In Flight USA Article Categories
In Flight USA Articles
Editorial: In Flight USA Hereby Resolves ….
By In Flight USA Staff
Yep, it is time for those New Year’s resolutions. We all make them, sometimes we even remember them, but the tone turned a bit more serious for the Team at In Flight USA this year. To be sure, our annual “what’s up for the new year” roundtable started off with the usual resolution thoughts, lose 10 pounds, get more exercise, eat healthier food, and be kind to needy flight instructors, but then we got down to business. And 2018 has a lot of business to deal with. We would like to share our thoughts for 2018, as they will possibly affect all our readers.
First, In Flight USA commits to maintaining a format that is more like a monthly aviation newspaper than a slick newsstand magazine. The vast majority of aviation publications have article and news cutoff dates that are as much as 90 days before distribution date. This means such publications are fine for reading about past events but do not carry timely news. In Flight USA typically has an editorial cutoff date that is within five days of distribution, meaning what you read in our pages is happening NOW! We encourage our advertisers, aviation event planners, and those pursuing newsworthy activities to contact In Flight USA by phone or email to let us know what they have going on, so we can help promote your event at no cost.
Our staff monitors aviation press releases daily and stays in tune with news from the Washington “swamp,” so you will be kept up to date. Sure, this means we go through a process every month that looks something like Lois Lane turning in that last-minute report about Superman to her somewhat erasable editor, Perry White, at the Daily Planet (yeah, we are nerds), but it is worth it. Fortunately, our editors are not erasable (depending upon who you ask). So, our tradition of timely ads and news remains, but we have spotted some areas for improvement and expansion.
Homebuilders Workshop: Quickbuilds – the Long but mostly the Short of It
By Ed Wischmeyer
In the beginning of homebuilding were plans. Then came complete plans that included details like the canopy and the cowling. Then along came the first kits, which had all the materials you needed for the plane, a major advancement, even if it was all raw stock. Perhaps it was the Christen Eagle that first had pieces more or less ready to assemble, but the FAA started to get concerned that the builder wasn’t doing enough work.
Then the arguments proliferated, real and specious. One argument that prevailed was that a builder didn’t need to drive all 50,000 rivets for “education and recreation,” the FAA’s accepted motivations for homebuilding. A few hundred would be enough. And a builder shouldn’t have to build all 36 wooden wing ribs… you get the idea.
Editorial: How Much!
By Ed Downs
The first major aviation tradeshow of the 2017 season is just around the corner, and the timing is perfect for those who want to get away from what will probably be the coldest time of the year. How about a visit to the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo, to be held in Sebring, Fla., on Jan. 25-28? This show is dedicated to recreational flying, featuring an expanding range of S-LSA aircraft and kit planes that can be flown by those exercising the privileges of a Sport Pilot. This category of flying was really taking off in 2008 but took a terrible hit when the economy collapsed. With the economic crisis seeming to level off, the world of S-LSA’s is stronger than ever, with some fantastic planes on the market.
However, there is an “elephant in the room.” When the Sport Plane rule passed in late 2004, expectations had been set that this new category of airplane would drastically reduce the cost of a new plane, perhaps with prices in the low $40K range. Actual prices have ended up starting in the $100K range, often reaching prices of above $150K. What happened? Why can’t you just get a great little airplane for under $20K, like we did in the 1960s? For that matter, why do you have to spend more than $250K for a new Cessna 172? Where do these prices come from?
EAA Proposes ADS-B Solution for Light-Sport Aircraft
Aviation World Record Achieved for Coast-to-Coast Flight
By EAA Staff
(eaa.org)
Michael Combs and his son Daniel Routh celebrate in Charleston, South Carolina, after unofficially setting a point-to-point transcontinental world record. (Courtesy of Flight for the Human Spirit)Michael Combs earned a sixth aviation world record in his Hope One Remos GX light-sport aircraft after completing a coast-to-coast flight on Saturday, June 7, as part of his Flight for Human Spirit project.
If Combs’ flight is verified by the National Aeronautic Association and ultimately the Federation Aeronautique Internationale, it would establish a new point-to-point transcontinental speed record for this class of aircraft.
Between April 2010 and September 2012, Combs flew for the Flight for Human Spirit project through all 50 states and British Columbia, Canada. He departed Ontario International Airport in California at 5:27 a.m. on June 5 and landed at Charleston, South Carolina, 34 hours, 1 minute later. Flight for the Human Spirit’s mission is to spread the message that it is never, ever too late to follow your dreams. This was Combs’ third attempt at the transcontinental record.
