Author Archives: Shawn E. Bell

General Aviation

H.R.3708 – General Aviation Pilot Protection Act of 2013

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

I received another email from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association regarding HR3708, so I figured I’d post about it.  It seems to be a good idea, and the AOPA has been working for years to get this passed.

Congressional Bill H.R. 3708 has been introduced to the 113th Congress.  The purpose of the bill is “to direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to issue or revise regulations with respect to the medical certification of certain small aircraft pilots, and for other purposes.”

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National Forests, National Parks, State Parks

U.S. Forest Service offers new digital maps for mobile devices

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Avenza Systems has developed a mobile app for iOS and Android.  The app itself is free … the maps are a reasonable $.99 for a national forest atlas, or $4.99 for a forest visitor map.

From the press release:

The U.S. Forest Service now offers access to a variety of visitor maps for people using Android and iOS devices.

“This mobile app makes it easier than ever to plan your visit to a national forest or grassland,” said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell. “By putting important forest information right at your fingertips, it will encourage more Americans to get outside and explore their forests.”

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eBook

Helicon Books EPUB validator

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Helicon Books epub validator is more than just another epubcheck.  From the website:

Helicon Books validator has many advantages over other EPUB validators. It uses the epubcheck software from the IDPF but adds many additional tests.

First of all we don’t just take epubcheck output and display it, we display an easier to read and easier to understand error messages. Some error messages have long text, we display only the important part and let you read the rest only if you want (by clicking a ‘read more’ link).

Contact us if you need more information about any error, or if you want to learn more about EPUB3 and how to make it better.

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Warbirds

Today in 1939 the XP-38 Lightning prototype flew for the first time

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

It all started for the twin boom aircraft called “der Gabelschwanz-Teufel” (“fork-tailed devil”) by the Luftwaffe and known by American pilots as the “Lightning” on June 23, 1937 when Lockheed won a design competition with their Model 22.  They were received a USAAC government contract for $163,000 to build a prototype XP-38 – an airplane that ended up costing Lockheed an additional $761,000 to complete.

The prototype XP-38 was designed and built by Clarence Kelly Johnson and a team of designers in Lockheed’s Burbank, California facility under tight security.

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Writer Reference

Amazon Publishing announces launch of Waterfall Press – a Christian Imprint

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Amazon Publishing today announced the launch of Waterfall Press, a new Christian imprint that will specialize in faith-based non-fiction and fiction. Waterfall Press non-fiction will aim to provide spiritual refreshment and inspiration to today’s Christian reader, while fiction will include stories in the romance, mystery, and suspense genres. Waterfall Press titles will be published by Brilliance Publishing, part of the Amazon.com group of companies, which currently offers readers self-help and personal growth books under the Grand Harbor Press imprint.

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