de aviones.
This time instructors practice AERIS output abnormal
positions that may have occurred inadvertently. It is part of annual
training that helps pilots improve their safety in flight Aeris and
therefore gives them peace of mind. We are an organization aimed at
pilots who want to enjoy their license, new aircraft, well maintained
and equipped, and sharing your hobby with other “crazy about flying.”
PPL also conducted courses and aircraft leasing.
Athol once home to rare aircraft – Hackney Airpark (ID05), Athol, Idaho
Courtesy Philip Mahanna/GHOSTS
Athol once home to rare aircraft
Fairchild 45 N16878, one of the earliest executive aircraft in America.
Just northeast of Athol on the east side of Highway 95 lies Hackney Airpark, a private airport, home to 51 small airplanes, 10 ultra-lights, a helicopter and one glider. The runway is just 3,500 feet long, 150 feet wide and made of grass and sod.
Pilots are warned: "No line of sight between runway ends due to hump. Use at your own risk."
That's the way it is today, and that's the way it was years ago, when one of the earliest executive aircraft in America-a single-engine Fairchild 45, serial number N16878-called it home.
To Roger Dunham of Athol, the plane's proud owner for eight years, it was more than an aviation relic of the Great Depression. It was a gem. His plane was one of only 17 ever built, and believed to be the only one still flying.
In 1987, he bought the 1935-vintage aircraft from Bob Harbord of Sequim, Wash., who labored eight years restoring it from a basket case to flying condition.
The most important part of the restoration was installing a 440-hp R-975 Wright engine. The original 225-hp Jacobs radial engine wasn't powerful enough to handle the 3,000 lbs. (gross weight) aircraft. (Aviation buffs will want to know that some of the other 45s switched to the 320 hp Wright R-760 or 450-hp Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior engines.)
Dunham and two friends flew the plane to Idaho from Sequim. He completed the restoration with some finishing touches on the paint job. Then she looked like new.
With the bigger engine, the five-person plane was a dream in its day. Pilots loved its simplicity and easy handling. Executives loved its roominess.
There were two seats in the cockpit, though only one pilot was needed. Three passengers sat side-by-side on a wide couch-like seat. There was no divider between the cockpit and the cabin, so passengers could watch the pilots and also enjoy the view through spacious windows that could be cranked up and down like in old automobiles.
Cruising at 170 mph cross country speed, the Model 45 was ideal for executives of that era. (Some reports say however, that the plane struggled to reach its rated top speed.) It could climb as high as 19,000 feet, with a range of 1,000 miles, and that was pretty nifty in those days.
But the glamour didn't last long. Newer, better planes quickly surpassed the Fairchild 45s.
Pilots are warned: "No line of sight between runway ends due to hump. Use at your own risk."
That's the way it is today, and that's the way it was years ago, when one of the earliest executive aircraft in America-a single-engine Fairchild 45, serial number N16878-called it home.
To Roger Dunham of Athol, the plane's proud owner for eight years, it was more than an aviation relic of the Great Depression. It was a gem. His plane was one of only 17 ever built, and believed to be the only one still flying.
In 1987, he bought the 1935-vintage aircraft from Bob Harbord of Sequim, Wash., who labored eight years restoring it from a basket case to flying condition.
The most important part of the restoration was installing a 440-hp R-975 Wright engine. The original 225-hp Jacobs radial engine wasn't powerful enough to handle the 3,000 lbs. (gross weight) aircraft. (Aviation buffs will want to know that some of the other 45s switched to the 320 hp Wright R-760 or 450-hp Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior engines.)
Dunham and two friends flew the plane to Idaho from Sequim. He completed the restoration with some finishing touches on the paint job. Then she looked like new.
With the bigger engine, the five-person plane was a dream in its day. Pilots loved its simplicity and easy handling. Executives loved its roominess.
There were two seats in the cockpit, though only one pilot was needed. Three passengers sat side-by-side on a wide couch-like seat. There was no divider between the cockpit and the cabin, so passengers could watch the pilots and also enjoy the view through spacious windows that could be cranked up and down like in old automobiles.
Cruising at 170 mph cross country speed, the Model 45 was ideal for executives of that era. (Some reports say however, that the plane struggled to reach its rated top speed.) It could climb as high as 19,000 feet, with a range of 1,000 miles, and that was pretty nifty in those days.
