Search Results for: Ercoupe

Richard L. “Dick” Collins, a prolific aviation journalist whose career spanned 60 years, nearly half of it on the masthead of Flying magazine including more than a decade in the 1970s through the late 1980s as editor-in-chief, died on Sunday at his home in suburban Maryland. He was 84. Born on November 28, 1933, Collins […]

A beautiful Wolf Samson biplane, a larger version of the Pitts and the only one flying today, returned to the skies over the weekend. The airplane is owned by Tim Just of Apple Valley, California, who recently imported the airplane from Germany where it has lived since it was built by renowned airplane-builder Steve Wolf […]

October 1, 2017, Klamath Falls, Ore.Cirrus Design SR22At about 1043 Pacific time, the airplane was destroyed when it impacted terrain while maneuvering in a remote mountainous area. The private pilot and the passenger received fatal injuries. Instrument conditions were reported in the area at the time of the accident.

Maybe it’s because I’ve screwed up more than most (living) pilots, but I often get calls from angry, confused or worried aviators: “Fiddling with my iPad and taxied across a hold-short line”; “Didn’t check notams and flew through a TFR”; “Assumed the other guy was PIC”; “Forgot about my flight-review (annual, physical, etc.) date”; “Blew […]

On a cold night in ­early spring, I took off from Lunken Airport in 72B, my beloved (I think) Cessna 180. I came back to climb power at 500 feet agl and the engine began running rough, missing and losing power — which sort of caught my attention. So, I pulled on the carburetor heat […]

The moment word of Charles Lindbergh’s successful solo Atlantic crossing reached America on May 21, 1927, Chicago advertising executive William B. Ziff Sr. had an idea. To capitalize on the frenzy of the milestone event he would create an aviation magazine aimed at regular people who he was certain would now be motivated to learn […]

The pilot reported that when he raised the landing gear shortly after takeoff, he heard a loud crunch as the gear entered the wells. The pilot climbed the airplane to about 3000 feet and observed the landing gear circuit breaker was popped and the alternator was off. The pilot attempted to extend the landing gear normally several times, however, the circuit breaker popped each time and the gear remained retracted. The pilot also attempted to use the emergency gear extension, to no avail.

Small, simple, affordable: From vintage Piper Cubs to Aeronca Champs, Ercoupes, Taylorcrafts and Luscombes, these are the airplanes that kindled America’s love affair with general aviation in the 1930s and post-war 1940s. Their common appeal, of course, centered on their minimalist approach to construction, which made them easy to repair when they broke down or […]

John Mugavin is made of rare stuff. This stocky, hugely talented, successful and gutsy guy is also as friendly and “old shoe” as they come. Mugavin is a familiar name around here for both the primo auto-body shop he owns and operates, and his fame as a dirt-track driver. Twenty-five years after building his first […]

Cash prizes have been big motivators in aviation. The first flights across the Atlantic, the first man-powered flight, the first flight into space by a nongovernmental program — to name a few — were brought about, or at the very least hurried along, by the lure of a big payday. Not to say that honor […]