Editorial: Safety Last: Lies and Cover-Ups Mask Roots of Small Plane Carnage
By Ed Downs
Does that title grab your attention? It should, as it is emblazoned across the USA Today web link to an article written by Thomas Frank (with 11 additional “contributors” listed at the end of the article), an investigative reporter for the print publication, USA Today. The print article was entitled, “Unfit for Flight,” but the web version seeks to grab readers’ attention with a title smacking of yellow journalism, (a type of journalism that presents little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines and photos to sell more newspapers) complete with a full-color photo of a crashed helicopter engulfed in flames. To be sure, the title, photo and article are designed to incite fear and mistrust of General Aviation by the reading and web-viewing public. Written in six short “installments,” accusations are made that General Aviation is an industry full of large companies that do not care about safety, an FAA that is obscuring the facts, longstanding deficiencies in design that go unchallenged and multiple lawsuits that prove just how dangerous General Aviation is. Now do we have your attention?
Kitfox: 30 Years and Looking to the Future
Affectionally known as The Mule this aircraft was originally built as a Kitfox test aircraft for prototype reasons. The Mule ended up being an Bronze Lindy award winner at Oshkosh in 2010 with the 7 cylinder Rotec Radial engine then was the first to fly the new O-233 LSA engine with their electronic ignition. Then followed by the first kit install of the Rotax 912iS and 912 iS SPORT.. then converted from Tail wheel to Tri-gear. (Kitfox Aircraft LLC)Kitfox, the iconic kit plane that first hit the market as what was basically a two place, cabin ultralight, is celebrating 30 years of continuous production. Introduced in 1984, the Kitfox Model I was powered by a 50 hp. two-stroke engine contained in the classic look of a round cowl. It caught on with Model II and Model III versions following during the next five years. The gross weight and engine options were expanded with each new model. All versions had a common feature that remains alive today, the ability to buy the entire kit in a single box, including engine, and assemble it in minimum time. 1989 saw a “new” Kitfox arrive, with the introduction of the Model IV, having a higher gross weight, different wing and completely revised flight control system. The “Speedster” version of the Model IV captured the imagination of every classic aircraft lover and Kitfox was soon outselling the “big three” GA aircraft manufactures combined.
Zenith Aircraft Ships 10,000th Set of Plans
Zenith Aircraft has sold over 10,000 sets of plans and shipped them out to over 50 countries.Zenith Aircraft Company has now shipped 10,000 sets of plans to aircraft builders in more than 50 countries. Most sets of plans are sent with complete or partial aircraft kits, though some go to builders who prefer to scratch-build the aircraft.
Over the past four decades, prolific aeronautical engineer Chris Heintz has developed a dozen aircraft designs. Today, Zenith Aircraft Company markets kits for four of Chris Heintz’ most popular and versatile concepts: the original STOL CH 701 Sky Jeep, the STOL CH 750, the CH 750 Cruzer, and the low-wing CH 650. Additional Heintz designs are built and sold by Zenith’s sister company: Zenair Ltd, in Canada.
Sebring Expo Introduces Homebuilding Workshops for 2014
Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, is celebrating the first international delivery of the new Cessna TTx, the world’s fastest commercially produced and certified fixed-gear single-engine aircraft, to a customer in Thailand.
The TTx was certified in July and enters the global marketplace as Cessna’s all-composite aircraft designed specifically for comfort, speed and luxury.
Kiatichai Monsereenusorn, managing director of Kiattana Transport, accepted his aircraft in a handover ceremony in Independence, Kansas, saying the TTx will allow him to quickly visit multiple business sites per day, and do so in a comfortable, luxurious aircraft that is also fun to pilot.
Editorial: It Would Have Been a Good One
By Ed Downs
A funny thing happened on the way to this month’s editorial view. The topic was going to be a treaties on words buried in the text of Title 49 of the United States Code of Federal Law. Title 49 deals with transportation in the U.S. and defines the fundamental responsibilities of the FAA. Within Title 49 is the Code of Federal Regulations Title 14, known by us aviators as the Federal Aviation Regulations. Title 49 contains five basic mandates with which the FAA must comply, including the need to “protect the right to navigable airspace.” Yes, flying in the U.S. is a right, not a privilege. Not all “rights” in this country are contained in the Constitution’s “Bill of Rights.” Many are buried deep within millions of legislative legal words, often lost and alone. The danger to aviators, and many others, is that these rights can be quickly, almost secretly, taken away by amendments added to almost any legislation working its way through congressional committees. This month’s rant was going to warn readers of just how important it is to actively support and understand this “right to fly,” remembering that the United States is the only country in the world that views their airspace in this manner. Then this writer’s cell phone lit up.
