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Sport Flying With In Flight USA - May 2010
PiperSport – In For the Long Haul?
In Flight USA Exclusive Interview
By Edward S Downs
Piper’s new Light Sport Aircraft, the PiperSport. (Courtesy of Carl Miller)The recently completed Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In and Airshow certainly underscored the ever-growing popularity of Light Sport Aircraft. High on the list of exciting announcements made this year was introduction of the new PiperSport. Piper Aircraft’s entry into the S-LSA market re-kindled this writers desire to learn more about how the “big guys” are dealing with ASTM type certification challenges. Typically, my columns are written in the third person, keeping personal views and comments out of the story. This time is different. My quest to interview Cessna, and now Piper, about their decision and commitment to enter the S-LSA market has a personal side that I need to share.
What's Up? - May 2010
As I Was Saying…
OK, Casablanca it is… A Screenplay by Larry Shapiro
(Second Draft) Playback… Roll ‘em!
The place: (the time: 10:15 p.m. PDT)
It was still a dark and very foggy night. Boggy and I put out our smokes and headed inside:
Note: As I was completing this column I experienced and suffered a terrible personal loss. My loyal and loving companion “Katana” died in my arms. With that said I am just unable to complete this column now, but I will next month.
One person is standing near the runway.
It’s quiet and not well lit:
Senior:
He is speaking to you:
Now it’s next month and I’m back and so is “Katana”. She now resides in a beautiful mahogany box with her picture on it and we are very happy to have her home.
A Different View of Haiti
Landing at PAP - Toussaint Louverture Airport Port au Prince, Haiti. (Susan Terrell)By Susan Terrell
In March I was privileged to spend five days in Port au Prince as the guest of native Haitian Cessna pilot, Reg Auguste. Reg and I met last year through the online forum board of the Cessna Pilot Society. As a student pilot as well as a writer who enjoys stories about interesting people involved in aviation, I appreciated the sense of humor and positive attitude consistently apparent in his posts, as well as his tales of renovating his 172 which reflected a genuine love and enthusiasm for flying.
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.
The Pylon Place - April 2010
A Loving Tribute to a Dear Friend…
By Marilyn Dash
Ruby Red Racing
Where he belonged, flying low, fast and turning left. (Victor Archer)The Warbird and Air Racing Communities lost a great friend last month. Al Goss was flying his beloved T-6, Warlock, with his crew chief, Steve Ballard, when tragedy struck.
Alfred Fredrick Goss Jr., or “Papa Goss” or “Al” to all that knew him, was born Dec.16, 1941 in Shenandoah, Idaho, to Alfred and Lucille Goss.
At 18, Al started flying and soon found employment as a crop duster flying for Pat Tomlinson of M & W Flying in Porterville, Calif. After several years, he migrated to Northern California and flew for several different organizations. Twenty-two years ago, he took a job in the Bakersfield, Calif., area with Old River Crop Dusting, owned by dear friend and fellow air racer, Eddie Van Fossen.
A crop duster by day, his real passion was Warlock and the people who surrounded him and supported him while he raced the pylons at Reno. Two sons, Randy and David, and a daughter, Sandra, survive him but he adopted the rest of us and made everyone feel like family.
What's Up?! - April 2010
M O R E W O R D S!
Larry Shapiro and KatanaBy Larry Shapiro
The first thing that came to mind as I began to write this column was exactly what you would think I would write about and you’d be wrong. There will be no IRS jokes, no April Fools jokes, instead, and I might add, highly inspired by the recent Academy Awards Show, a short/brief attempt at a screenplay description of what has transpired since my March column. Remember, no jokes but a reminder that life itself can be very funny.
This will be a short story about the aftermath of a plane crash and how it affected a small community, the airport community, and an even larger community. The communities will be named at a later column but for now we will refer to them as: PA, East PA, and MP. There, now that takes care of that.
First we need a working name for this S-Play. Let’s see, Post Mortem, naaah, to morbid. Miracle on Beech Street, I think that’s been used before. How about Casablanca? I’ve always loved that name and it hasn’t been used for years, plus, it really works here and I can spell it. Okay, Casablanca it is.
