Air Facts

MAY 24, 2024

Centerline, centerline, centerline Air Facts Journal It was a beautiful May day as we grabbed the tow bar to pull the 1981 Cessna 182 out of the hangar. Pointing my thumb into the wind to get my ailerons around I counted one…two…three, and still, no upwind main touching down. At that point, I decided to go around.

Aileron 87

Aileron Crosswind Knot Runway 87

Vintage Aviation News

APRIL 26, 2024

At that time, the disassembled Parks shared a hangar with the Bellanca and I could just about hear my Bellanca say ‘you never read bedtime stories to me!’ Interestingly, that F-24R – formerly NC77647 and later G-FANC – was exported to the UK but was destroyed in a hangar fire in 2003.”

Airplanes 105

Airplanes Aileron Tail Hangar 105

Air Facts

OCTOBER 7, 2024

I showed up early for the first afternoon launch, stopping by the hangar gedunk (pronounced gee-dunk, the sailor’s term for snack bar) to wolf down a cheese omelet chased with a chocolate shake. Because of its diminutive stance, naval aviators dubbed it the “teeny weenie.”

Cockpit 97

Cockpit Rudder Tail Indicated Airspeed 97

Plane and Pilot

SEPTEMBER 15, 2024

I watched the stick flutter to and fro in sync with the rudder pedals as Wilkins fought to maintain the centerline, all the while pushing in the throttle. The J-4’s cockpit is wider than the more common J-3, and the second generation brought about the replacement of the open cowl with exposed exhaust ports with a fully enclosed cowl.

Runway 86

Runway Crosswind Rudder Pilot 86

Plane and Pilot

NOVEMBER 19, 2024

The 172 has a steerable nosewheel, much heavier than the rudders on my RV-9A with a castering nosewheel. It had undergone some repair work done after experiencing soot and smoke damage from a fire in a nearby hangar. Not really a problem, as the CFI and I had a great chat for an hour about things aeronautical.

Pitot Tube 61

Pitot Tube Approach Aileron Instrument Landing System 61

Vintage Aviation News

NOVEMBER 19, 2024

Inside a former Luftwaffe hangar packed with dozens of historic aircraft, restoration workers at the Flyhistorisk Museum in Sola, Norway are now in the final stretch of rebuilding the world’s last surviving Caproni Ca.310 By 2012, the wing spars were reconstructed inside the museum’s carpentry shop.

Aileron 122

Aileron Tail Horizontal Stabilizer Cockpit 122

Vintage Aviation News

MAY 6, 2024

Liberty Belle’s surviving rear fuselage, however, was sent off for rebuild with Hangar 13 in Asheville, North Carolina. Hangar 13’s owner, Ray Moore, is rebuilding his own B-17 (B-17F 42-3455 Lucky Thirteen ) and has collaborated with a number of other B-17 owners in the rebuilds of their aircraft.

Tail 126

Tail Airplanes Cockpit Firewall 126