Frequent contributor Bill Walker submitted this photo, explaining he was flying his Cessna 180 Skywagon south of his airstrip in Marion County, South Carolina, at 1,500 feet in late March 2025 when he encountered heavy smoke. But unlike recent, damaging forest fires near the coast in neighboring Horry County, there was no need to call the fire department. Local foresters were using a controlled burn to clear out under a large growth of pines. Farmers also burn their fields to control growth of unwanted plants prior to spring planting.”
Are you ready for a fact-based conversation about your airport?
Once residents of Naples, Florida, were made aware of their local airport’s impact, more than 82% said the airport is important to the community.
No dog left behind
Over the weekend of April 25, 2025, the non-profit Sato Project collaborated with Wings of Rescue to drop off 1,500 pounds of supplies in Puerto Rico and fly 110 rescued animals back to the mainland U.S. for adoption.
University aviation program expands to KLOM
Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania, is expanding the reach of its Aviation Management program into the Philadelphia region at Wings Field Airport (KLOM).
Light up your home or hangar
Sporty’s Aviation Gifts has introduced solar-powered runway and taxiway replica lights for pilots to use at home or in the hangar.
Failure to apply carb heat bends Piper
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to apply carburetor heat during the landing approach, which resulted in a loss of engine power from carburetor ice.
Picture of the Day: Flying a flying car
John Chirtea submitted this photo and note: “Pilots Heather and John Chirtea are a father and daughter team and one of five private owners in the country flying the BlackFly eVTOL. They fly it regularly out of their backyard without requiring a runway or a road. This flying car is being developed by Pivotal Aero in Palo Alto, California.”
Carb heat for better or worse
Carburetor heat is a gift from the engineers who created it. Without carb heat I would have disappeared into the woodlands of New England, or Florida, or somewhere in between long ago. That simple knob on the panel of my Cessna has revived my ailing engine on more than one occasion.
Non-profit donates $50,000 to high school plane-building project
Friends of Farmington, a non-profit organization in Farmington, New Hampshire, recently raised more than $50,000 in partnership with the new Lilac Club Casino in Rochester, N.H., for a new student plane-building program at Farmington High School.