Splog

Rans designer Randy Schlitter is one of those restlessly creative types. Many aviators are aware he’s created twenty airplane designs and these are not all variations on a theme. While a few are based on another, several are completely fresh approaches. Way back when, we used to joke about the Rans design-of-the-month club, so often […]

Like many deeply involved with aviation I have long marveled that all the best airshows in America seem to be in the Eastern half of the country. Except for the delightful Arlington Fly-in in Washington state and a worthy effort at Golden West plus some other small regional events, the action appears to be “back […]

Aviation bargain hunters … mark your calendar for Saturday, October 5th. Aircraft Spruce is holding their Customer Appreciation Day at all three of their locations: in Corona, California at their headquarters; in their southeastern U.S. location in Peachtree City, Georgia; and for Canadian enthusiasts at Brantford, Ontario. Aircraft Spruce offers reduced pricing plus they’ll have […]

If you traveled to Oshkosh for AirVenture 2013, you got to see a lot of airplanes and other aviation gear. EAA reported a very substantial crowd of more than 500,000 attended. As this might translate to 150-200,000 pilots, the big figure nonetheless means that more than 400,000 American pilots did not go to AirVenture. That […]

After losing the trim tab on the elevator of his Rans S-6, John Pederson of Lombard, Illinois grappled with a violent shaking and executed an emergency landing on Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive. He was flying very early so traffic on the multi-lane route was light. Pederson reported timing his landing to avoid any traffic, though […]

Although Rotax Aircraft Engines successfully power approximately four out of five Light-Sport Aircraft, some in legacy general aviation companies still derisively refer to the liquid-cooled, high-revving, smaller-displacement engines as “just one of those snow mobile engines.” I believe they are woefully under informed but old habits can be hard to break. Many mechanics are expert […]

At the Midwest LSA Expo that concluded a few days back, I delivered a presentation called “20+ Reasons to Buy an LSA.” However, to handle the subject a little bit differently, I turned it into an audience participation exercise. As I presented each slide of one particular reason, I explained what was meant and elaborated […]

After Germany’s Aero 2013 event, we traveled to Pipistrel. It was our first visit to Slovenia, a country of four million with a section of the Alps running through it and a lovely route called the Emerald Trail to view the tall mountains. Slovenia proved a beautiful country that we’d love to visit again, but […]

We paid two memorable visits after Aero ended and I’ll tell you a little about each one … but first … While I was at Pipistrel in the office of boss Ivo Boscarol, he received word that Matevz Lenarcic had reached the North Pole on his flight reported earlier. Congratulations on this achievement; a long […]

In this post I’m going to do something potentially risky. I am going to make some statements about the politics of aircraft certification. While rather dull, this subject is nonetheless something pilots and others feel rather strongly about as the safety of aircraft — for persons in or under aircraft — is involved. Doesn’t everyone […]