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If you or somebody you know would like to give flying a try, this Saturday might be a good time. During the third annual International Learn To Fly Day, airports around the world are hosting events and pilots are offering to take neighbors and friends up for a free introductory flight. EAA spearheads the community-wide effort, and provides information and a list of events online. Informal efforts to just take a friend or neighbor for an introductory flight or even for a visit to the airport also are encouraged. "As we inspire the next generation of aviators, International Learn to Fly Day is one day where we can make a special effort to invite and welcome those who have always dreamed of flying," said Rod Hightower, EAA president.
Concerns over the system that delivers oxygen to pilots of the F-22 Tuesday led Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to set flight limits for the fighter jet and add safety measures. The jets must now be flown "within proximity of potential landing locations." The specific restrictions will be drawn by individual pilots and commanders, Pentagon spokesman and Navy Captain John Kirby told the Washington Post. Panetta added other specific instructions in a letter to Air Force Secretary Michael Donley. Meanwhile, two pilots who appeared on CBS News' 60 Minutes saying they did not want to fly the jet have reportedly had a change of heart.
There are a number of "catches," but Virgin Atlantic passengers will soon be able to make cell phone calls on the airline's flights from London to New York, the airline announced this week. No passengers will be allowed to have their phones powered up for takeoff or landing, and only six people will be allowed to talk at once. Each one will pay international roaming rates for the call and must have access to either Europe's Vodafone or O2 carriers, or the U.S.'s T-Mobile. By year-end, the service should be available on as many as 20 of the carrier's aircraft flying 10 routes. Virgin Atlantic isn't the first to offer the service, but don't expect U.S. carriers to follow suit soon.
Virgin Atlantic will allow six cell phone calls at a time on its London-New York flights. Is that a plus or minus for you?Plus: Last week, we asked AVweb readers what kinds of cars they drive; click through to see the breakdown of answers we received.
Troubled by decreasing volume in a flat aviation economy, Mattituck Services, one of the northeast's longest-established engine shops, will close at the end of May, according to Continental Motors. Some of the 23 affected employees will move to Continental's Fairhope, Alabama facility, which offers similar services on overhauls and factory service.
Redbull Wednesday shared video of one of its latest sponsored adventures -- five wingsuit skydivers joining up with and maintaining formation with two sailplanes in a dive over Austria. The team flew two aerobatic LET L-13 Blanik sailplanes and just to complicate things the lead flew inverted and one skydiver formed up inbetween the inverted and upright glider. The skydivers and gliders came together in formation at roughly 12,000 feet. The sailplanes wore wingtip mounted smoke canisters and one skydiver wore one on an ankle. The trick of the task was mating airspeed and descent rates and this time all members performed flawlessly. Check the video after the jump.
Volunteer pilots flying for Patient AirLift Services (PALS) may now be partially reimbursed for fuel costs related to charitable flights, PALS recently announced. The program is FAA-approved and it means that "pilots can receive reimbursement for fuel costs incurred when flying patients in need of medical treatment during charitable missions." That change is the result of an exception granted to PALS by the FAA that "is in the best public interest," according to the FAA's acting deputy director of flight standards service, Melvin Cintron. Said Cintron, "The FAA wants to encourage this kind of volunteerism and public service for the common good of our citizens."
On August 27, 2006, Comair Flight 5191 crashed during an attempted takeoff from the wrong runway at Lexington's Blue Grass Airport, killing all 49 aboard, save the co-pilot, James Polehinke, who has now become the subject of a documentary. A Chicago film maker will feature Polehinke in the movie "Sole Survivor," which creates accounts of the lives of people who became sole survivors of commuter aircraft crashes. It will be released this fall. Polehinke was at the controls of Comair's CRJ-100 as it sped into the grass off the end of the airport's shorter, narrower Runway 26. It had been cleared for the twice as wide and twice as long Runway 22. Polehinke awoke from a coma after the crash to learn he had facial fractures, a complex fracture of the pelvis, two fractures of the spine, and broken bones in his left leg, right foot and right hand. The film may show that wasn't the worst of it.
