My wife and I flew in our Cessna Cardinal from our home base at Dutchess County Airport to Wallkill, NY for dinner. After dinner, we took off VFR without talking to Departure, since New York is always so busy. We did a practice ILS to Runway 3 at Montgomery/Orange County, an airport not far south, and then started the few miles back home, skirting around the Class D at Stewart International.
The FAA published its proposed rules for integrating unmanned aerial systems into the national airspace in February and drew a mixed reaction. The rules, which will apply to drones weighing up to 55 pounds used for commercial purposes, were less restrictive than many expected, but still would not allow some key technologies. For example, Amazons proposed delivery drones, which would operate autonomously or by remote control, are not allowed under the proposal-the FAA said drones can only be flown within sight of the operator. However, many uses, such as search-and-rescue, crop monitoring, and aerial photography, would be possible under the proposal, which is open for public comments until mid-April.
Especially if we include Experimental aircraft, there are many different makes and models from which owners and operation may choose, each of them having their own set of features. Whether we want an aircraft to perform aerobatics, do aerial application, conduct training or even engage in cargo operations, theres a model out there, somewhere, optimized for the mission. But all aircraft embody compromises: none literally can do everything.
In an effort to reduce the ever-increasing cost of flight training, Sporty’s has started a new program that brings the cost for flight training rentals down to $99 per hour. The airplanes that rent at this cost at Sporty’s Academy are a Cessna Skycatcher and a refurbished airplane that Sporty’s has branded 172LITE. The concept […]
Maybe its the looming specter of my 25th high-school reunion thats got me worrying about getting fat and sloppy. Living in the land where donuts and coffee are staple foods, Ive been passing on the former while muttering renewed resolutions about spending more time at the gym.
If you saw the red, black and white Sportsman at the Glasair booth at AirVenture this summer, it may not have looked a lot different from the airplanes the company has displayed in the past. But the bright green lettering on the side of the nose and the modified bottom cowl tell a different story. […]
(August 2014) Time is running short, so I’m going to get straight to the point: If you’re a pilot or aviation enthusiast and you’ve never been to Oshkosh for EAA’s annual fly-in and shindig, you need to go. It runs July 28 through Aug. 3 this year, so depending on when the postman delivers this […]
This passage from “As We Know It,” the July 2014 Editor’s Log, caught my attention: “What we’ve seen, instead, is the proliferation of smaller, lighter airplanes, often with range and capabilities that seem limiting when compared to what was the norm 30 years ago. This market is populated by storebought LSAs and experimental aircraft. They’re great for a $100 hamburger run, and possibly even an overnight getaway to the mountains or a beach, but the destinations need to be close, the load light and the weather good.”
My brother slipped me a piece of paper on which he’d jotted three numbers: 260, 240 and 180. If you haven’t guessed, they’re weights. Add me and the load is 860 pounds well-marbled (not 170-pound), above-average Americans. Add full tanks, 56 gallons of fuel and we would approach gross weight. I had yet to add backpacks, fly-fishing gear and food for a week, but after that I’d have to start trading fuel for payload, and worry about CG as well. Welcome to the world of gross-weight ops.
Get the latest stories & special offers delivered directly to your inbox.
SUBSCRIBE
