NASA Gives Pipistrel Aircraft $1.35 Million ~ 10-7-11: NASA has recently given that largest prize of its kind of $1.35 million dollars. The contest criteria has to do with making an electric powered plane that meets certain efficiency criteria, and it sounds like Pipistrel did the job and captured first prize at the NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field in California. It took a 1100 pound lithium battery to power the special hybrid electic motor. (Maybe we will see electric Skyhawks in the near future!)

Seacoast Airfoil October Issue ~ 10-6-11 The October issue of the EAA 225 Seacoast Airfoil was recently sent in by Gerry Peterson. You can download the 1.9 meg PDF file by clicking on the Airfoil banner.

Lobsters And Leaves Oct 8th  10-2-11: Land at five airports in Maine and you can qualify for free lobsters. Not only that, Southern Maine Aviation will cook them for you. Click on the posters for more info.

Littlebrook Airpark For Sale?  10-2-11: If you click on the LIttlebrookairpark.com you will find yourself looking at an airport for sale. It looks like for $2.7 million it can be all yours.

Aeroworks Aviation Services New Webpage ~ 9-30-11 Here's a link sent in by Peter on the new website for Aeroworks Aviation Services. Click on the composite picture below to visit their new website.

Champ On The Ramp ~ 9-30-11 There's a new aircraftsitting in the grass just outside the office window. It's the Aeronca Champ and it looks like it wants to go flying. What was it like to fly a general aviation airplane during the 1940's? Here's your chance to find out.
Specs on the Champ found on Google: 
Aeronca 7 CCM Champ, Horsepower: 90, Top Speed: 90 kts, Cruise Speed: 78 kts, Stall Speed (dirty): 37 kts, takeoff Over 50 ft obstacle: 475 ft, Rate Of Climb: 650 fpm, Ceiling: 16000 ft,  Gross Weight: 1300 lbs Empty Weight: 810 lbs, Fuel Capacity: 19.00 gal, Range: 210 nm, landing Over 50 ft obstacle: 850 ft.
Click on the Champ for more pics.

Aeronca Champ at Rochester Aviation ~ 9-27-11 Kelby Ferwerda tells me that Rochester Aviation will be putting a famous tail dragger in the aircraft line-up. I have a bunch of pictures of the Champ both inside and out that will be posted shortly. In the meantime, here's a couple of great behind the scenes pics taken by Peter with his cell phone. I think it's safe to assume that the large box shape device on top of the engine won't be there when you take this aircraft for a ride. The Champ has a lot of unique features and a rich history that dates back to the mid 40's. Many articles compare the Champ with the Piper Cub. One of the differences between the Champ and the Cub is that the Cub is flown from the rear seat where the Champ is flown from the front seat. Click on the champ to see Peters pics.

Cessna Corvalis Manufacturing Problems ~  9-24-11: Aviation editorials have been talking about the recent problem with the quality control in making the composite wings for the Cessna Corvalis, which used to be the Cessna Columbia, which was the Lancair kit aircraft before that. "All affected Corvalis aircraft had wings produced at Cessna's plant in Chihuahua, Mexico. The FAA also found problems with scores (82) of other parts manufactured at that factory. FAA investigators determined that excessive humidity at the Chihuahua facility had prevented bonds from curing properly." It doesn't sound like Cessna will be giving any factory tours at their facility in Chihuahua in the near future. Manufacturing problems aren't the only issues they have to deal with. The company I work for has a manufacturing plant in Juarez and we have been banned from going there because of the drug wars that are still raging in Mexico. Here's a clip from CNN: "Based on estimates, last year was the worst with 15,273 deaths. Violence is heavily concentrated. Fifty percent of all deaths last year in Mexico happened in only three out of 32 states in the country -- Chihuahua, Sinaloa, and Tamaulipas. Thirty percent occurred in the state of Chihuahua and one of every five in Ciudad Juarez [across the border from El Paso, Texas]."
 

And The Winner Is...  9-23-11: The winner of the AOPA Crossover Classic is a United Airlines pilot. Some of us have been drooling over our keyboards waiting to hear the 1 in 300,000 chance that maybe someone we know just might have won the beautiful Cessna Skylane. The AOPA article said something about the "deer in the headlight look" about the winner. Well, if you look at the video it appears that he did not know who the president of AOPA was, and had no clue what the grand prize was. He was recently talking to his son about the Husky that's up for the grand prize next year and thought that he might of won that. (I think he was glad to find out it was an IFR Skylane instead.) Maybe next year a private pilot with less than 200 hours and works a part time job to pay for his flying will win the "AOPA 2012 Sweepstakes 'Tougher Than a Tornado' Husky." If I win the Husky I'll have to land those balloon tires of every grass strip in New England (even the ones not on the sectionals...).