Goodies and Gadgets - February 2012
Something New for the Flying Community
Aviation Supplies at the Palo Alto Airport will donate $2.25 from every Aviator’s Pilot Tote sold to help feed the hungry. Buy one today at the store or online at www.bobsaviationsupplies.com. (Photo courtesy Aviation Supplies)Aviation Supplies, operating out of the City of Palo Alto, Calif., Airport is owned and operated by Bob Walls who has thought of a system whereby he, along with his customers, and aviators throughout this great nation can be of help in feeding malnourished people. Bob has invested in having made what he has called the “Aviator’s Pilot Tote.” It’s made of an extremely versatile vegetable fiber known for its strength and durability. Jute fiber is 100 percent bio-degradable, reusable, renewable, safe to dispose in landfill, recyclable and thus environmentally friendly.
On the other hand, the plastic totes that are given to us by the food industry are made of petroleum-based material and do not decompose. We find them flying around on our freeways, clinging to fences along America’s roadways and floating in our beautiful rivers and oceans. Jute is the answer in helping to clean our home – planet Earth!
The Aviator’s Pilot Tote measures 17-inches wide by 18-inches high, has twin handles and is printed on both sides (in green) with the words “Aviator’s Pilot Tote.” It can handle a 28-pound load.
Fly in or drive in to Aviation Supplies, or visit www.bobsaviationsupplies.com to purchase an Aviator’s Pilot Tote for $4.95 and Aviation Supplies will donate $2.25 of the purchase toward feeding malnourished people.
On the Cover - January 2012
Flight Design’s CTLS in flight over Page, Arizona. (Dan Payne)This month’s In Flight USA cover is provided courtesy of Flight Design acknowledging all Light Sport Aircraft that will be the highlight of Expo at Sebring, Fla, scheduled for Jan. 19-22. The cover photo by Dan Payne is of Flight Design’s CTLS and was taken in Page, Arizona. The owner of the plane is Larry Jefts from Hawaii.
Light Sport Flying With In Flight USA - July 2011
Strange Plane?
By Ed Downs
No, the title does not mean to imply that the airplane you are about to fly is “strange,” but that you are strange to the airplane. In other words, that slick little S-LSA in which you are about to take a demo at AirVenture is just fine, but you may not be.
Many of those reading this month’s column will do so while at EAA AirVenture 2011. A subset of that “many” will be touring the wide selection of S-LSAs on display, with some of you signed up to take a “fly-to-buy” demo. The question is, are you really ready to fly that LSA for the first time and give it a fair evaluation? How are your skills when it comes to jumping into an airplane that is quite different than anything you have flown before?
Homebuilder's Workshop - May 2011
The Steps of Iowa
By Ed Wischmeyer
When I got my new (to me) RV-8A, the boarding step was broken and needed to be replaced. No problem, says I. I’ve owned an RV before. I’ve bought used homebuilts before.
I should have known better.
But on with the show. The first part of the process was to drill out all of the rivets holding the old step on, some going through the steel step assembly, some going through the wing root fairing, some through both. Drill ‘em all out, tug on the step, and, ta, da! Nothing.
Oh. There’s a bolt inside the fuselage. Okay…
Light Sport Flying With In Flight USA - April 2011
Sport Pilots and Flight Planning
By Ed Downs
Is there something different about a shiny, new Sport Pilot planning a cross country flight and what we might expect to see from a typical pilot coming out of the pre-GPS world that preceded the late 1990s? It is possible that there is, and pre 90s aviators might be able to learn a thing or two.
As spring fights its way into existence to end a long, cold winter, many are planning flying trips to a variety of business or recreational locations. A lot of aircraft owners are beginning to realize that their passion for recreational flying may dribble over into the more mundane transportation needs for which they have used the airlines in the past. Policy and pricing changes within the airline industry have become increasingly customer hostile, service to cities other than major hubs has been further reduced, and the TCA continues to add significant inconveniences to the travel experience. The fact is, point-to-point travel time for most trips of less than 600 miles is significantly less in the typical S-LSA than by modern airliner. The bottom line is that many more folks will turn to their recreational hobby planes for day-to-day travel needs.