Sun 'N Fun Opens New Exhibit Hanger
The Popular “Parts Exchange” Moves Nearby
The campus of the Sun ‘n Fun International Fly-In & Expo will have a slightly different look for this year’s 36th annual event, which will be held April 13 – 18 at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in Lakeland, Fla.
Sun ‘n Fun officials announced this past fall they would be opening a new Exhibit Hangar for this year’s International Fly-In & Expo and this month announced that the popular “Parts Exchange” aviation consignment operation would be relocated adjacent to the newly commissioned exhibit facility.
You Can't Tame a Raptor
The invasion of the Raptors is coming to the California Capital Airshow. (Staff Sgt. Michael B. Keller, USAF)By Karen Storm
In the wild, birds of prey are very distinctive in their attributes: a sharp, pointed beak; strong feet with razor-sharp talons; keen eyesight, and animals —even other birds— are their food source. Another name used to describe these birds is derived from the Latin word —Rapere— which means to plunder. They are smart, aggressive, cunning, and lethal. Such a bird is called a Raptor.
It is also the name of the United States Air Force’s newest fighter aircraft, a designation made both appropriately and without apology. The F-22 Raptor, manufactured by the team of Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, and Pratt & Whitney, is the world’s only operational fifth-generation fighter, and it is absolutely masterful at conducting its stated mission of Air Dominance.
The Battleship North Carolina's Kingfisher is a One of a Kind Aircraft Rarity
By S. Mark Rhodes
The handsome grandson of the author, Jackson Perkins surveys the deck of the Battleship North Carolina. (Papa Rhodes)In the early 1960’s, the people of North Carolina raised $330,000 (much of it from lunch money from NC school children) to buy the decommissioned USS Battleship North Carolina. The result? The birth of one of North Carolina’s most striking and iconic attractions and a great artifact of US military history. One memorable day in 1961, it chugged up the Cape Fear River and tucked into a conspicuous area across the way from downtown Wilmington, North Carolina where it’s mass and gravity dominates the landscape of this port city.
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.
What's Up - March 2010
Larry ShapiroW O R D S!
By Larry Shapiro
Words: they’re amazing little tools and they can be used so many different ways, some good and some bad.
I started this column a few weeks back as I was thinking how confusing some words in the English language could be. I am in awe of how well the exchange students who stay with us know and use our language. In retrospect I would probably fail if English were going to be my second or third language.
I initially was going to use words like, “pretty” and “ugly.” We’ve all heard, “wow that was pretty ugly.” See what I mean?
Now because of two particular aviation incidents that occurred in the past few weeks, and yes, I know there were more, words still seem to be very confusing to our friends and neighbors outside the aviation community. What does IFR mean to them? What does a standard departure or approach mean? I won’t even try to explain minimums. The hardest question: Why did he take off? It was so foggy!
What's Up?
OK, One More Time
By Larry Shapiro
Jot this down, it may be on the final. I’ve said this so many times through the years but it keeps coming up, so, I am going to say it again. But first, after all the years I have inhabited this earth I have come to this conclusion. There isn’t one job, profession, avocation, hobby, marriage, friendship that doesn’t require some kind of salesmanship… absolutely none. Want me to say that again? I won’t, just read it again.
Now back to that question that may be on the final: If you know me at all, either by reputation, friendship, or a business relationship such as being a client or customer of our humble, meager, and struggling business you must have heard me say this more than once. You can’t sell anyone an airplane! If you do or try to you have to lie, cross your fingers, or be really desperate to make the deal.
Flying in the Mountains
IFR Means I Follow Roads
By Alan Smith
Flying light aircraft in the mountains, especially during the winter months, has its own set of rules. Some are fairly obvious while others are a bit more subtle.
Flying a light plane through rugged mountain territory is done without some of the emergency options a pilot has while crossing the flatlands or wide valleys below. It should be clear, for example, to any pilot as he or she moves through the high peaks and canyons of a mountain range that fields in which he could safely put the airplane in the event of engine failure are few and far between.