TFR Over New York (again)!  ~ 9-17-11 The blinking on and off TFR at New York seems to be evolving with different linework. This time they've added some cutouts on the perimeter.
FAA TO ESTABLISH TFR OVER NEW YORK, NY BEGINNING MONDAY
A notam has been issued that will restrict flight in the area during President Obama's planned visit. 
 ==> WITHIN THE LATERAL LIMITS OF THE NEW YORK CLASS B AIRSPACE <==
 Surface to 17,999-ft-MSL 
Excluding: ==> 3 NM RADIUS <== Location: On the LA GUARDIA VOR/DME (LGA) 110 degree radial at 22 nautical miles Surface up to and including 2000 feet MSL
Excluding: ==> 3 NM RADIUS <== Location: On the LA GUARDIA VOR/DME (LGA) 036 degree radial at 19.7 nautical miles Surface up to and including 2000 feet MSL
Times: 4:30 PM local Monday, September 19, 2011 until 10:30 PM local Wednesday, September 21, 2011 ==> 8 NM RADIUS NO-FLY ZONE <== Location: Centered over the KENNEDY VOR/DME (JFK)
Surface to 17,999-ft-MSL Times: 4:30 PM local until 5:30 PM local Monday, September 19, 2011
==> 7 NM RADIUS NO-FLY ZONE <== Location: On the LA GUARDIA VOR/DME (LGA) 263 degree radial at 6.1 nautical miles Surface to 17,999-ft-MSL 
Excluding: ==> 2 NM RADIUS <== Location: Centered over the TETERBORO VOR/DME (TEB)
Surface up to and including 2000 feet MSL Times: 4:45 PM local Monday, September 19, 2011 until 10:00 PM local Wednesday, September 21, 2011 
But Wait! There's another TFR that's been lurking in the background, hiding on the other side of Manchester and it lies just inside the Class "C" airspace perimeter. I would call this an, "inclusion." Click on the 2mi diameter tfr for more information.

World's First Working 3-D Printed Aircraft ~  9-13-11: According to Popular Science, "Engineers at the University of Southampton in the UK have designed, printed, and sent skyward the worlds first aircraft manufactured almost entirely via 3-D printing technology. The UAV--dubbed SULSA (Southampton University Laser Sintered Aircraft)--is powered by an electric motor that is pretty much the only part of the aircraft not created via additive manufacturing methods. It has a 6.5-foot wingspan, a top speed of about 100 miles per hour, and is nearly silent while cruising. Created on an EOS EOSINT P730 nylon laser sintering machine, its wings, hatches, control surfaces--basically everything that makes up its structure and aerodynamic controls--was custom printed to snap together. It requires no fasteners and no tools to assemble." These models are made directly from a computer model. The computer 3D model file is sent to a Laser Sintering machine that divides or slices the model like a loaf of bread only the slices are about as thick as a sheet of paper. It then melts the image cross section one sheet at a time until the whole model is built. (The MRI machine is similar to this except the process is reversed. The image slices come from the real part (people) and turns it into a computer model.) Traditionally, these machines would build models from plastic, but now, they have begun using powdered titanium, stainless steel, and other metals. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

AOPA Safety Seminar Oct. 6th ~  9-11-11: Did you get your AOPA Safety Seminar post card? It's a three panel foldout that's titled, "Say Again?" It appears that the ATC controllers will be giving some advice on "what not to say" when talking on the radio. If you've ever been, "stymied, tongue-tied, or become a victim of communication 'gotchas'," then this seminar is for you.

TFR Over New York! ~ 9-9-11 (What's with the line work on Long Island?)
FAA TO ESTABLISH TFR OVER NEW YORK, NY ON SUNDAY
A NOTAM has been issued that will restrict flight in the area during 
President Obama's planned visit. 

==> WITHIN THE LATERAL LIMITS OF THE NEW YORK CLASS B AIRSPACE <==
 Surface to 17,999-ft-MSL 
Times: 7:00 AM local until 10:30 AM local Sunday, September 11, 2011
 ==> 8 NM RADIUS NO-FLY ZONE <==
Location: Centered over the KENNEDY VOR/DME (JFK) Surface to 17,999-ft-MSL 
 Times: 7:00 AM local until 8:15 AM local Sunday, September 11, 2011 9:15 AM local until 10:30 AM local Sunday, September 11, 2011
==> 7 NM RADIUS NO-FLY ZONE <==
Location: On the LA GUARDIA VOR/DME (LGA) 255 degree radial at 6 nautical miles Surface to 17,999-ft-MSL
Excluding:
==> 2 NM RADIUS <== Location: Centered over the TETERBORO VOR/DME (TEB)
Surface up to and including 2000 feet MSL
Times: 7:15 AM local until 9:45 AM local Sunday, September 11, 2011
{click here for a close look]

Airbus Concept Plane for 2050 ~  9-6-11: Articles are showing up about the Airbus concept plane that poses to answer the question of what airplanes will look like in the year 2050. Well that's 38 years from now and for baby boomers it's probably interesting but not a wonderment. Regardless of your age, the idea of having half the fuselage made out of a clear material like some kind of lexan is pretty amazing. Who knows, maybe by then they will have come up with an idea of making clear see through aluminum (as shown on a Star Trek movie). Two other future features they talked about were holographic video and energy harvest devices that capture body heat and convert to electricity. 
Click here for more info

TFR OVER NEWARK/PATERSON, NJ ON SUNDAY~ 9-4-11: A notam has been issued that will restrict flight in the area during President Obama's planned visit. 
 ==> WITHIN THE LATERAL LIMITS OF THE NEW YORK CLASS B AIRSPACE <==
 Surface to 17,999-ft-MSL 
Times:
11:30 AM local until 12:45 PM local Sunday, September 4, 2011
3:00 PM local until 4:15 PM local Sunday, September 4, 2011

69 Way Snow Flake ~  9-3-11: That's pretty amazing of that Colorado skydiving event that managed to get 69 skydivers to form a snow flake. The image is linked to a YouTube video from a skydiver that's not in the snow flake but above it and shows the other skydivers merging in. In another video it looks like the signal to disperse is to wiggle your feet. I'll give that an O.M.G.

Remnants Of Irene  8-28-11: Here's a Google Earth view Sunday Evening.