A STEM-focused Aviation Mobile Lab in a former school bus is cleared for takeoff for students in grades 1 through 12 in Pasco County, Florida, to learn aviation skills and techniques. The lab, created with help from Jay LeBoff of STEMPilot in Waterbury, Conn., provides students with STEMPilot’s hands-on learning experience through an instructive curriculum […]
Briefings
New name for Glass Simulator Center
AURORA, Illinois — The Glass Simulator Center has a new name: SIMPRO Flight Training. Located on Aurora Municipal Airport (KARR), 35 miles west of Chicago, SIMPRO Flight Training center was recently remodeled with an updated pilot lounge and new classroom with the latest audio-visual equipment. SIMPRO pilots arriving for training have access to discounts on […]
Retrofit market boosts avionics sales
According to the latest figures from the Aircraft Electronics Association avionics sales topped $1.73 billion in the first nine months of 2017. The third-quarter 2017 Avionics Market Report shows that worldwide business and general aviation avionics sales were up 4.1% compared to the first nine months of 2016, which saw sales of $1.66 billion. Sales during the third-quarter […]
Lancair Builder Assistance Center takes off
UVALDE, Texas — Lancair’s first production Mako customer was welcomed last week to the newly-launched Builder Assistance Center at the company’s Texas headquarters. Housed in a 10,000-square-foot climate-controlled hangar, the Builder Assistance Center provides a dedicated work environment for Lancair kit owners to complete critical aircraft assemblies or the entire aircraft. In-house factory support, including […]
Run the Runway at 6B6
By JAMES E. ELLIS Minute Man Air Field is a thriving general aviation airport about 25 miles west-northwest of Boston, mostly in Stow, Massachusetts. Owned by Don and Nancy McPherson, the airport has always tried to be open and inviting to the public. It starts with Nancy’s Airfield Café, an airport restaurant run by Nancy […]
TruTrak Vizion STC approved for Cessna 177s
EAA STC has received FAA approval to begin selling STCs for the Cessna 177 series for the installation of the TruTrak Vizion Autopilot. The Approved Model List (AML) for this STC also includes models F through S of the Cessna 172 series. The Vizion autopilot is a two-axis system with vertical and horizontal navigational capabilities, […]
Collegiate Drone Challenge takes off
The Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA), an association for model aircraft flying hobbyists, and the University Aviation Association (UAA) have launched the Collegiate Drone Challenge. The UAS4STEM Collegiate Challenge is designed for university students to learn, practice, and demonstrate professional unmanned aircraft system (UAS) knowledge, mission planning, flight skills, data collection, analysis, and safety practices […]
FAA chief: Collaboration key to maintaining U.S. leadership in aviation
As his term at the FAA comes to an end early next year, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta told members of the Aero Club in Washington, D.C., the “only way forward” is to foster more “constructive relationships” in the aviation community. “The result is the safest, largest, most complex, and most efficient air transportation system the […]
Air Plains hits milestone
WELLINGTON, Kansas — Air Plains Services, which specializes in extreme performance upgrades for a variety of general aviation aircraft models, marked a milestone in September 2017 with its 2,500th 180-hp engine upgrade for Cessna 172s. The milestone 172XP Extreme Performance engine upgrade was installed on N733EA, a 1977 Cessna 172N. “The rate of climb with […]