Plane & Pilot October 2021

In his 1980 hit song, Neil Young sang that “…rock and roll is here to stay.” He was, as usual with Neil, on the money. While Neil has never, to my knowledge, written a song about small planes, his message applies to us, as well, though unlike garage band junkies who can keep on rockin’ in the free world, we pilots deal with the ever-present risk of adverse regulation, such as the new, ridiculous LODA requirement that is currently raining on Limited and Experimental Category aircraft enthusiasts. So, it’s critical to support member organizations, like EAA and AOPA, because groups like these give us strength in numbers that we need more than ever to protect our flying rights now and in the years to come. Pilots love to talk about change,…

It’s rare when a passenger somehow ends up behind the controls of an aircraft they don’t know how to fly, but it happens. Most of the time, the results are tragic, but the chances of survival go up if the accidental pilot can figure out how to use the radio to reach out for help. In those cases, either another pilot in the area or air traffic control will attempt to talk them down calmly. There are at least seven known cases where an individual was able to land an aircraft they weren’t qualified to fly. One of the most incredible cases was in the 1960s, when an engineer conducting ground testing in an XM135 Lightning, one of the fastest aircraft in the world at the time, accidentally took off.…

EAA released the final tallies for Oshkosh AirVenture 2021, and it came close to being a record-breaking year, with 608,000 visitors, more than 10,000 fly-in airplanes and a record number of warbirds and vintage planes, as well. A sightseeing plane, a de Havilland Beaver, crashed at Misty Fiords National Monument, killing the pilot and all five passengers aboard. The passengers were from a cruise ship that docked in Ketchikan. Visibility was low at the time of the crash. The NTSB is investigating. The Michigan Department of Transportation announced that the Michigan National Guard was landing its aircraft on a state highway (Michigan M-32, to be exact) west of Alpena, Michigan. A couple of the planes were a C-146 (Dornier Do-328) and an A-10 Warthog. A Super Cub taking off from a gravel bar…

The president of WACO Aircraft delivered a presentation on the company’s growing facility and production capacity—they’ve averaged up to four-and-a half airplanes a year in the past, but larger facilities and efficiencies realized in their production process have boosted them to be on track for eight deliveries a year. Suprisingly, the company has also entered the food service business after the idea to create a healthy cafeteria on-site expanded to a full restaurant serving locally sourced cuisine has blossomed into a successful enterprise with WACO Kitchen. A second location is coming soon, and more airports have approached WACO with interest in similar dining setups at their locations. But the big news is, WACO Aircraft will embark on three new designs. But wait! The surprises don’t end there. WACO will add sheet metal…

BACKGROUND When Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier in 1947, it was one of the coolest moments in aviation history, even if it did take a while to be revealed to the public at large. The impressive feat was accomplished in the experimental Bell X-1 rocket plane, nicknamed “Glamorous Glennis” after Yeager’s wife. Designed with a streamlined fuselage and thin, unswept wings, the X-1 was dropped from the bomb bay of a Boeing B-29 Superfortress at 25,000 feet. From there, it rocketed to 40,000 feet and broke the sound barrier at 662 mph. In the years that followed, major advancements were made in supersonic aircraft technology. Yet, to date, propeller-driven aircraft have been left puttering slowly, subsonically behind. Fun FactThe “crack” sound made by whips is actually a sonic boom! It…

Model 300 Pocket Carbon Monoxide Detector A life-saving device right in your pocket, the Model 300 Pocket Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detector is equipped with a loud, vibrating alarm that signals dangerous levels of CO. It has an easy-to-read backlit display that shows CO levels in 1 ppm increments up to 500 ppm. It’s light enough at 1 ounce to fit on a keychain, making it portable and easy to use. It self-checks upon start and comes with a one-year warranty. Its affordability makes it a popular item on a pilot’s must-haves list. Price: $134.95. Available at www.aircraftspruce.com. Vertical Climb T-Shirt Wear your aviation passion! Suit up for your next airshow with this Vertical Climb T-shirt, printed on all sides to show off your love for flying in 360 degrees. Part of Sporty’s Extreme Aviation line…