2024 Ray Aviation $11,000 Scholarship Awarded By EAA Chapter 534

By Ted Luebbers Isaiah Kadletz of Mount Dora, FL has received the 2024 Ray Aviation $11,000 scholarship awarded by the Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 534. A formal award presentation was held on May 11, 2024 at the Leesburg International Airport prior to the chapter’s monthly Young Eagle rally to honor this conscientious young man. Isaiah has been active in Chapter 534’s aviation youth program, Squadron 534 for several years. He attends regular Saturday work sessions in the chapter’s hangar and works closely with several of his adult mentors.

The 2024 AMA National Fun Fly Is Set For June 28-30

The folks at the Academy of Model Aeronautics tell us that the upcoming 2024 AMA National Fun Fly will be a celebration unlike any other! They plan it to be a combination of a traditional fun-fly and a community day and it being a free event doesn't hurt the prospects, at all, for the community of model aviation enthusiasts. AMA notes that the vision for the 2024 AMA National Fun Fly, set for June 28-30, is to foster a renewed spirit for model  pilots, with enhanced community engagement.

Airplane Began To Climb “Straight Up,” Yawed To The Left, And Then Went “Straight Down”

On April 22, 2024, about 1826 central daylight time, a Lancair Legacy FG airplane, N550NL, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Spicewood, Texas. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data revealed the accident flight was the second flight of the day. The airplane departed Garner Field Airport (UVA), Uvalde, Texas about 1721 and was destined for the Spicewood Airport (88R), Spicewood, Texas.

With Their Restructuring Plan Approved, Sportplane Legend's Prospects Looking Up

The court has approved Van's Aircraft's bankruptcy reorganization plans, settling a stressful period for the company with some pretty optimistic news. Van's Aircraft filed its Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization back in March, setting up their ideal path to recovery amidst some very expensive challenges, both internal and external. Van's founder Dick VanGrunsven and his family have really stepped up to the plate to back the company's finances, too, according to some of the outside experts brought in to herd cats during the process.

Postaccident Examination Of The Engine Revealed That The Crankshaft Was Fractured At A Crank Cheek

Analysis: The pilot had recently finished building the airplane and it had amassed about 55 hours of flight time on the airframe and engine (A UL Power Engine--Ed). While the pilot was maneuvering at about 700-900 feet above ground level (agl), the engine made “rough” sounds and vibrated. About 20 seconds later the propeller seized and the pilot made a forced landing in the field below. A postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the crankshaft was fractured at a crank cheek, just aft of the journal of the No. 2 connecting rod. A materials analysis revealed that the crankshaft fracture resulted from fatigue cracks originating at the surface of the aft radius on the No. 2 rod journal, likely due to high operating stresses on the fillet radii.

Air Race Classic Traces Its Roots To The 1929 Women's Air Derby, Aka The Powder Puff Derby

It should be an amazing event... and usually has been, in past iterations. Women pilots from across the United States and around the world will take off Tuesday, June 18, from Southern Illinois Airport in Carbondale, Illinois, for a 2,610-statute mile competition across 11 states that ends Friday, June 21, at Northern Colorado Regional Airport in Loveland, Colorado. The oldest race of its kind in the nation, the Air Race Classic traces its roots to the 1929 Women's Air Derby, aka the Powder Puff Derby, in which Amelia Earhart and 19 other daring female pilots raced from Santa Monica, California, to Cleveland, Ohio.