UCAP Blog

This thread, from the Arizona Av Photog’s Forum, contains a lot of great pics of planes. Apparently arriving/departing their regular fly-in. Check ‘em out. Coolidge Municipal Airport (P08)

SUN ‘n FUN will bring hot air balloons, an after-dark aerial pyrotechnic light show, portable sport airplanes and flight simulators plus the U.S. Navy’s Dixieland Band, “TGIF”, to downtown Lakeland for the 2nd annual DLP/ SUN ‘n FUN Skyward Festival. The event will provide the Downtown Lakeland community with Aviation as a powerful merchandising theme [...]

Here’s the FAA press release that Dave is referring to in this piece.

According to Aero-News the balloonists who have been kept from overflying the secret olive farm in southern California are getting some help in the form of free legal help. …a lawyer in Palm Desert has offered to defend the balloon companies against what he calls “bullying” on the part of the olive grower. Attorney Robert [...]

According to a number of sources, Airbus and Air France will initiate a new search for the wreckage of Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330, which disappeared over the equatorial Atlantic Ocean in the early hours of June 1, 2009. Authorities say they will use state-of-the-art robotics and submarines to search a 3900-sq-mile area at a [...]

Spent the past two days travelling back north from my visit in Sarasota. No real internet access while travelling, so no blogging from me. Must catch up. FWIW, the snowbanks up here are so high you drive down the street and can’t see the storefronts behind them.

Didja hear? The FAA found an exciting new tact for convincing airlines to adopt ADS-B: Pay for it! Cool, huh? While those poor airlines struggle with their outstanding (and growing) profits, the FAA plans to spend $4.2 million to equip 35 of JetBlue’s A320s, according to several reports. Don’t be shocked – there’s precedent. The [...]

Jamie Beckett, CFI, A&P mechanic, local politician, and past UCAP guests tells about his vision for the future, in this GA News commentary. Can aviation change America? I don’t mean I’m curious to know if it can affect the relatively small percentage of the population that’s consistently involved in aviation on a regular basis. I [...]

“Piper moving ahead with Imprimis backing” Since Brunei-based Imprimis bought Piper Aircraft in 2009, the company has seen almost a complete replacement of its leadership ranks and subsequently a redesign of the renamed PiperJet Altaire and a commitment to driving more sales outside the stagnant U.S. marketplace. At one time Piper had orders for as [...]

As always, congrats to this pilot for getting on the ground safely. But the story as published here leaves many unanswered questions. (Go figure!) They were headed for an alternate airport but ended up in a field. What happened? The weather was too poor to see the runway, but they managed to find a pasture. [...]