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 86

Pitot Tube Approach Aileron Instrument Landing System 86

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 98

Runway Crosswind Rudder Pilot 98

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 98

Cockpit Rudder Tail Indicated Airspeed 98

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

Photographic Logbook

FEBRUARY 2, 2025

At the airport, there was ice and snow to remove from in front of the hangar door, fuel to add to the Warrior now resting on three fully inflated tires (the left main had a new tube), and then there was the moment when I slipped on ice while pulling the airplane from the hangar and landed flat on my back. We had a deal.

Runway 89

Runway Knot Weather Turbulence 89

Plane and Pilot

OCTOBER 3, 2024

The wing’s dead-smooth surface plus the tight-fitting aileron and flap brackets plus aileron gap seals give the build a professional factory look (left). An elegantly simple rope system inside the fuselage raises and lowers the Gweduck’s water rudder mounted inside the base of the main rudder (right).

Airplanes 80

Airplanes Rudder Knot Aileron 80

Photographic Logbook

SEPTEMBER 22, 2024

In an effort to sidestep the Wright Brothers' patent on wing warping, Curtiss implemented ailerons as a practical solution for roll control that are still used by most modern aircraft. I spotted something new incongruously placed in the Curtiss hangar. However, turning the wheel actuates the rudder (instead of the ailerons).

Airplanes 56

Airplanes Runway Pilot Aileron 56

Plane and Pilot

DECEMBER 16, 2024

Planespotters note the F2’s separate ailerons and flaps, conventional tail. Airtime inhabits a large hangar at the Tulsa Riverside Airport (KRVS) where newly imported CTs are prepped, and ongoing maintenance and upgrades are carried out for aircraft in the U.S. distributor for Flight Design aircraft. Owned by Tom Gutmann Jr.,

Airplanes 98

Airplanes Rudder Aileron Crosswind 98

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