Red Flag: "The First Ten Missions"
By Richard VanderMeulen
Tasked with the SEAD or Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses role an F-16CJ Viper of the 20th Fighter Wing, Shaw AFB, SC bristles with armaments. On the wingtips are a pair of AIM-120 AMRAAMs for use against enemy aircraft, inboard are an AIM-9 Sidewinder for close-in self defense against enemy aircraft on the right wing and an ACMI pod capable of constantly updating the aircraft’s position on the range complex. Further inboard is the primary armament, an AGM-88 HARM (High Speed Anti-Radiation Missile) used to destroy enemy radar sites. Under the nose is carried a HARM targeting pod and Lantirn laser designator pod for identifying targets at a distance and designating them with a laser for precision guided bombs. (Richard VanderMeulen)
Red Flag tracks its existence and basic format to lessons learned during the Vietnam War, when United States Air Force analysts noted a dramatic drop in mission survivability and dropping success rates among USAF pilots. According to past Red Flag sources, “After Vietnam we figured out that if you survived the first ten missions your chance of survival went up dramatically. Red Flag simulates the first ten missions a pilot flies in combat.” Red Flag however allows pilots to fly those first ten missions in a learning environment where the only missiles they face are represented in computer models and the closest they come to dying is hearing “you’re dead” on the radio.
Low Flying with the Swift Intruders
By Russ Albertson
Close pass by LCAC 33 (Mel Turner)
“Just because you don’t have wings, doesn’t mean you can’t fly.” The US Navy’s hovercraft designated the LCAC (Landing Craft Air Cushion) is the perfect example of this. This machine combines the qualities of a boat and a helicopter. It can hover on land or water, float or fly across the wave tops.
The LCAC was built to fill the Navy’s need for rapid delivery of men and equipment from ships to shore. This craft can carry up to 75 tons of cargo or vehicles at 60 knots up to the beach and even further inland if needed. It can fly over wet or marshy ground, and snow and ice or no barriers as long as the surface is fairly flat.
New to Flying?
By Ed Downs
Let’s assume the reader of this month’s column is not an aviator, but would like to be. Perhaps you are a pilot and know of a friend who would like to learn to fly, but just can’t afford it. Is a Sport Pilot certificate really worth looking into? Would it be better to simply wait until you can get into private pilot training and be a “real pilot?” You have a lot of company if those questions are floating around your enthusiastic, but confused head.
Random Thoughts on Preventing Runway Incursions
By Charles Jackson
Those of us who fly out of Hollister (California) Airport are fortunate to have a very good general aviation airport with a long, wide main runway and a very much needed crosswind runway.
But, like many uncontrolled airports with crossing runways, runway incursions are an ongoing threat, one that must be guarded against constantly. Because of this, a look at our hazards and the precautions we take might be helpful to those flying out of similar airports.
We have quite a mix of traffic – light airplanes coming and going as well as doing flight instruction, fire fighting aircraft, gliders being towed and landing, even a few jets. It can be busy, especially on weekends, and there have been close calls, but so far no runway accidents.
Probably our biggest handicap on this airport is the fact that the approach ends (the ends from which takeoffs begin) of the two runways are not visible from each other due to the hangars on the main ramp. Add to this the fact that the firefighting aircraft, because of their weight, cannot use the crosswind runway for takeoff.
WWII Instructor Rebuilding Flying Machine
Just like the one he used to teach pilots
By Gerald Lush
Hardin County Magazine
John Raptis with his World War II era Stearman PT-18 (Gerald Lush)John Raptis drives to the Elizabethtown airport almost every day - not to fly, but to work on the airplane that he will pilot.
Raptis, who will turn 90 in January, is rebuilding a Stearman PT-18, a biplane used in World War II as a military trainer. Based at Morton Air Academy, Blythe, Calif., Raptis used similar airplanes to teach Army Air Corps pilots to fly during the war.