Mark Phelps

The pilot who, literally, wrote the book on mountain flying has died in the March 17 crash of his Cessna 180. Sparky Imeson’s Mountain Flying Bible is considered the best of several books on the subject by the veteran pilot, who was flying solo when he crashed. Investigators are still trying to determine what caused […]

On a test flight near Cessna headquarters in Wichita, a second SkyCatcher test aircraft has crashed. The test pilot deployed the light sport aircraft’s ballistic parachute recovery system and walked away from the crash site. The aluminum airframe struck a fence on landing and flipped inverted. There was no fire. A Cessna spokesman would not […]

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has installed a dedicated general aviation liaison specialist to assess and address concerns from pilots and aircraft operators. Juan Barnes was appointed to the newly defined position, and wrote in a memo to general aviation stakeholders: “[You] are encouraged to submit inquiries regarding TSA programs, policies and security directives. Your […]

The engine that powers Cessna’s CJ series, Hawker Beechcraft’s Premier and others has just demonstrated its ability to run on “coal-based alternative fuel,” according to Williams International. The Williams FJ44-3 test article burned 2,000 gallons of the fuel-developed at Penn State University. It performed “extremely well,” exhibiting performance numbers on par with the jet-A powered […]

It created a stir at AirVenture Oshkosh last summer, but until it actually lifted off, the Terrafugia ‘Transition’ really remained just another exciting promise. And in general aviation, we’ve had a bellyful of those. The Transition takes its name from what it proposes to do-switch quickly and easily from a car to an airplane and […]

From his perspective, ex-Air Force fighter pilot Bill Boisture has seen his share of business cycles and how the general aviation industry reacts to them. Boisture started his new job as head of Hawker Beechcraft on Monday, succeeding Jim Schuster, who last fall had announced his plans to retire as soon as a replacement could […]

With each passing day, the mystery grows deeper surrounding the Pilatus PC-12 crash last week in Butte, Montana. All 14 Californians on board died, including seven small children. They were on their way to a ski vacation at Yellowstone Club, near Bozeman, Montana. The single pilot-65-year-old Air Force veteran Bud Summerfield-requested a diversion to Butte […]

When we decided to include a weekly Flying Tip in every Flying eNewsletter, Editor-in-Chief Mac McClellan pointed out that FAA accident/incident reports almost always include one or more gear-up landings every week. His advice to me was, “Every week, tell ’em to remember to put the gear down.” Well, here we are with Flying Tip […]

Executive bonuses are at the top of the news’ hit list. And Cessna’s parent company, Textron, has revealed through filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that its CEO Lewis Campbell saw his performance bonus steeply diminish last year. The overall downgrade amounted to a bottom-line pay cut of 16 percent-down to $9.8 million […]

All aircraft owners who have retained their loran receivers as backups for GPS raise your hands. (Mine is up.) Well, it seems our strategic move could backfire, as the Obama administration is considering decommissioning loran as of next year. Eliminating the system would save Uncle Sam $190 million over five years, according to reports. Loran-C […]