AOPA Pilot Blog: Reporting Points

You never know where you’ll find love!  A swan named Whooper has been searching for a new mate for two years after losing his partner, but one must question his new choice. Whooper has fallen in love with a dark grey Eurocopter EC155, reports the Daily Mail.  The swan has had its wings clipped for its own safety after approaching the helicopter every time it lands near the  Les Mielles Golf and Country Club on the Channel Island of Jersey.

Flying car didn’t live up to its name.  Two pilots sustained minor injuries after crashing a Maverick, a powered parachute/car built in Florida, reports AvWeb.  AvWeb Editor Russ Niles was scheduled to fly the craft next.

Wasn’t the accident enough?  It was bad enough when pilot Kelly Thompson had to make an emergency landing on a road adjacent to Cottonwood Municipal Airport. But now, after a joint investigation by the FAA and the Cottonwood Police Department, Thompson is being charged with operating an airplane without a proper license, operating a not-airworthy aircraft, and reckless aircraft operations, reports the Verde Independent.

He’s taking on the FAA.  Pilot Keith George has decided to challenge the FAA’s proposed 180-day suspension to his commercial pilot’s certificate because of an emergency landing he did on Wisconsin’s Interstate 94, reports the Journal Times.  The FAA charged George with four counts related to the incident, including operating his aircraft in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger life or property of another after he allegedly overshot the runway on a normal landing, turning the event into an emergency.

What was he hiding? Singer/actor Marc Anthony’s private jet was delayed from leaving Mexico’s Veracruz International Airport after he tried to avoid a customs check, reports Latino Daily News. The singer was asked to deplane and go through the airport security checkpoint and refused. His jet was held until he complied.

Eye in the sky. The West Vancouver Police Department and the Squamish Royal Canadian Mounted Police have a new weapon in catching speeders – the RCMP’s regional traffic patrol helicopter, Air One.  The two departments recently teamed together to catch eight speeders posted speed limit on the Sea to Sky Highway, reports the Province.

Justice scales and a helicopter?  A statue of Lady Liberty sitting atop Ohio’s Marion County Courthouse was holding more than a set of scales.  In addition to the scales, Lady Justice is also holding a 9-inch, remote-control helicopter, reports FOX News.  The owner, video producer Terry Cline, has been trying to get the helicopter back, to no avail.

It’s a highway, it’s a runway! A pilot was forced to make an emergency landing on highway U.S. 50 in Delta, Colo., reports the Montrose Press.  The pilot told local police that his single engine aircraft experienced a power failure.

The AOPA Foundation recently announced its new Giving Back program, created to do these things:

• Award grants of up to $10,000 to 10 nonprofit groups that perform charitable work through GA;
• Award flight training scholarships to individuals who want to learn to fly or pursue aviation careers;
• Provide free memberships to armed forces personnel who want to be part of the GA community; and
• Provide memberships through our AOPA AV8RS program that gives teens an opportunity to learn about and explore the world of aviation.

The one that intrigued me was the the first one.  I know of so many general aviation nonprofits out there doing work, so below is my list of organizations, in no particular order, I think should apply for a grant.

1. Wings of Grace Ministries –  I recently had the pleasure of writing about this Melbourne, Fla.-based nonprofit, which offers free flight training to youths age 13 to 18.  $10,000 would allow founder Dwight Bell to bring more youths — who are all members of AOPA’s AV8RS program – into the fold.
2. Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum — In May 2012, CNN profiled this Compton, Calif.-based program that provides flight training for inner city youth out of Compton Airport. As a minority myself, I believe strongly in the power of aviation to put — and keep — these youths on the right path. And I applaud any program that brings more diversity to the industry.
3. Girls With Wings — I first learned about pilot Lynda Meeks’ efforts to inspire young girls to fly when she appeared on the Airplane Geeks podcast on Nov. 8, 2011.  She offers scholarships, female role models, and events across the country designed for women and girls.  A foundation grant would help Meeks give away more scholarshps.
4. Candler Field Museum — Last month, I interviewed Ron Alexander, a retired Air Force and Delta Air Lines pilot, after he was inducted into the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame.  One of his claims to fame is this museum, created to document the history of the original Atlanta airport, originally named Candler Field. Part of the effort includes a partnership with the Candler Field Flying Club, which has youths work in the museum in return for scholarships to learn to fly.
5. Tuskegee Airmen Scholarship Foundation — this Los Angeles-based organization provides scholarships to  deserving young men and women based on the criteria of responsible citizenship are character and achievement, rather than ethnic origin.
6. Professional Women Controllers — I met officers of this organization that promotes careers in air traffic control at this year’s Women In Aviation conference and did a profile on their efforts.  I’m sure a foundation grant would help fund their education and career development programs.
7. Air Race Classic — among the things this organization is dedicated to are encouraging and educating current