But the glamour didn't last long. Newer, better planes quickly surpassed the Fairchild 45s.
Read more here: http://www.cdapress.com
Piper Cubs’ return draws pilots, spectators to Lompoc: Bright yellow planes fly into event for 28th year - Lompoc Airport (KLPC), California
Photo Credit: Leah Thompson
A Stearman Biplane used as a World War II trainer prepares for takeoff Saturday during the West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In at the Lompoc Airport.
No one brags about how fast or fancy their chrome yellow plane is because everyone’s ride is the same.
Piper Cub pilots from coast to coast have been flying into the Lompoc
Airport for 28 years for the camaraderie, the stories and to reunite
with their new and old friends.
Bern Heimos of Laguna Niguel in Orange County has marked the annual
West Coast Cub Fly-In on his calendar the past six years, including
Saturday’s event.
The lack of annoying vendors and fierce competition is what Heimos
said he likes about the nation’s longest-standing Piper Cub gathering.
Not that Heimos isn’t up for some flour bombing, spot-landing and historic aircraft judging contests.
He and his 1939 Cub were awarded first place in flour bombing in 2010.
“Once you buy a Piper Cub, you’re kind of invited,” Heimos said. “It’s really more like family. We talk about our experiences.”
Approximately 65 small Piper Cubs began descending upon the Lompoc Airport on Thursday.
Read more here: http://santamariatimes.com
Better than a $100 burger: A flight home
They come from the worst of circumstances, wandering the back
roads of Kentucky and Tennessee, locked on chains or dumped at the
shelters by the box load.
Not so long ago most of these
highly adoptable dogs, met a grim fate - gassing at the shelter or
target practice. (These practices still exist mind you. Great swaths of
these states and elsewhere in Appalachia have no shelter and pets are
dumped at livestock auctions, taken in by kindly folks who form ad hoc
shelters, abandoned or shot.)
In the last decade the Internet gave
rise to a network of transporters that shuttle dogs from high-kill
shelters in the south to adoptive homes in the north, primarily by car.
There
is a newer route out for mothers and puppies and special needs dogs, as
well as others, thanks to a dedicated group of high flyers, who
volunteer to transport these abandoned dogs to new homes.
I got a
glimpse of Pilots n Paws in action on Saturday when weather forced a
flight from Tennessee to Albany, NY to overnight in Carlisle.
That
meant six eight-week-old shepherd mix puppies and their mother, plus a
Lab-mix puppy were stranded not too far from where I live. I got a call
to help out and gladly took in two shepherd mixes and the Lab-mix puppy
for the night. When I arrived they were comfortably resting under the
plane belonging to James Watson who had just flown them in from
Knoxville.
They were full of energy even after their long day in
the air, but they settled down after a meal and some playtime with new
toys. Our evening was far less eventful than the night the pilots for
the next leg spent in Carlisle.
On Sunday morning fellow puppy
host Valerie Loughry and I met up with pilot Dean Chenarides and his
co-pilot Bruce Cohen. Bruce told me were standing outside their hotel
during a fierce thunderstorm when they heard a terrific bang. Their
hotel had been was struck by lightning. Fortunately no one was hurt,
they said.
It was during our talk on the tarmac that I learned about the $100 hamburger.
Dean,
who flies out of Dutchess County Airport, near Albany, said pilots are
always looking to fly somewhere to log their flight hours and make use
of their investment. They often just wing it to a nearby airport, grab a
burger and fly home.
With jet fuel in the $5 a gallon range, at a cost of $300-$400 to fill up your tank, that's an expensive proposition.
Dean
said he'd much rather fly with a purpose. So he signed up for Angel
Flight, which transports critically ill patients to treatment center,
and then started helping rescued dogs get to their forever homes.
The
passengers on this trip started their journey in Winchester, KY after
being pulled from the Clark County Animal Shelter by the rescue group a
Time To Live. Transport coordinator Lorene Steffes pulled all the travel
pieces together (no small feat) to make sure the four-legged passengers
reached their destination: Homeward Bound rescue in Albany.
At 9
a.m. Sunday morning we packed Becca, the mother dog, and two pups in one
crate and the five other babies in another crate, a big load for the
single-engine Piper Warrior. There was just enough room left for Dean,
Bruce and a small flight bag.
