SportPlane, And Its Pilot, Gets To Play Hero

T'is the season.... for a good holiday story in which a SportPlane, and its pilot, gets to play hero. And in this case, its yet another case of a Zenith to the rescue. Pilot Jerry Ebke noted, via Facebook, that his nephew’s little boys received a pony for Christmas in rural southeastern Nebraska. But... the Yule-time pony-joy was short-lived as the four-legged Christmas gift was spooked by their dog and ran off. The search started in earnest... "Many FB posts, stops at neighbors and driving roads had been unsuccessful in locating Scout," (the Pony). Jerry is not only a pilot, but has a Zenith CH-650 at his disposal... with a BIG bubble canopy from which to start an air-to-ground search mission, in

"I'm Just Going To Shift Gears A Little Bit..."

Good friends Jim Campbell, Aero-News' Editor-In-Chief, and SnF Boss "Lites" Leenhouts, soon to be retired CEO/President of Sun n' Fun, took a quick moment out of the hustle and bustle of their 2021 Holiday Festival to talk about John's impending career change. "I'm just going to shift gears a little bit," said Leenhouts. "The desire right now is to enjoy the glory years that are in front of my wife and I... Let's take a page out of Peyton Manning's playbook and leave at the top of our game,” he said regarding the end of his tenure as Sun n’ Fun president.

13th Century Castle Architects Failed to Foresee Need for Functional Emergency Exits, Helo Egress Required

The Cork City Fire Brigade was recently faced with an unusual rescue, one incapable of extraction without helicopter assistance. Bereft of a suitable aircraft, the brigade turned to the nearby Irish Coast Guard to treat and transport an injured visitor to Ireland's Blarney Castle. The patient, who suffered a fall, incurred non-life-threatening injuries, but could not be safely mobilized downward through the tight corridors of the castle. Stranded in the upper level of the structure, the only viable pathway to safety was upwards. Once Rescue 115 arrived on scene, one of its crewmen descended to package the patient for transport and winch her u

Unique Microgravity Laboratory Has Hosted More Than 3,000 Research Investigations From Over 4,200 Researchers

NASA has announced the commitment to extend International Space Station (ISS) operations through 2030, and to work with their international partners in Europe (ESA, European Space Agency), Japan (JAXA, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), Canada (CSA, Canadian Space Agency), and Russia (State Space Corporation Roscosmos) to enable continuation of the groundbreaking research being conducted in this unique orbiting laboratory through the rest of this decade. “The International Space Station is a beacon of peaceful international scientific collaboration and for more than 20 years has returned enormous scientific, educational, and techno

Airspace4All Aims to Boost Safety, Promote Equitable Access, Diminish Environmental Impact

A new Charitable trust has been established in the UK to improve the overall state of UK aviation, made to represent the interests of recreational, sport and private flight activities. The Airspace4All Trust will work with the UK's Airspace Modernization Strategy (AMS) and their change proposals, specifically through 3 primary areas of focus. First the trust will aim to improve the safety and efficiency of general aviation by improving procedures, facilities, equipment, and regulatory policies in use today...

Finally, the Flying Pest Extermination Robots of Our Dreams Have Arrived

The Duskin Corporation of Osaka, Japan has completed testing on their first anti-wasp extermination drone. Japan's wasp hives are famously dangerous, causing anywhere from 10 to 20 fatalities in those removing their hives. The hands-on process of elimination has been improved with the aircraft, allowing multi-story, high-altitude infestations to be removed with no risk to the occupants. The test hive was located in the eaves of a 2-story warehouse in the mountainous city of Yabu,a perfect target to gauge the efficacy of Duskin's creation. The pest control and cleaning company began developing the drones in 2020, conducting demonstration tests for local prefecture governm

Navy Completes Initial Carrier Demo For MQ-25 Program

The Navy completed an Unmanned Carrier Aviation Demonstration (UCAD) of its MQ-25 unmanned air system prototype in December aboard USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77), laying the groundwork for future carrier-based UAS operations. The government team conducted a demonstration aboard the carrier with both ground control system (GCS) and aircraft to evaluate the MQ-25 system’s integration into the carrier environment. “There is no better way to determine the success of a carrier aircraft design and its integration into the air wing then to put that new aircraft through testing at sea,” said Capt. Chad Reed, Unmanned Carrier Aviation program manager.

Pilot Radioed The Controller And Requested The Nearest Airport That Was Not Covered In Fog

On December 7, 2021, about 0757 eastern standard time, a Beech BE-35, N80YD, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Tallahassee, Florida. The pilot received minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to the pilot, a preflight inspection of the airplane was conducted with no anomalies noted. He stated, “I checked the oil quantity and found 11 quarts.” During the run-up, the pilot reported “everything looked normal, nothing out of range” then departed for Columbus Airport (CSG), Columbus Georgia, on an instrument flight rules flight p

Aero Linx: Whirly-Girls International Whirly-Girls International is a nonprofit, educational and charitable organization dedicated to advancing women in helicopter aviation. The organization’s goals include the following: Promotion of women in the helicopter industry through scholarship awards, mentoring, public appearances, press releases, magazine articles and informational displays in aviation museums Exchange of information among women in helicopter aviation Promotion of community acceptance of rotorcraft through increasing public awareness of rotorcraft utility and versatility

Minimum Sector Altitude [ICAO] The lowest altitude which may be used under emergency conditions which will provide a minimum clearance of 300 m (1,000 feet) above all obstacles located in an area contained within a sector of a circle of 46 km (25 NM) radius centered on a radio aid to navigation.

"I'm just going to shift gears a little bit... The desire right now is to enjoy the glory years that are in front of my wife and I... Let's take a page out of Peyton Manning's playbook and leave at the top of our game... Every organization needs new blood, and I gotta move to other fun things instead of coming into the office every day." Source: Sun 'n Fun Boss John 'Lites' Leenhouts, chatting with ANN's Jim Campbell, in a recent Aero-TV feature, about the reasons behind his decision to retire in 2022.