   and future women pilots and increase

   public awareness, two causes that fit well with the foundation’ mission.  Read my story on this organization here.

8. Pilots N Paws — I’m a dog lover, so I know first hand how much people love their pets. This nonprofit serves as a facilitator for people and organizations who rescue, shelter or foster animals, and volunteer pilots and aircraft owners willing to assist with the transportation of animals.
9. Recreational Aviation Foundation — this organization, a friend to AOPA, protects recreational air strips across the country, making them available for general aviation pilots to use.  Read here about the organization’s latest advocacy efforts.
10. Youth Aviation Adventure  – I’m in favor of anything that helps show kids and teens all the joys of being involved with aviation, which is why I like this program. In a single day youths go to participating airports to learn all about aviation, with the goal of inspiring them.

This was a test. It was only a test.  Police in Loxford, Australia, have stopped their search for the wreckage of an airplane crash after determining it was only helicopter training in the area, reports the Newcastle Herald.

It was a crash party.  Olympia, Wash.-based Aircare Solutions Group celebrated the completion of its eighth full-motion aircraft cabin simulator by simulating several crash landing scenarios, reports the News Tribune.  Company executives, staff and other businesses who helped build the simulator were allowed to test the simulators and held a barbecue lunch after to discuss their experiences.

Drones hunt pigs, deliver marriage proposal. Electrical engineers Cy Brown and James Palmer are using camera-mounted drones to hunt and kill feral pigs causing damage to land in Louisiana, reports ARS Technica.  Photographer Jason Muscat used an RC helicopter camera and mounted an engagement ring to propose to his now-fiancee in San Francisco, reports Peta Pixel.

It was the least he could do.  Actor Charlie Sheen sent a private jet to pick up his ex-wife Denise Richards in New York on Mother’s Day so that she could get home to Los Angeles in time to take their daughters to school the next day, reports ContactMusic.com. Richards currently has temporary custody of Sheen’s twin boys with ex-wife Brooke Mueller.

The 2013 Valdez, Alaska Short Takeoff and Landing competition is over for another year. This is the way legends are made. Enjoy this YouTube video.

It’s not a competition you want to have. Corporate Jet Investor has looked at the data and concluded that, compared to 2012, jet deliveries will be down and 2013 will enter history as the worst since 2004. The General Aviation Manufacturers Association looked at the same data and concluded that 2012 was the worst year. Both surveys point to the fact that it can only get better from here. Corporate Jet Investor’s Alasdair Whyte notes that past news stories from EBACE, a jet show starting May 21 in Geneva, Switzerland, have reported a turnaround in the economy every year since 2009. In 2008 a show-news story even said the good times were here to stay. “Rather than pretending that everything is great, we should be honest and say that the market is still tough. Most companies have adapted to this new world. Life goes on. We are, hopefully, at the turning point for the global market now. But as the stories above show, you cannot hype your way out of a downturn,” Whyte said. His company forecast says manufacturers will deliver 44 percent fewer aircraft in 2013 than in 2008. While the light jet market is “suffering badly,” large aircraft deliveries are down, too. “Learjet prices are falling,” the report adds. Speculation not found in the report is that Beechcraft deeply discounted its remaining Hawker jets before selling them all. Beechcraft may sell off its jet business this summer.

On an upbeat note, here are new jets coming down the line:

Bombardier is offering its Learjet 70, 75, and 85 models this year along with the Global 7000 in 2014 and the Global 8000 in 2018.

Bombardier has announced the Challenger 350. Startup customer is NetJets in 2014.