As I watched them take off into the
hazy sky, I thought how far these puppies and their mother had come
thanks to the generosity of so many people along the way.
A new
line of storms forced Dean to detour northwest though State College, but
by early afternoon pilots and passengers had arrived in Albany safe and
sound.
We wish Becca and her pups, along with hitchhiker Mickey
(pictured below being helped into the aircraft with Dean, Bruce and
Valerie) all things good in their new lives.
Certificated Flight Instructor Tools Takeoff and Landing Distance App Adds Five New Models
Herndon, Virginia – CFI Tools announced today the latest upgrade to
the Takeoff & Landing App. The T&L App allows pilots to easily
calculate takeoff and landing distances for their airplane based on the
current conditions for the flight. This App is a component in 5 CFI
Tools aviation Apps: iPad Preflight WX+ App, iPad/iPhone T&L App and
Toolbox App, Android T&L App and Toolbox App and the Windows
WxCheck App.
To make this process easier the T&L App downloads the current
weather conditions from the National Weather Service (NWS) and combines
it with airport and airplane data to make the calculations. This
aviation weather data, known as a METAR, is the standard weather report
supplied by thousands of airports worldwide.
Pilots are required by FAA regulation to calculate expected takeoff
and landing distances for each flight. These calculations require
current weather reports including temperature, wind direction and speed
and air pressure. The T&L App gathers this information from internet
sources as and uses it with generic guidance from airplane owner’s
handbooks to make the calculations. With this information it makes a
useful training device for pilots who must make these calculations.
Read more here: http://prmac.com/release-id-45133.htm
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Atlantic City Airshow: Volunteers Needed
Next month, the annual Atlantic City Airshow is coming to town and organizers need volunteers to help out with the big day.
The event takes place on Friday, August 17th from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. The “Thunder Over The Boardwalk” will bring out thousands of spectators to enjoy dazzling displays from the United States Airforce Thunderbirds and the U.S. Army Golden Knights. A variety of volunteer positions are available.
Whether you’re a fan, a veteran or someone interested in helping out, volunteering has many benefits, says Ryan Watkins, who heads the Junior Chamber of Commerce for the Atlantic City area. She says “you get a front row seat to all the action. Because the event takes place on the beach, you have a great view of the planes doing their dazzling tricks.”
The schedule remains up to you, depending on what you can do. They have several spots still open. Watkins explains “usually we have about 120 people to help out. This year, so far, we have only about 75. There are plenty of opportunities for you to get involved. It’s an experience of a lifetime and many people remember it forever.”
To find out more or to register, e-mail acjaycees@yahoo.com or contact Elisa Monroe, director of Member Events for the Greater Atlantic City Chamber at 609-345-4524 extension 12 or e-mail emonroe@acchamber.com.
Along with performances and demonstrations by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and the U.S. Army Golden Knights, past airshow demonstrations and flybys have included the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, Air National Guard and civilian acts. A full list of performers and a schedule of events will be released at a later date.
For more information on the Atlantic City Airshow “Thunder over the Boardwalk,” visit www.atlanticcityairshow.com.
Article and Audio: http://nj1015.com/atlantic-city-airshow-volunteers-needed-audio/
Whether you’re a fan, a veteran or someone interested in helping out, volunteering has many benefits, says Ryan Watkins, who heads the Junior Chamber of Commerce for the Atlantic City area. She says “you get a front row seat to all the action. Because the event takes place on the beach, you have a great view of the planes doing their dazzling tricks.”
The schedule remains up to you, depending on what you can do. They have several spots still open. Watkins explains “usually we have about 120 people to help out. This year, so far, we have only about 75. There are plenty of opportunities for you to get involved. It’s an experience of a lifetime and many people remember it forever.”
To find out more or to register, e-mail acjaycees@yahoo.com or contact Elisa Monroe, director of Member Events for the Greater Atlantic City Chamber at 609-345-4524 extension 12 or e-mail emonroe@acchamber.com.
Along with performances and demonstrations by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and the U.S. Army Golden Knights, past airshow demonstrations and flybys have included the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, Air National Guard and civilian acts. A full list of performers and a schedule of events will be released at a later date.
For more information on the Atlantic City Airshow “Thunder over the Boardwalk,” visit www.atlanticcityairshow.com.
