Photo © Heinz Weber/flickr

Did Cessna forget to do its homework?

This past week, the company's new light sport aircraft, the Skycatcher, ran into certification problems with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). It would seem that while the FAA does not require certain production standards or a type certificate for light sport aircraft, EASA does.

Cessna even chose to comply with ASTM standards even though it wasn't required. (ASTM, or the American Society for Testing and Materials, is an internationally-known entity that produces and implements voluntary standardization programs.) And then they went even further above and beyond ASTM requirements during stress testing.

So what does EASA want from Cessna for the Skycatcher to be certified Read More...

Photo © NASA/Carla Cioffi

It was a sad day for some when the space shuttle Discovery made its final flight on Tuesday. The shuttle landed at Dulles International Airport earlier this week after a short airshow that brought people out onto the streets to watch the shuttle, atop a 747, fly over the White House.

Discovery was sent into space 39 times over 27 years and flew more than any other shuttle. It was a workhorse, and will now retire in the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum.

So what now? NASA has plans to create a Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), made from the design of the Orion (a previous NASA project that was decommissioned), and meant to fly beyond low Earth orbit (LEO). The Orion MPCV will be the next multi-mission spacecraft for human space travel.

They're also going forward with the Space Launch System, which is a deep space exploration program that NASA claims will be sustainable and affordable. The SLS is supposed to carry us beyond our current limitations.

So although we're sad to see the Discovery retire, we look forward to new NASA programs that may put us on Mars soon!

Photo © NASA Earth Observatory

I noticed a couple of airlines were getting involved in Earth Day activities, so I thought I'd check out what the others were doing as well. This is just a quick list- there are many more projects, giveaways and charity events at these airlines and more. I wish I could include them all!

• JetBlue, which has hubs at many eco-friendly airports, is planting a tree this Earth Day for every customer that travels on Earth Day. The airline expects about 83,000 passengers, and the corresponding trees will be planted in Haiti in an effort to help rebuild after the 2010 earthquake.


• Southwest Airlines is hosting an entire week worth of activities as part of their Earth Day celebration, with activities, giveaways and charity. They will hold a Composting Lunch & Learn where they'll give away 200 compost bins to attendees, and SWA is also the sponsor of Earth Day Dallas.


• Alaska Airlines offered 10% off for one day only Read More...

Photo © Omid Tavallai

In the spring, many airports resume their summer-long pancake breakfast or fly-in traditions. Sometimes it's the only excuse a pilot has to fly, and they'll fly from town to town, or even state to state, stopping at the best fly-in destinations they can find.

Pancake breakfasts are usually open to the general public, but are frequented by pilots and airport workers. You can usually fly-in or drive-in. They held at numerous airports nationwide, and are typically held in the terminal, in someone's hangar, or outdoors on the ramp. Sometimes they are combined with an event, a meeting, or an airshow. Almost always, you can expect good food, coffee and lots of industry talk.