Pilot Proficiency

John and Martha King, founders of King Schools, and Matt Zuccaro, president of Helicopter Association International (HAI), announced at AirVenture this week the launch of a flight instructor refresher course (FIRC) specifically designed for helicopter instructors. This is the first time a helicopter-specific FIRC has been offered online. As with King Schools’ regular FIRC, the […]

OpenAirplane, the airplane rental network that launched earlier this summer, inched closer to expanding nationwide by growing from six inaugural locations to 15. Company founder Rod Rakic said he is in discussions with 90 additional flight schools that could be added to the Zip-car style rental network. The new OpenAirplane locations include Addison, Texas; Scottsdale, […]

At EAA’s annual Gathering of Eagles gala on Thursday night, EAA Chairman Jack Pelton announced the new Young Eagles Chairman, aerobatics star Sean D. Tucker. In a hilarious and energetic acceptance speech (Pelton later said he was pretty sure that Tucker actually accepted), Tucker wowed the crowd with his infectious enthusiasm for the role. “Yeah, […]

Folks from Jeppesen have been strolling the grounds of EAA AirVenture this week with an iPad in hand to give demonstrations of a nifty VFR flight app with some cool capabilities and a surprising price. The subscription service costs $49 — which usually elicits the question from Oshkosh showgoers, “Per month?” Nope, that’s the price […]

In a series of Oshkosh firsts, Terrafugia’s Transition flying car took to the skies to open AirVenture yesterday afternoon, followed by flights by an actual carmaker — Honda — which flew not one but two HondaJets in formation over Wittman Airport. But those performances were mere warm-up acts for the main attraction at Oshkosh this […]

Not all of the display aircraft at EAA AirVenture are pristine examples. A Grumman FM-2 Wildcat fighter used to train World War II Naval aviators is on display, its remains lashed to the back of a flatbed truck. The barnacle-encrusted single-seat fighter crashed on takeoff from a training aircraft carrier on Lake Michigan in December […]

Rich Gibson’s airshow work is impossible to ignore. His company, Rich’s Incredible Pyro, is responsible for the gigantic walls of flame that accompany simulated aerial attacks during EAA AirVenture and other airshows around the world. This year will be Rich’s swan song at Oshkosh, but he has left indelible memories for anyone who’s seen his […]

EAA Chairman and de facto president Jack Pelton addressed reporters at a regularly scheduled press conference and discussed a variety of topics. Included was the FAA’s charging for services for air traffic controllers, which EAA is fighting in court and on Capitol Hill. Pelton explained that for the week of AirVenture, the FAA essentially owns […]

A scary incident at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh yesterday highlights the need for quick thinking when the unexpected happens. First, here’s the story: The pilot of a Van’s RV set up for a nicely stabilized approach to Runway 9 and made a decent landing – the only problem was that the wind was out of the […]

Video footage and other evidence shows that the Southwest 737 whose nose gear collapsed upon touchdown at LaGuardia Airport last week landed nose gear first, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. The Board reported that at four seconds before landing the 737-700 was pitched up about two degrees, whereas at touchdown the airplane was […]