Denny Fitch, the off-duty United Airlines DC-10 instructor who worked the throttles in the crash landing of Flight 232 at Sioux City, Iowa, on July 19, 1989, died of brain cancer on May 7. Fitch, along with 184 others, survived in a legendary feat of airmanship credited with initiating the now-standard concept of crew resource management. "Nobody had a right to walk away from that," Fitch told the Sioux City Herald just after the accident, in which 111 people died. Fitch was deadheading from United's training center in Denver to his home near Chicago when he heard the bang that signaled shards of turbine blades on the tail-mounted No. 2 engine slicing through lines supplying all three hydraulic systems on the aircraft. As the engine shook itself to a final smoking death, the only controls left were the power settings for the wing-mounted engines. After reassuring a flight attendant that everything would be all right, Fitch headed for the cockpit.
"I know it's a bit off-norm for the 'Question of the Week,'" writes AVweb reader Michael Sullivan, "but I work at a car dealership, and I see a ton of pilots (professional and non-professional) come in here. I'm curious to see what the pilot population is driving."Plus: Last week, we asked AVweb readers if they'd commented on AOPA and EAA's third-class medical reform proposal (at the request of another reader); click through to see the breakdown of responses.
The Lindbergh Foundation marks its 35th anniversary on Friday, May 18, with a gala event at the Explorers Club in New York, featuring special guest speakers Apollo astronauts Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell, and Gene Cernan, and airshow legend Bob Hoover. "I can't think of a more compelling roster of speakers to help us celebrate our anniversary," said Larry Williams, chairman. "All of them encourage us to remember the significance of the contributions made by Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh to our lives today, 85 years after the historic New York-to-Paris flight." A few tickets are still available for the black-tie event, Williams told AVweb this week, at a suggested donation of $1,000 each.
A judge has dismissed drunk-driving charges against former FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt, ruling the Fairfax, Va., police didn't have a good enough reason to pull him over. Although a police statement after his arrest said Babbitt had been observed driving on the wrong side of the road the night of Dec. 3, 2011, WJLA reported that dashboard video from the police cruiser showed what Judge Ian O'Flaherty described as a "normal" left turn, even though it does not appear Babbitt used his turn signal. Nevertheless, the judge called the traffic stop "a hunch" and ended the proceedings there without hearing evidence that Babbitt wasn't legally impaired when he was pulled over.
The U.S. Navy's participation in a 22-nation exercise this summer will include a two-day demonstration of the "Great Green Fleet" carrier strike group, operating in part on alternative non-fossil fuels. The demonstration group will operate aircraft and non-carrier ships on 50/50 blends of biofuel and conventional fuels. The Navy has set a goal of 2020 to meet half of its energy needs with non-fossil fuels. The Great Green Fleet's two-day demonstration during the Rim of Pacific exercise is meant to precipitate a larger months-long deployment of a similarly fueled group set to deploy in 2016. Increases in fuel costs have pushed Defense Department spending $3 billion over budget in 2012 due to rising fuel costs.
The first three months of 2012 saw total billings for aircraft fall 8 percent, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), but piston-powered airplane shipments dropped by a smaller margin. Piston aircraft shipments totaled 184 units for the first three months of 2012, versus 188 shipments over the same period last year. The figures account for a 2.1 percent decrease that matched the decrease in total worldwide general aviation shipments. GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce offered a theory and some legislative advice.
We're not sure, but this might be the first "last flight" of an aircraft type that helped usher in the modern jet age of airliners. The last flying Boeing 720 took off from Saint-Hubert, Quebec, Canada for its presumably long-term stay at the National Air Force Museum of Canada at Royal Canadian Air Force Base Trenton, Ontario, on Wednesday. The airplane spent more than two decades as a test bed for Pratt & Whitney Canada, which mounted turboprops on the elongated nose, making it effectively the only five-engine four-engine aircraft flying. Pratt & Whitney moved to more modern Boeing 747SPs as test aircraft last year. They're primarily engaged in testing the company's new PurePower ultra-efficient turbofan engines.
AirVenture Cup race organizers are seeking to clarify a communication they received Thursday from EAA that they say could put the future of the race in question. An email sent Thursday from Chad Jensen, EAA homebuilt community manager, to Eric Whyte, chairman of the race's contest committee, reads in part, "EAA will no longer be associated with air racing in any form going forward." However,Kandi Spangler, who handles public relations for race organizers, told >i>AVweb Friday that "EAA wants us to have the race and we want to have the race." She added, "If EAA is pulling out and not giving us the support we need, the race will likely be cancelled. But as it sits now, I feel good about the direction we're heading and the possible outcome."As of late Friday, the official public position from all parties was that the 2012 race had not yet been cancelled, as EAA officials and race organizers sought to clarify the nature of their relationship.
