Aircraft

On Aug. 6, 2009, I went to the Torrance Airport near Los Angeles to meet Mike Blyth and James Pitman, two guys from South Africa who were on their way around the world in what would be an LSA if this particular one had not been equipped with extra wing tanks. Holding 120 gallons, they […]

“Holy Cow, it goes on forever!” exclaimed my friend’s 16-year-old son, Connor, who was experiencing his first Oshkosh. He stared wide-eyed at the endless field of planes as we moved along the flight line from the homebuilts to the classics, to the antiques, to the ultralights, to the amphibians — almost halfway to the seaplane […]

The great thing about Oshkosh is that everybody who is anybody in aviation is there, and in that environment hanging around the world’s busiest airport for a week, there is plenty of time to talk. Because of the variety of people and the time we all have, I probably learn more at Oshkosh than any […]

One of the best resources that I can access in the cockpit is available without a three-ring binder. This resource does not involve a red warning light, an electronic siren or a SATCOM radio. The best resource that I have is by far the guy or gal who’s seated to my right. At no other […]

For the first time since it began seven years ago, the annual “migration” of Cirrus owners will not flock to Duluth, Minnesota, but rather to Dayton, Ohio next June 17-20. Curtis Sanford, president of the Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association said the group is moving from the place “where two brothers brought a new generation […]

Out of the mouths of babes, seen through the eyes of a child; you’ve heard the clichés that describe the cut-to-the-heart-of-the-matter thought process of children. What, I wondered, would Oshkosh be like this year with a youngster in tow? Would a child’s needs slow me down or would a child’s view take me somewhere I’d […]

At this year’s EAA Airventure, there was just a whiff, or lack thereof, of change in the air, as a small bevy of electric airplanes made an appearance on the AirVenture stage. And there were a few such creatures flying at the show, including the first electric two-seater to go airborne at Oshkosh. The e-plane […]

The hamstrung economy has affected almost all aviation projects, and the developmental single-engine PiperJet is no exception. Piper now plans first deliveries for 2013 – a schedule based partly on available funding, but also on when the company expects the economic recovery to occur. Piper initially announced program delays, then enjoyed a funding infusion from […]

There used to be this guy on late-night television who would promote a home decorating store and would yell, “It ain’t just paint!” Wandering around Wittman Field at Oshkosh during AirVenture, I was reminded once again that, for me, the annual gathering “ain’t just planes!” Sure, on display there were more than 2,500 airplanes of […]

At about 8:25 A.M. on Sept. 3, 2007, Steve Fossett took off from a friend’s ranch, about 60 miles southeast of Reno, Nevada, in a borrowed 1980 Bellanca Super Decathlon. A few minutes later, about nine miles south of the airstrip, an employee of the ranch who knew the airplane well saw the Decathlon fly […]