Category Archives: General Aviation

General Aviation

2014 “Women in Aviation” – Truckee Tahoe AirShow & Family Festival

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Some of the world’s top air show performers have committed to perform at the 2014 Truckee Tahoe AirShow & Family Festival (TTAS&FF), including three-time national Aerobatic Champion and National Aviation Hall of Fame member, Patty Wagstaff. Immediately following Wagstaff’s commitment to perform, show coordinators themed the 2014 event “Women in Aviation”.

Featured women in aviation will include the AirShow’s Grand Marshal, Truckee local Sandy Wiederkehr. Her extensive aviation background includes being a Retired Flying Tiger/Fed Ex captain, holding helicopter and glider ratings and logging hundreds, if not thousands, of skydiving jumps. AirShow speaker forums and vendor booths will feature local women aviation clubs and women aviation authors such as Jeane Slone, author of “She Flew Bombers”. Highlighted aerobatic performers for this year include Dan Buchannan; Jon Melby; Kent Pietsch, Patty Wagstaff and the RedStar Formation Team.

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General Aviation

White House budget contains user fees despite opposition from, well, everyone except the guy in the White House

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Wednesday morning, the White House released it’s requested budget for the 2015 Fiscal Year. The epic tome is almost 250 pages, and was delivered to Congress considerably later than any other time in the history of the United States.

Once again, user fees for aviation were part of the president’s new budget proposal, even though there is blowback and a strong opposition from Congress and the aviation community.

Apparently, nobody in the White House listens to the American people.

From the AOPA:

“We are disappointed that the President doesn’t seem to have gotten the message” said AOPA President Mark Baker. “With Congress on our side, I am confident we can prevent this arbitrary proposal from becoming a reality, but we have to stay vigilant. We are working hard to make general aviation more accessible and affordable, and whether you call it a user fee or a surcharge, we will keep fighting against proposals like this that would raise the cost of flying.”

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General Aviation

Garmin Adds Synthetic Vision to Pilot App

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation, today announced an updated version of the Garmin Pilot application for the iPad and iPhone featuring synthetic vision as an option for premium subscribers. 3D Vision incorporates GPS-derived airspeed, altitude, and vertical speed overlaid on rich 3D topographic landscape. 3D Vision is transformed when optionally paired with the GDL 39 3D, which superimposes back-up aircraft attitude information overtop the Garmin SVX display.

“With the addition of synthetic vision, Garmin Pilot takes a big step forward by offering pilots great situational awareness in all weather conditions, day or night,” said Carl Wolf, Garmin’s vice president of aviation sales and marketing. “When combined with the GDL 39 3D, attitude information as well as ADS‑B traffic and weather are all conveniently accessible within one application, further demonstrating our commitment to bringing safety enhancements to all pilots.” 

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General Aviation, Geocaching

International Space Station Travel Bug Mission Update

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

I just got an update from geocaching.com about the Geocaching Travel Bug that hitched a ride with astronaut Rick Mastracchio to the International Space Station. This is a great way to interest students (and us older folk who geocache about geography and science.

From the email:

Nearly 100 days have ticked by since geocachers cheered as a Travel Bug® rocketed toward the International Space Station. It’s in the capable hands of astronaut Rick Mastracchio. Like everything else on the space station, the Travel Bug has a mission. Mastracchio is using the Travel Bug to teach students back on Earth about geography and science. The Travel Bug’s page is the chatroom of a teacher’s or parent’s dreams. More than 1,200 posts have been logged so far, as classrooms (and even Geocaching HQ!) asked questions and Mastracchhio answered them from the weightlessness of low Earth orbit.

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General Aviation, Warbirds

Very Limited Tickets Remain For Bob Hoover Tribute

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

I remember the first time I met Bob.  It was at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Show.  He was just sitting under the wing of this Shrike with that big ol’ hat of his.  I was just a youngster, but he spent the entire afternoon talking to me.  Then he got up, told me he had to “do some work,” shoo’d me back behind the rope and went and did some of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen done in that Evergreen Shrike.

From the EAA page:

Only a very limited number of individual tickets remain for the February 21 Tribute to Bob Hoover to be held at Paramount Studios Theater in Hollywood, as aviation’s top personalities gather to honor the man called by many as “The Pilot’s Pilot” and one of the greatest aviators in history.

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