Light Sport Flying With In Flight USA - January 2011
What the Heck is an E-LSA?
By Ed Downs
The subject of aircraft certification, be it standard, special or experimental can make even the most geeky tax lawyer think they have fallen down the rabbit hole, especially when talking about Experimental aircraft. So let’s keep this month’s column about the real world of buying, selling and using an E-LSA airplane. The fact is, one is very likely to come across a “for sale” ad featuring an E-LSA that can look inviting. The price may be quite attractive, but just what the heck is an E-LSA?
First, let’s take a general look at any airplane that is certified as an “Experimental” airplane. Actually, there is no such thing as simply an “Experimental” airplane, even if the word “Experimental” is clearly written on the side of the plane. Experimental certification always carries a second word (or two) which describes what sub-part of Experimental we are talking about, and there are numerous sub-parts. For example one might see a nifty little RV-12 (it meets the FAA definition of an LSA) from Van’s Aircraft sitting on the ramp with the word “Experimental” prominently displayed. This RV-12 may have been sold as a kit that meets the new FAA “51% rule” and was certified as Experimental-Amateur Built. This means the builder of the plane can perform all of his/her own maintenance, make changes to the design (including engine changes) conduct the annual condition inspection and pretty much fly when and where he/she wants. Sitting next to that RV-12 might be a weird looking war bird from some country whose name you cannot pronounce, made by a manufacturer best known for cranking out refrigerators that do not work. Our “war bird” will also have the word “Experimental” clearly displayed, but is certified as Experimental-Exhibition. This critter may have significant maintenance issues and require each and every flight to be approved by the FAA. Get the point?
A Bird's Eye View of Northeastern Washinton State Via Triking
Trike landing. (Spokane Regional CVB)By Roy A. Barnes
When Denny Reed of Backcountry Aerosports www.trikeschool.com of Cheney, Washington was first introduced to a trike, his reaction was quite negative. He refused to set foot in what he deemed a “flying weedeater.” But as time has passed, Reed has become one of the Light Sport and Ultralight Aircrafts’ best human friends, taking willing flyers like myself up, up, and away in his $60,000 motorized and natural flying machine that has a 7:1 glide ratio. It reaches speeds of 40-60 mph, and has a 34-foot wingspan and 10-foot fuselage, plus a range of 270 miles. The experimental aircraft can be transported in a pick up and set up in 40 minutes.
Fly with a Snowmobile Engine?
Rethinking the Rotax 912
By Ed Downs
Long used in U. S. experimental aircraft and many certified European aircraft, the Rotax 912 has become the almost-standard engine of choice for S-LSA aircraft designers. But, ask most American pilots about flying behind a Rotax, and you get the “What, me fly with a snowmobile engine?” question followed by a wide-eye look of horror when told that the 912 delivers its maximum rated 100 horsepower at 5800 rpm. Most simply equate the name Rotax with the famed two stroke engines of the Ski-Doo snowmobile and Sea-Doo watercraft. Many conclude that the Rotax 912 is simply a variation of its well-known two-stroke counterparts. Nothing could be further from reality.
Sport Flying With In Flight USA - April 2010
The LSA’s of Sun ‘n Fun
By Ed Downs
Many readers will be at the 2010 Sun ‘n Fun Airshow, or will be following reports of this event over the next few months. With more than 100 S-LSA offerings now available, trying to decide which of these great airplanes will be best for personal use or flight training is challenging. You may be asking yourself, does this S-LSA really meet the industry consensus standards (referred to as “ASTM Standards”) and is the manufacturer ready to support the plane, long term? The concern of continuing support is especially important for S-LSA’s being imported from distant lands.
Sport Flying With In Flight USA - March 2010
Where the Rubber Meets the Runway
By Ed Downs
This column has been addressing the Sport Pilot rule and Special Light Sport Aircraft (S-LSA) primarily from the perspective of general education. In others word, what this Sport Pilot movement is all about and how you, the reader, can apply Sport Pilot to your flying. The frustrating part of both writing and reading such accounts of these exciting, new, flying opportunities is that it lacks the “let’s go flying” side of the story. To be sure, S-LSA’s are being seen more often, but in general, one can wander around most airports and not see this new breed of airplane.