An early model RAF Curtis P-40 Kittyhawk (Warhawk) wearing markings from the 260 Squadron and likely lost in 1942 was found last month largely intact in western Egypt's Al Wadi al Jadid desert, and researchers may now have identified its last pilot. The aircraft has been photographed sitting on its belly with the canopy nearly closed. It is suspected to be that of Flight Sergeant Dennis Copping, who went missing while ferrying a damaged Kittyhawk with markings "HS-B." If so, it could be associated also with Canadian ace James Francis "Stocky" Edwards. The aircraft's resting place is 200 miles from the nearest town and no evidence of the pilot's remains have been found. A museum may now attempt to recover the aircraft, but there are complications. Video after the jump.
As more details become clear the mystery of how two airplanes could collide in the middle of rural Saskatchewan has Canadian officials puzzled. We also received word late that a DeHavilland Beaver on floats went down with five aboard on a highway in southern British Columbia with near Peachland. Meanwhile, police, Transport Canada and the Transportation Safety Board are investigating how a Lake Buccaneer and a Piper Cherokee came together near the tiny town of St. Brieux, Saskatchewan (population 492) on Saturday, killing both occupants of the Buc and all three on the Cherokee. St. Brieux is a small rural community about 125 miles northeast of the nearest large town, Saskatoon. St. Brieux has an airport, however, and that's where the Cherokee was headed from Nanton, near Calgary in the adjacent province of Alberta. Initial reports said the collision occurred near the airport.
The EAA does not want its name associated with the event that has in the past been publicized as the EAA AirVenture Cup Race, but organizers Friday announced the race will go on. Organizers say they understand that EAA's present position is that all references to EAA be removed from all materials associated with the race. However, EAA will "continue providing support to race volunteers," according to organizers. And the race, which organizers say was founded by EAA and with direct support by Tom Poberezny, will now continue as scheduled with help from another organization.
Cessna introduced a full-size cabin mockup of it newest, biggest jet, the Citation Longitude, at EBACE in Geneva on Monday morning. The swept-wing Longitude will have the roomiest cabin and the longest range of any Citation jet. "It does a lot of things well and will appeal to customers in all corners of the world," said Cessna director of marketing Mike Pierce. In a first for Cessna, the jet will be driven by engines from Snecma, a French manufacturer. Snecma's new-generation Silvercrest design, still in development, will provide up to 11,000 pounds of thrust on takeoff, Cessna said. Longitude will have a range of 4,000 nm at Mach .82 and sell for $25.9 million, with first deliveries scheduled for late in 2017.
Daimler-Benz makes about 1,500 OM640 diesel engines a day, and Austro diverts about 15 minutes worth of production to its factory in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, where it forms the core of the AE300 aerodiesel. In this video, Austro's Peter Lietz takes us through how the company turns a car engine into an airplane engine.
On the first day of the European Business Aviation Convention and Expo in Geneva, Switzerland, Cessna Aircraft announced its largest jet yet a new version of the Citation dubbed "Longitude."
>>> AVWEB FUEL FINDERCURRENT PRICE FOR 100LL: $6.03 (no change from last week)CURRENT PRICE FOR JET A: $5.63 (down 1¢ from last week)Fuel prices provided weekly by AirNav, based on prices from the past 2 weeks. Changes are relative to last week's prices. /TEXT_ONLY-->AVweb's latest "FBO of the Week" is Maverick Air Center at Sioux Falls Regional Air Center/Joe Foss Field (FSD) in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.AVweb reader Lynn Erickson recommended the FBO:My wife and I were traveling from Madison, Wisconsin to Sioux Falls for our godson's confirmation and had decided on Maverick because of the rental car avialablility. The weather was a challenge, and after dodging around a line of storms and landing ahead of another, we were greeted by a very accomodating, experienced line crew who hustled our 182 into their brand-new hangar. The entire facility is new, with obvious attention to what makes a full-service FBO without the pretense. The people working there are an outstanding compliment to the surroundings. Bruce and his crew kept our airplane in for two nights, charged us for one, and gave us a very good price on fuel. This is definitely a GA-of-all-sizes-friendly stop.Keep those nominations coming. For complete contest rules, click here.AVweb is actively seeking out the best FBOs in the country and another one, submitted by you, will be spotlighted here next Monday!