Article and Audio: http://nj1015.com/atlantic-city-airshow-volunteers-needed-audio/
Chief Executive Officer hopeful of REDjet’s return
St. John”s Antigua- The Chief Executive Officer of low-cost carrier REDjet is optimistic that the airline will return to the skies. Speaking on OBSERVER Am yesterday Ian Burns said the vision to bring affordable air transportation to the region remains very alive.
“The spirit behind REDjet was the people of the Caribbean and that’s what we were doing; bringing something they wanted. Over the next coming months, that spirit of want and need will develop stronger and when that position is right, then REDjet will come back into the skies, but it may well be in another part of the Caribbean,” Burns said. He continued that passenger numbers on the airline’s routes out of Guyana had surged by 80 per cent, while the Trinidad to Barbados route grew by 53 per cent.
“Any international expert in low cost carrying development would say that we have done well in the amount of passengers and revenues we got, which can be attributed to the fact that we brought in brand new distribution methods and the ability for people to buy tickets. The problem we faced was that the Barbados government, which is an investor in the airline and also the regulator, used its position to strangle the business and that has been a major problem,” he said.
Read more here: http://www.antiguaobserver.com/?p=77467
Volunteers help rebuild Yankee Air Museum
Rebuilding the Yankee Air Museum has been a labor of love for the members of the Yankee Air Force. With only four paid employees, including Executive Director Kevin Walsh, much of the work is done by the volunteers who painstakingly restore aircraft, create a resource library and organize fundraisers to benefit the museum.
Volunteers have been busy rebuilding the museum after its collection of artifacts, memorabilia and several planes were destroyed in a 2004 fire that leveled the hangar it had called home. The historic wooden building had been used by Henry Ford to build B-24s during World War II.
Luckily, the heart of the museum's collection — the B-17, C-47 and B-25 aircraft — were moved out of the building by volunteers before the fire reached them. Those three planes are the only flyable aircraft in the museum collection and are going somewhere every weekend. Museum volunteers serve as their flight crews.
“I don't get paid, but I get to fly, it's one of the perks,” said volunteer Bob Catalano, who serves as the assistant manager of collections.
The fire was a setback for the museum, which didn't re-open until October 2010. Volunteers have been steadily adding displays and restoring aircraft. Many of its planes are leased from the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. However, one industrious group of volunteers is building a French SPAD XII World War I fighter from scratch. The plane will look as it did as part of 103d Aero Squadron in 1918, complete with the recognizable Hat in the Ring emblem.
Read more: http://www.hometownlife.com
Yankee Air Museum puts planes up for ‘adoption'
When Uncle Sam needed recruits in World War II, he pointed to the masses with his finger. Now that iconic finger is pointing again as the Yankee Air Museum looks for groups of people interested in “adopting” one of its airplanes.
It's a no-cost arrangement, and no need to worry about where to park the planes. They're on display at the museum and its air park on D Street at the Willow Run Airport.
Those who like their airplanes on the large size can consider adopting the museum's B-52 Stratofortress. Too big? No problem, the museum also has smaller planes like the Martin Canberra, F-4C McDonnell Phantom II and the UH-1H Bell Iroquois “Huey” helicopter available for adoption.
The only requirement is a commitment to clean the aircraft twice a year. The Yankee Air Museum will provide the supplies needed to take care of the airplane.
“We want the community to get involved,” said Bob Catalano, the assistant manager for collections. “We're looking for families, businesses, scout groups, veterans organizations, Civil Air Patrol, or ROTC groups to help clean the planes one day in the spring and one day in the fall, do painting as needed, and, as capable, do some minor repairs.”
Catalano got the idea from the museum at the Selfridge Air National Guard Base. The museum curator “has a nice program like this in place” and a waiting list for adoptive groups.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Emirates in major network expansion to the East and West
Emirates is embarking on a major expansion of its route network with three additional destinations to be launched in the next six months, on top of the 12 new routes already being rolled out in 2012.
From November 1, Emirates will launch four weekly flights to Adelaide, rising to a daily service from 1st February 2013. Adelaide will be the airline’s fifth destination in Australia which is currently served with 70 flights per week.
The airline’s current double-daily service to Perth will grow to 19 weekly flights from December 1, becoming a triple daily operation from March 1 next year.