Embraer’s Legacy 500, a competitor of the Challenger 300, will appear in public for the first time at EBACE this week with deliveries starting next year. The Legacy 450 will be delivered in 2015.

Pilatus has announced its PC-24 jet.

Nextant Aerospace is upgrading its Nextant 400XT (based on the Hawker 400) to the 400XTi. The company captured the early lead in a race with Beechcraft to modernize the Hawker 400 fleet after the former Hawker Beechcraft delayed its modificaton program six weeks due to cash-flow problems. The upgrade includes two 3,050-lbst Williams FJ44-3AP engines. The choice of engines is a heatedly contested argument between Nextant and Beechcraft.

While Beechcraft has no jets coming down the soon-to-be-sold jet line, upgrades to the Hawker 400XPR continue. Winglets developed  at Sierra Industries will be certified in the fall and made available for installation at Beechcraft service centers. Originally, certification of the winglets was expected in January 2013 with deliveries in February. The 400XPR also includes conversion to 3,200-pound-thrust Williams FJ44-4A-32 engines.

Cessna is coming out this year with its M2, the new profit-saving (Cessna-saving?) Sovereign, the new Citation X, and in the first quarter of 2014, the first flight of the Latitude with certification in 2015. The Mach 0.86 Longitude (Cessna’s biggest jet for the next five years) will enter service in 2017. A single-engine turboprop is still in testing, still not ready for public announcement. The SMA diesel-powered piston-engine Skylane JT-A will be certified in June.

Dassault announced the super-midsize Falcon 2000S and 2000LXS.

Gulfstream is working on a replacement for the G450/550 mysteriously code-named the P42. The Gulfstream 650 is making its first appearance at EBACE.

Not long ago Diamond’s plant in Canada laid off all but 51 workers. That 51st employee was there to oversee the paperwork on the Diamond D-Jet. At the time I was told that there were still partially completed airframes on the line, and when those were delivered as new aircraft, employees would be called back. Now 34 workers have returned, including those needed to lay up more composite airframes. Through all this the Diamond headquarters in Austria has operated normally. A Diamond plant in China continues to churn out 30 to 40 four-passenger DA40 aircraft a year to be delivered in Asia, at this point meaning China. That plant has never built a gasoline-powered model, putting a Thielert diesel engine on the very first one. Only now is the plant transitioning to Austro diesel engines, the engine Diamond turned to when Thielert hit financial and mechanical problems (now solved). Thielert, with its Centurion marketing and warranty arm, is on the verge of emerging from bankruptcy–meaning someone is going to buy it. Whoever does that will suddenly have a family of diesel engines, right up to a 350-hp certified but undeveloped engine.  There are already negotiations in progress which the company can’t disclose. The financial questions that led to Frank Thielert leaving the company will be resolved soon, too, by a German court. Thielert engines have one problem–time between replacement. That means you trash the engine (destructive testing is the nicer phrase) when it reaches 1,500 hours rather than overhaul it. Overhaul might be offered in the future by the new owner. Purchasing the engine is still economical if you happen to live in Europe where avgas is $12.58 or in Niger where it is $22 a gallon. Diesel engines cost 30 percent more but you save 24 to 35 percent on fuel–a good deal for those flying 500 hours a year.

Better safe than sorry.  A Hawker 4000 jet carrying golfing star Sergio Garcia was forced to make an emergency landing at Ireland’s Shannon Airport after the pilot reported a generator problem, reports the Herald.  The jet was on its way to a golf tournament in Charlotte, N.C. No one was injured.

Landing gear is helpful. It was an unusual sight at Spirit of St. Louis Airport – a 1980 Centurian P210 doing a belly landing, reports KSDK.com.

He should have given a hoot. A man who allegedly repeatedly harassed and kicked an owl while paragliding and captured it on YouTube has created a firestorm among animal lovers and paragliders, reports FOX 13.  The Humane Society of Utah suspects it knows the man seen in the video and has asked for an investigation.

Miracle landing number one.  Quentin Elkins is lucky to be alive after his aircraft lost power and made an emergency landing four miles from Knoxville Downtown Island Airport, reports KnoxNews.com.

