You could call it thirteen years in the making. More pragmatically, ByDanJohnson.com has now caught up with the mobile revolution. Welcome to ByDanJohnson.com 2.0 (or, for short, “BDJ2”). We hope you’ll like the changes — and will not be temporarily frustrated with the differences from the old “BDJ1” site — because even more changes are on the way.
You may not believe it looks too different… and if so, that’s good. We tried to keep most of the look and feel even while making the website much more mobile-friendly, or “responsive” in the parlance of tech folks. With two thirds of our website visitors coming via their smartphone, the site is mainly different in how well it accommodates whatever modern device is used to view the articles, videos, and more.
Here are a few website user notes…
(1) All current members (those who help us provide this content by contributing $29 a year) or registered visitors (those leaving an email address) will have to reset their password.
Archives for March 2017
Rotax Training at Dueling Airshows
How is it that Rotax so dominates the supply of engines to light aircraft? Many reasons might be cited but one is the superlative training they offer. For 2017, the company is going even further, now offering essential training opportunities to the legions who attend airshows in both the USA and Europe.
Rotax makes high power-to-weight ratio powerplants that fit in smaller cowlings. Liquid cooling addresses the challenges of keeping motors from overheating, especially in those in tighter engine compartments. Rotax engines are modern and they keep updating them. They can produce in higher volumes than some competitors, have highly regarded quality control, and their testing facility is state-of-the-art. These reasons and more explain the estimate 75% or higher market share the Austrian company enjoys.
The Austrian engine maker said that during Sun ‘n Fun 2017 the Rotax Flying and Safety Club (RFSC) and BRP-Rotax will offer information sessions conducted by experienced RFSC instructors.
Instrument Flying in Light-Sport Aircraft
“It cannot be done,” is the quick dismissal from many in aviation, referring to instrument flying in a LSA. In 2017, I venture to say everyone in aviation (worldwide) knows about Light-Sport Aircraft and the Sport Pilot certificate, but a superficial knowledge can be a bad thing. The details unveil more.
Think about IFR in an LSA this way: Can you fly IFR in a homebuilt aircraft? Can you do so in a Cessna 172? Does it matter that these two distinct types have not gone through a thorough IFR evaluation by FAA? If you know those answers then why should such flying be prevented in LSA?
It’s true, the industry committee called ASTM F.37 issued advice on this subject to LSA producers. F.37 is the group that has labored for a dozen years to provide FAA with industry consensus standards allowing FAA to “accept” (not “certify”) SLSA. The group has been working on a IFR standard for some time without arriving at consensus.
He Built and Test Flew Airplanes for You!
We lost one of the good ones recently. You may not have met or even know this man, but you certainly know — and may absolutely love — the airplanes he created.
We say a sad and final farewell to Professor Luigi “Gino” Pascale.
While it is somewhat melancholy to bid farewell to this man of short stature but giant achievements, he did what he loved for seven decades and until very near the time of his death. None of us can ask for much more than that.
Luigi is also succeeded by family members who continue to run and expand the operation he began with his brother Giovanni so many years ago. Officially he was chief preliminary design officer of Costruzioni Aeronautiche Tecnam but Tecnam team members remember him fondly as the heart and soul of Tecnam. He was 93 at his passing.
Professor Luigi — as I heard several Tecnam employees refer to him — got his start in aviation designing model airplanes way back in the 1930s.
A Short Biography of Dan Johnson
DAN JOHNSON has been called “the leading reviewer of recreational aircraft” after writing hundreds of pilot reports.
A 6,000-hour Commercial, Instrument, Multiengine Pilot and former Certified Flight Instructor, Dan’s focus today is on Light-Sport Aircraft, ultralight aircraft, and kit-built aircraft that Sport Pilots may fly.
He has flown and evaluated more than 400 different aircraft models and has created articles or videos about all of them. These can be found here on ByDanJohnson.com plus numerous print magazines have featured Dan’s articles over many years.
In addition to writing more than 2,000 articles, Dan Johnson began work with the Light Sport and Ultralight Flyer YouTube channel in 2008. He has since appeared in around 1,000 videos and hosts a whole library of videos on Light-Sport Aircraft and other recreational aircraft Sport Pilots enjoy flying.
Promoting aviation over several decades, he is president of Dan Johnson Media Corp and publisher of ByDanJohnson.com (also AffordableAviation.com).
Quick Update on Quicksilver… Parts Are Shipping!
One of the major stumbles in the light aircraft world was the closure of Quicksilver Aeronautic’s southern California factory in Temecula. That ended a long-running era dating back to the 1970s. See articles here and here. Plenty of folks expressed concern.
Their worry was warranted. As a kit supplier, Quicksilver was one of the most prolific in aviation history with more than 15,000 kits delivered, nearly every one of which got airborne after the short build time. Some have been retired due to age, accident, or neglect, but many thousands continue to fly.
What happens when that large fleet can no longer buy parts? With the factory closed, are all those owners orphaned, having no factory-fresh parts available?
Don’t worry, be happy (so the song said).
“We currently have all the Quicksilver parts in stock and are shipping mass quantities daily,” said Gene “Bever” Borne, of Air-Tech, Inc.
Aero 2017 Approaches; Remos GXiS & More
We are fast approaching an important time of year… only this year I am a bit conflicted. The good news is Sun ‘n Fun and Aero Friedrichshafen are terrific shows. I have been attending both for more years that I care to admit. (OK, I guess I don’t ming saying Aero 2016 was my 20th in a row. I’ve been going to Sun ‘n Fun so long, it makes me feel old to say how many years it has been.)
Both events are vitally important to the light aircraft space I enjoy and as steadily reported on this website. Both have strong sectors serving Light-Sport Aircraft (and in Europe, LSA-like aircraft) plus light kit-built aircraft and ultralight aircraft (in Europe called 120-kilogram class or SSDR, which means Single Seat De-Regulated).
These classes of aircraft are the ones I love to report and probably the ones you also enjoy.
Watch for a Whole New Look… Very Soon!
For thirteen years, ByDanJohnson.com has served the light aircraft community, covering Light-Sport Aircraft, light kit-built aircraft, and ultralight aircraft. Along the way, we’ve covered all manner of interesting light aircraft from the tiniest drones to the emerging new-style certified GA aircraft from producers of LSA. As my outgoing webmaster said, “It’s been quite a ride!”
Of, course, since ByDanJohnson.com has been live for 13 years (almost to the day, which will be April 1st, 2017), this website preceded social media and even giants like YouTube. The website you have been so loyally visiting was assembled using the fairly crude tools available at the beginning of this new millennia. However, now that we are 17 years into the new century, it is time for a change… a BIG change.
In just a few days, after we check and recheck, adjust and tweak, we will hit the button for our “beta launch” of an entirely new look and feel.