On the western side of the globe, the French city of Lyon will be added to the Emirates’ network from December 1, the carrier’s third point in France after Paris and Nice. Emirates will operate five weekly flights to this vibrant economic and tourism centre of south eastern France.
From February 6, 2013, Emirates will begin flights into Poland, where recently the World bank predicted the highest economic growth in the Central and Eastern European region. The airline will operate a daily service to the capital, Warsaw.
Read more here: http://www.emirates247.com
AUDIO: Fighter pilots to get cockpit instructions from female voice 'because it relaxes them more' (but they've already nicknamed her Nagging Nora)
WILL YOU LISTEN!
A Joanna Lumley-sounding voice is giving danger warnings to Typhoon pilots
Nagging women drive men crazy, but in a fighter pilot’s cockpit she is the one he’ll sit up and listen to.
In extreme and stressful flying conditions, fighter pilots are more likely to take notice of a female voice a study has found.
Plane makers BAE are letting loose a Joanna Lumley-type voice to give recorded warnings to fighter pilots in their state of the art Typhoon jets when things get heated.
The voice, which gets sterner and louder the longer she is ignored, has already been nicknamed ‘nagging Nora’.
Andrea Kay, from BAE, said: ‘We have conducted studies to find out what pilots who are flying under both stressful physical and mental conditions are more receptive to.’
It turns out that, particularly in combat situations, pilots were able to pick out the female voice amid the flurry of radio chatter in stressful situations.
‘If you don’t listen, she gets harsher and louder in both tone and volume,’ she said.
The male voice has been relegated to giving straightforward information like altitude and location.
‘There is as much psychology in the cockpit as there are clever systems. A voice warning and recognition system is one way of helping the pilots,’ Ms Kay said.
‘The female voice gets the most important messages across in the most effective way.’
The female warning system has taken years to develop and in the test stages a Lancashire voice was used.
She said: ‘It’s about making sure it’s intuitive and we are delivering the best information to them in the most effective way. It’s about making the aircraft the best that it can be’.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk
Pilots flying in one of BAE’s state-of-the-art Typhoon jets are being told what to do by a stern-sounding woman.
Studies have shown that pilots take more notice of the female voice
under extreme conditions – and these findings have been used by BAE.
It is the first time the company, which has bases in Samlesbury and
Warton, have used a female voice – which has been nicknamed ‘nagging
Nora’ – to deliver recorded warnings to pilots.
Read more and audio: http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk
Russia’s Yak-130 Combat Trainer to Debut at Farnborough 2012
MOSCOW, July 4
(RIA Novosti)
Russia’s Yakovlev Yak-130 Mitten trainer/light attack aircraft will be showcased for the first time at the Farnborough International Air Show as part of a large Russian exhibit.
Russian companies, including 19 defense industry firms, will take part in the airshow near London on July 9-15 to exhibit the latest achievements in the Russian aircraft industry.
The Yak-130 combat trainer is a subsonic two-seat jet aircraft developed by the Yakovlev design bureau. Development of the plane began in 1991, and the maiden flight was carried out in April 1996.
It is a highly maneuverable plane with an extended range of about 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) and a maximum speed of 1,060 km/h (600 m/h) in level flight. It can carry a combat payload of up to 3,000 kilograms (6,600 pounds), consisting of a variety of Russian and Western developed weapons.
In 2005, the plane won a Russian government tender for training aircraft and in 2009, the first planes entered service with the Russian Air Force, which placed firm orders for 55 aircraft.
The first export orders were signed in 2006, when Algeria ordered 16 Yak-130s and Libya put an order in for 6 planes.
Deliveries to Libya were expected in 2011–2012, but after the downfall of the Gaddafi regime, the Libyan National Transitional Council canceled Libya's order for Yak-130s in September 2011 as part of a review of all existing arms contracts.
Syria agreed to buy 36 Yak-130s for $550 mln in 2011.
The overall foreign market capacity for the Yak-130 is estimated at 250 aircraft.
Source: http://en.ria.ru
The Yak-130 combat trainer is a subsonic two-seat jet aircraft developed by the Yakovlev design bureau. Development of the plane began in 1991, and the maiden flight was carried out in April 1996.
It is a highly maneuverable plane with an extended range of about 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) and a maximum speed of 1,060 km/h (600 m/h) in level flight. It can carry a combat payload of up to 3,000 kilograms (6,600 pounds), consisting of a variety of Russian and Western developed weapons.
