First Flight As I write this, today is the 119th anniversary of the Wright Brother’s historic first flight. One hundred nineteen years ago, on December 17, 1903, on the wind-swept sand-dunes of Kill Devil Hill in North Carolina, Orville Wright successfully made the first flight in a heavier-than-air aircraft, the Wright Flyer! He was only airborne […]
Long Beach Airport Festival of Flight is opened to the public annually On Saturday, October 29, 2022, a portion of the west side of Long Beach Airport was opened to the public from 10am – 4pm, for the annual Long Beach Airport Festival of Flight. There were some airplanes on display, including my Cessna 150, […]
100 octane unleaded fuel (G100UL) is now approved! This is really BIG news for General Aviation aircraft owners. On September 1, 2022, the FAA signed the STC (Supplemental Type Certificate) that approves the use of 100-octane unleaded aviation fuel, or ‘avgas’ for all general aviation piston engine aircraft. There is much work yet to be done […]
Tragically, on August 18, 2022, a mid-air collision occurred over the runway where two aircraft were attempting to land, at the same time, at Watsonville Airport, KWVI, in Watsonville, CA. Watsonville, is in Santa Cruz County, south of San Jose. What Happened? A single engine Cessna 152 was overtaken by a twin Cessna 340 over […]
Meeting A Young Record-Setter Belgian Pilot Mack Rutherford, 17, recently completed his RTW, record-setting ‘Round-the-World’ flight in his European built Shark, a single-engine high-performance ultra-light aircraft, with a cruise speed of nearly 300KM/hr, which is about 186 mph! Mack left Sofia, Bulgaria, on his world-record solo attempt months ago on March 23, and arrived back […]
Lots of Planning Last month, after lots of planning, starting in March, I flew my 2 seat Cessna 150 from Long Beach, California, ‘low and slow’, about 85 – 95 knots across the country to Oshkosh! It was awesome! Thirteen legs over four days getting there, twelve legs and three days, returning. I planned fuel […]
Because of the World Economic Forum Annual Gathering that was held in Los Angeles, June 6 – 10, 2022, the FAA implemented several TFR’s, (temporary flight restrictions), effectively creating ‘no fly zones’ for those of us flying smaller aircraft. The President, VP, along with many dignitaries and world leaders were attending the Forum. It was […]
This month, May 2022, there have been two very different but significant aviation events. One aviation event that started out badly ended up with a good outcome, and the other aviation event that started out as a fun event quickly took a turn for the worse, with one fatality. ATC controller steps up during aviation […]
Fun Flying my 92-year-old pilot friend to Flabob Airport, a step back in time In early April, I had the opportunity to give an airplane ride to a pilot friend of mine to Flabob Airport, who is now 92! What a treat! At 92, he is still sharp as a tack but is hard of […]
The March/April 2022 issue of the FAA’s Safety Briefing magazine is ALL about ‘Meet the Maintainers’, referring of course to what we informally refer to as ‘A&Ps’, aka Airframe and Powerplant Mechanics. Or more formally known as an AMT, aviation maintenance technician. Regardless, we need ‘em to maintain our airplanes. Aircraft mechanics ARE vital to […]