Miracle landing number two. A pilot of a seaplane had to make an emergency landing in Inlet, N.Y.’s, Seventh Lake, reports WKTV.  He was able to swim to shore uninjured.

This is why we read the bill before we vote, folks!  The bill  that put air traffic controllers back to work was passed by the U.S. House of Representative and Senate, but President Barack Obama was unable to sign it into law. Why?  Because of a typo in the legislation, reports ABC News.

Drugs in airplanes just don’t fly.  Two men are facing federal drug charges after the aircraft they had parked at Texas’  Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport was found to have  98 bundles of marijuana, four bundles of hashish and two bundles of mushrooms aboard the Piper PA-28, reports the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.

This was a test. This was only a test.  You will be forgiven if you thought a recent training exercise by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service looked real. Fifty firefighters worked with ambulance crews, police officers and workers from other agencies to participate in a drill that used the crash of an aircraft into a high-rise building in Glasgow, reports STV News.

Wheels would have been helpful.  Pilot Roland Rinnerberger made an emergency belly landing at Scottsdale Municipal Airport, reports KJRH-TV.  He was not injured in the accident. Video of the landing can be seen here.

It just blew its top!  Two pilots departing from Midland International Airport flying a World War II-era German Messerschmitt Me 262 lost the aircraft’s rear canopy because it hadn’t been latched properly, reports the Midland Reporter-Telegram.  

It’s always good when you can walk away.  A pilot who made an emergency landing in a vineyard in Santa Rosa, Calif., walked away with no injuries, reports ABC7 News.  The pilot reported he was having a problem with the throttle, which caused his aircraft to idle.

One of the many IAPs debuting with the start of the current FAA charting cycle today is the BNELE ONE Arrival (RNAV) to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. This standard terminal arrival was designed to bring jets from the lower flight levels over Nashville and Memphis onto an approach to ATL.

The final waypoint on this STAR for arrivals landing to the west on Runway 26 Left or 26 Right is KEAVY, and like many waypoints today, there’s a story behind it.

Keavy Nenninger learned to fly while she was in high school by pumping gas into airplanes at Moontown Airport–a grassroots airport with a 2,180-foot grass runway just outside of Huntsville, Alabama. Ralph Hood wrote about her checkride in Flight Training magazine in the way that only Ralph Hood could write. She earned a degree in aerospace engineering from St. Louis University’s Parks College of Engineering and Aviation in 2010. There, Keavy was a member of the college’s flight team. She pursued a career in aviation, a passion that she lived and breathed. I met her once at a Women in Aviation conference and remember thinking, “Here’s somebody that’s going places in this industry.”

 Tragically, Keavy died July 23, 2011, in an aircraft accident in Maryland. “Keavy’s adventurous spirit was infectious and she died doing what she loved most–flying,” her obituary read.

Today would have been her 27th birthday.

Her friends will gather for a cookout at Moontown Airport on Saturday evening, May 4–not all that far, by air, from KEAVY, just northwest of Atlanta.

That was a quick trip! Commissioner Larry Kiker of Lee County, Fla., found himself in  hot water after FOX4 News discovered he used a county aircraft to make an 8-minute trip to the city of Labelle. The TV station used Flightaware.com to track the movements of the aircraft.

Water landing number one.  Four passengers aboard a Beechcraft A36 Bonanza managed to walk away with only minor injuries after the aircraft made an emergency landing in California’s Big Bear Lake, reports the LA Times. The pilot was attempting to land at Big Bear Airport after reporting he was having engine trouble.

Water landing number two. A pilot and his passenger sustained minor injuries after the Cessna seaplane they were flying flipped after landing in Florida’s St. Johns River, reports WTEV-TV.  The landing gear had been left down.

It’s two treats in one!  AvWeb reports seeing the Discovery 201, a pickup truck/aircraft combination at the recent Sun ‘n Fun Expo. The aircraft is a derivative of Russia’s Akord 201, which was used as a  heavy-hauling utility airplane.

Not the glider landing he wanted.  Glider pilot Jeff Long was not injured after his motor glider crashed into a tree at the Beechcraft Heritage Museum in Tullahoma, Tenn., reports the Tullahoma News.