In 2005, the plane won a Russian government tender for training aircraft and in 2009, the first planes entered service with the Russian Air Force, which placed firm orders for 55 aircraft.
The first export orders were signed in 2006, when Algeria ordered 16 Yak-130s and Libya put an order in for 6 planes.
Deliveries to Libya were expected in 2011–2012, but after the downfall of the Gaddafi regime, the Libyan National Transitional Council canceled Libya's order for Yak-130s in September 2011 as part of a review of all existing arms contracts.
Syria agreed to buy 36 Yak-130s for $550 mln in 2011.
The overall foreign market capacity for the Yak-130 is estimated at 250 aircraft.
Source: http://en.ria.ru
Bird’s eye view: Taking flight in an Allegro LSA ✈ Halifax-Northampton Regional Airport (KIXA), Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina
For more information on flight lessons or the Allegro, call LSA America at 252-586-1200.
July 4, 2012
by Roger Bell
I’ve never been one to love flying, but my time in the Allegro aircraft just might have changed my mind.
The Allegro is a two-seat light sport aircraft manufactured in Littleton by LSA America, which recently broke ground at the Halifax-Northampton Regional Airport. LSA President Doug Hempstead, naturally, is a big believer in the plane, which, in addition to only costing around $100,000, has excellent fuel economy and can be powered by 87 octane automobile gas.
“You get more bang for your buck with the Allegro,” Hempstead said.
“What we deliver is real value. It’s not cheap, because cheap catches up with you, but it’s a real value.”
He added the Allegro is a very successful student airplane and is relatively easy to learn how to fly.
“This is one of the most fun things I’ve ever flown,” said Ross Kennedy, test pilot for LSA and the man with, perhaps, more hours flying the Allegro than any other person.
It was a clear, sunny, cloudless day when Kennedy and I climbed into the surprisingly roomy Allegro at Halifax-Northampton Regional Airport, and after putting on our headsets, the two of us were airborne only minutes later — it only took about 450 feet for the small plane to take off, and Kennedy said it can be done even more quickly.
For the first few minutes, I have to admit, I felt a little uncomfortable. In my childhood, long ago now, I used to have a fear of heights, and the Allegro’s visibility means you can see easily all around you and down to the ground. For a few minutes, the old fear came back, but I was able to tamp it down and started to take some photos of the Roanoke Valley from the air.
Read more: http://www.rrdailyherald.com
Adirondack Regional (KSLK), Saranac Lake, New York: Airport adds more Boston flights
LAKE CLEAR, New York - Good news for travelers -- the Adirondack Regional Airport is adding more flights to and from Logan Airport in Boston.
The Plattsburgh Press Republican is reporting that increased demand has upped the number of daily flights until September 9. Flights take about one and a half hours.
Since Cape Air started serving the airport in 2008 more than 11,000 travelers have taken advantage of this service.
Read more here:
Cape Air adds two more flights to Boston from Lake Clear
South Jersey: Atlantic Cape Aviation Information Session Rescheduled for July 17
MAYS LANDING — Atlantic Cape Community College will host an
information session about its four aviation programs at 6 p.m., Tues.,
July 17, in Cafeteria B, at the Mays Landing Campus, 5100 Black Horse
Pike.
Anyone interested in learning more about exciting careers in
aviation, aerospace engineering and air traffic control should attend
the session, which will give an overview on admission to Atlantic Cape’s
programs and what the programs cover.
•Aviation Studies (Associate in Science): Prepares students to pursue
further education in a variety of fields, such as airport management,
aviation business administration, air traffic control and air
transportation management.
•Aviation Studies – Option in Professional Pilot (Associate in
Science): Leads to Federal Aviation Administration certification as a
commercial pilot. Atlantic Cape will offer Private, Instrument and
Commercial pilot courses through a partnership with Big Sky Aviation.
•Pre-Aerospace Engineering (Associate in Science): Students can begin
their education in aerospace engineering and transfer to a four-year
program on completion.
•Air Traffic Control Terminal (Associate in Applied Science): Through
the use of simulation, learn the rules, regulations and procedures
relating to a career in air traffic control.
To register for the information session, visit www.atlantic.edu/aviation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)