June 2010
Monthly Archive
Dreams of flying denied, Jessica Ward found another way to be around planes all day
27 Jun 2010 | : Charters, Large Jet Charters, Medium Jet Charters, Small Jet Charters, Uncategorized
By RICK A. RICHARDS, For General Aviation News
When Jessica Ward was a little girl, her dream was to be a commercial airline pilot. Instead of stick figures of her family, she drew stick figures of airplanes. “I knew for my whole life I wanted to be a pilot,” said Ward.
But so far, her dream is unfulfilled. As a student in flight science at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Ward discovered that she got violently ill with motion sickness each time she tried to fly a plane. She tried everything to cure it — traditional medicine, acupuncture, herbal remedies — but nothing worked. “I realized I wasn’t going to be a pilot,” she said. “It was the worst feeling ever knowing I wasn’t going to realize my dream.”
But instead of moping about it, she regrouped, changed her course of study and went into aviation management. Today, she may not be a pilot but she’s around pilots and airplanes every day as manager of Michigan City Municipal Airport (MGC) in Indiana. It’s a job that both excites and challenges her.
===> Posted on June 27, 2010 by . No comments. © GAN 2010
Flying the Kitfox LSA
25 Jun 2010 | : Charters, Large Jet Charters, Medium Jet Charters, Small Jet Charters, Uncategorized
One of the benefits of the Light Sport Aircraft movement is that it has paved the way for manufacturers of kit aircraft to enter the world of ready-to-fly designs. One of the more recent entries into the fly-away models is the Kitfox S-LSA from Kitfox Aircraft LCC of Homedale, Idaho. It’s designed to appeal to pilots who want something in a sporty high wing, as well as the training market.
The Kitfox S-LSA traces its lineage back more than 25 years to the experimental Kitfoxes. The family resemblance is undeniable, but like most aircraft, the engineering has been refined and improved upon with every incarnation. The company also changed ownership over the years. Today it is owned by John and Debra McBean, who are more than happy to tell you anything you want to know about the LSA or the factory at Homedale Municipal Airport (S66).
The Kitfox LSA looks like…a Kitfox. It has the familiar foldable high wings, gull-wing doors and tricycle gear. Under the cowl is a Rotax 912S, which is pretty much the industry standard when it comes to LSAs.
===> Posted on June 24, 2010 by Meg Godlewski. No comments. © GAN 2010
Barnstormers make second stop on tour
24 Jun 2010 | : Charters, Large Jet Charters, Medium Jet Charters, Small Jet Charters, Uncategorized
Stearman pilot Sarah Wilson, who is participating in the American Barnstormers Tour, files this report from the tour’s second stop:
Ahhhh..smooth air and high overcast for the flight to Lincoln Airport (Y14) in Tea, S.D. Our flight of six had a 20 knot tailwind enroute, leaving us with plenty of time to take some air to air and chase each other down low in the fields. I have to say the flights to each stop are the best part of any tour. Looking over my shoulder and seeing the Stinson, Fleet, and Texaco Waco off my left wing and the New Standard and Travel Air down low in the fields off my right, its hard to believe all these beautiful planes are captured today in the same patch of sky. Lucky me.
Boy "patiently" waiting for plane to finish being refueld so he and his dad can take their biplane ride.
===> Posted on June 23, 2010 by Janice Wood. No comments. © GAN 2010