Plane & Pilot May 2018

It’s hard to overestimate the good that was done when the federal government reauthorized the FAA. The agency has for decades gone from one stop-gap funding bill to the next. With its long-term plan to fund the FAA, Congress said it got it. There’s important work for the FAA to do, including modernization and capacity improvement, and with its funding buttoned up for the next four years, it can focus on the real work. But the biggest win of all wasn’t really a win but the dodging of what has been one of the two or three biggest threat to GA in our history, ATC privatization. With the defeat of the airlines’ takeover of air traffic control, we avoided being at the mercy of a historical enemy to GA. And…

THE MYSTERY Does new photographic and forensic evidence answer the question of what happened to the pair of aviators, who disappeared in 1937 while on an around-the-world flight? THE BACKSTORY When we last wrote about the mystery of what happened to Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan after they failed to arrive at tiny Howland Island in the middle of the vast South Pacific on the penultimate leg of their around-the-world flight, there remained, in our estimation anyway, no credible evidence that the pair survived that final day. But recently a couple of new developments have cropped up that have rekindled interest in the mystery, so we wanted to consider those and address the question, “Has evidence of Amelia having survived the initial crash/ditching really come to light?” THE DEVELOPMENTS Bones:…

ACROSS 1: Makers of the N4050X 6: Take ___ 8: Last number in a NASA countdown 9: Was in command of the cockpit 12: Diagram used in weather analysis and forecasting 13: Memo intro 14: AOA, 3 words 17: Promotional piece 18: Making a landing you know you shouldn’t try, for example - 2 words 22: Spiral descent 24: Pen point 26: App for flight planning 31: Fluid on a maintenance checklist 33: Makers of the N77648 36: Function 37: Desert description 38: 1957 Cessna 172 ____-Tail Skyhawk 39: Mil. fliers DOWN 1: One who’s expert in aviation maintenance 2: Skill 3: Defense Department, abbr. 4: Letter that indicates compressor speed 5: Go back to 0-0-0 for example 6: Oshkosh Air Venture, the alpha and ____ of U.S. air shows…

ATC PRIVATIZATION PLAN SHELVED The Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee announced in late February he would no longer pursue legislation to shift management of the nation’s air traffic control system away from the federal government. The plan, supported by the president, would have placed ATC in the hands of a non-profit organization. AIRCRAFT DELIVERIES UP IN 2017 The General Aviation Manufacturers Association’s annual report detailed promising gains for the GA industry during 2017. Highlights included piston airplane shipments, which rose 6.5 percent in comparison to 2016, and total airplane shipments, which ticked upward 2.5 percent over last year. CIRRUS VISION JET VIES FOR COLLIER TROPHY Cirrus Aircraft’s Vision SF50 is one of nine nominees under consideration for the 2017 Robert J. Collier Trophy. In the running alongside…

Model 35 first flight: December 22, 1945 First delivery: 1947 Years before comparable Cessna (retractable gear, opposed engine, variable speed/adjustable prop, no-strut wing) appeared: 20 Construction: All-metal*, low-wing, monoplane *Note on construction: First few dozen Bonanzas had fabric-covered flaps and ailerons Covering for flight control surfaces after that: Magnesium alloy Cruise speed of original Bonanza: 152 ktas Standard horsepower for original Bonanza: 165-hp (Continental E-185-1 engine Horsepower of today’s G-36 Bonanza: 310 (Continental IO-550G) 1949 Bonanza non-stop world record: William Odom, Bonanza A35, Hawaii to Teterboro, New Jersey, 4,957 miles, 36 hours, two minutes Throwback control: “Throw-over” yoke. One set of transferable controls for both front seaters First Beech with throw-over yoke: Model 17 Staggerwing, produced 1933-1949 Popular Bonanza modification: Dual yoke conversion Last Bonanza with throw-over yoke: 1983 Model…

STINSON SR 5E Burlington, WA: No injuries The pilot of the amphibious, float-equipped airplane reported that, 2 days before a repositioning flight, he inspected the destination airport. He had planned to land on an alternate grass landing area, adjacent to an asphalt runway, and stop before reaching a gravel driveway. He further reported that he noticed in the airport facility directory (AFD) that the intended landing area was closed due to soft, wet conditions. The pilot reported that, during landing, he was “high and fast.” He further reported that he landed “too far along to stop before the gravel drive.” The airplane reached the gravel driveway, bounced, and then landed hard, and nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot reported that there were no…