Flying an Army OH58 in the early '80s, we determined that we would not have the fuel to make our planned destination. Passing Kessler Air Force Base, we called the tower for landing instructions.Kessler Tower:"Do you have PPR?" [PPR = "prior permission"]OH58 (not knowing what "PPR" stood for) :"No. [pause] All we have is a transponder and an ADF."Kessler Tower:"Clear to land."Mike Frielvia e-mail
Pipistrel on Monday announced that its Alpha LSA, which the company calls "the perfect training aircraft," is ready to go, at a price of $85,000. The Alpha trainer is equipped with a Rotax 912 80-hp engine and a ballistic chute. The panel features conventional instruments, complemented by a GPS Garmin Aera 500. The Alpha has a "beefed-up" undercarriage to handle rough student landings, and a full-fuel payload of about 500 pounds. Cruise speed is 108 knots and range is 400 miles. In the training role doing touch-and-goes, the aircraft will burn less than 2.5 gallons per hour, according to Pipistrel. The all-new airplane represents "a completely new approach to flight training," Pipistrel said, "at a cost nearly half that of our competitors."
Bombardier introduced two new aircraft, the Learjet 70 and 75, at the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition in Geneva on Monday morning. The jets will be based on the fuselage of the Learjet 40 and 45, but with new Honeywell engines and winglets added to boost performance and efficiency. In the cockpit, the new Garmin G5000 Vision Flight Deck will provide widescreen displays and touchscreen controls. The cabin interior will be based on the Learjet 85, with upgraded seats and a new cabin management system. The company already has orders for more than 50 of the airplanes, Steve Ridolfi, president of Bombardier Business Aircraft, said at EBACE.
The FAA on Monday released some revisions to its rules governing the use of unmanned aircraft systems in the National Airspace System. The changes increase the allowable weight for UAS operated by law enforcement agencies from 4.4 pounds to 25 pounds, and also establish a procedure for those agencies to obtain a waiver to fly UAS. The applicant will first get a waiver for training and performance evaluation, then "when the organization has shown proficiency in flying its UAS," it will receive an operational waiver. The FAA said it has already streamlined its procedures for obtaining waivers and lengthened the duration of operational waivers from 12 months to 24 months.
Evelyn Bryan Johnson, who logged 57,635.4 hours in the air -- more than six years -- during her long flying career, died last week at age 102. Johnson, known as "Mama Bird," taught more than 5,000 students and gave more than 9,000 check rides for the FAA. She ran a small airport in Morristown, Tenn., until she was past 100. "Mrs. Johnson said she would retire when she was old enough, which she never was," reads her New York Times obituary. "Each time she went up in a plane -- her last flight was as a passenger in 2009 -- she said she saw something new and beautiful."
Kickstarter, a crowd-funding site, has reconsidered its rejection of a proposal from Synergy Aircraft, and this week said it would allow the project to go forward. John McGinnis, the aircraft designer, said on Sunday that he had "received an email from a human being" saying that Kickstarter had reconsidered his "incredibly ambitious and creative project" and would be excited to host it. "It's quite the ride out here at the end of the whip," McGinnis said. As of Wednesday, Synergy's project had attracted 51 backers and $13,924. At least $65,000 must be pledged by June 4; otherwise, the donors will get their money back.
Justice Department attorneys representing the FAA Thursday said the agency made "errors" in enacting pilot fatigue rules that exempt cargo carriers and the issue would be revisited.FAA officials originally estimated that including cargo carriers in new pilot rest rules would cost the industry $214 million over ten years.Based at least in part on that cost estimate, the FAA exempted cargo pilots from the rules. Attorneys representing the FAA now say errors in the cost calculation are "sufficient" to review those calculations. The decision to revisit the issue is concurrent with a lawsuit brought against the FAA by UPS' pilots union. And the FAA's attorneys have made a request regarding that action.