Talk About An Impromptu Fly-In Is Not Getting Support From Wittman Field Or EAA

2020 will go down in aviation history as a very tough year... we lost the AEA Convention, dozens of Airshows, military teams had to stand down, Sun 'n Fun didn't happen and worst of all, Oshkosh was killed off... all due to a virus and the panic that surrounded it. Looking at the matter carefully, EAA really didn't have much of a choice in the matter as the state was taking a pretty strong stand about such gatherings and the many uncertainties about the state of the pandemic simply made it impossible to plan the event in the time necessary. Still; even with an iron-clad cancellation, talk has been popping up here and there about venturing to Oshkosh for the week of the

An Uncommonly Kind and Skilled Aviator Has Gone West

Personal Note: I got to know Dick Rihn when we were both in Red Deer, Alberta Canada, for the WAC, as part of the 1988 US Aerobatic Team. A kind and affable guy, he was easy to talk to, and really a team player in every sense of the word. During that week, I tweaked my neck in the midst of some pretty heavy duty air-to-air photography and wound up in a great deal of pain. Dr. Rihn noticed my discomfort without being asked, and quickly helped me get past it so that I could continue to get on with my photo work. His immediate and simple kindness made a huge impression on me. You see; I grew up in a family in which we were proud to have one of the finest Doctors I'd

From 2019: Coast-To-Coast Solo In A Pipistrel Sinus Motorglider

Riley Speidel is not like most 14-year-old girls. Instead of living on social media, talking about boys, fashion, and anything else many other 14-year-old girls do, Riley’s interests are navigation, aircraft performance, and fuel consumption. Finishing the school year on June 7, most of Riley’s classmates would be thinking about summer vacation, summer jobs and chasing boys, but Riley is different! Riley left school that day and just a few hours later, at around 1:30pm, she departed on an epic solo trip flying a Pipistrel Sin

Atmospheric Conditions Were Conducive To "Serious Icing At Descent Power."

On May 19, 2020, at 0920 central daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Challenger Special, N97KV, was involved in an accident near Titan Field (TN23), Clarksville, Tennessee. The commercial pilot and the passenger sustained minor injuries. The flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) aviation safety inspector, the pilot provided a written statement and discussed the accident with him. The pilot stated that he completed a 30-minute local flight and returned to TN23 for landing. He described the descent and the arrival over the river that ran perpendicular to the approach e