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Cessna marches on with its C-162 Skycatcher production. Latest milestone: it’s first international delivery to an Australian customer.Aeromil Pacific of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast Airport took delivery and will use the bird for sales demos. The FBO also plans to display it at Avalon 2011: the Australian International Airshow in early March. *** In related news, Skycatcher’s design team won the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Piper General Aviation Award for 2010. Congrats to those hardworking slide-rule pushers. *** AIAA presents the award annually for outstanding contributions leading to the advancement of general aviation. *** As I posted after Sebring, Cessna plans to deliver 150 Skycatchers this year.

Here’s a thoughtful piece by John Zimmerman (for Sporty’s Pilot Shop online) that has the virtue of giving you a broader picture of the flight training experience. *** I’ll share the highlights, then urge you to link on over and join the discussion – there are reader comments and you can weigh in yourself. *** The article is 7 Things Your Flight Instructor Won’t Tell You. John isn’t out to accuse instructors of duplicity, but rather acknowledge that in order to pass on a wealth of information, things get unintentionally glossed over: • Students are likely to take more than the minimum of 20 hours (Sport Pilot) or 40 hours (Private Pilot) to get their tickets; • A Recreational license is still a viable alternative to both… if you can find a school offering the training; • Don’t show up unprepared for a lesson… CFIs don’t like it and it adds to your training hours; • You need both pitch and power to control airspeed and altitude.

In its declaration of 2011 as the year to “Rally GA”, AOPA echoes the call to action of its President, Craig Fuller, who said recently, “We don’t just want to watch for a turnaround (in General Aviation), we want to do everything we can to make it happen!”  *** He’s urging members from all sectors of flight to honor, protect and promote our common treasure: – the freedom to fly.  *** To do its part, AOPA put together a list of events for the coming year, places where we can all join in the celebration of flight and the discussion of how to move it forward. *** Check it out to see what’s coming your way.

As I preflighted a rental J3 Cub last fall, an older gent, kind of scruffy looking, was keeping me company, though we’d never met. *** A pilot and airport regular, he quickly revealed his belief about preflighting in general. “Aw,” he said, rubbing his grizzled chin, “just go. It’s a Cub, it’s fine, just get in it and takeoff.” I looked at him, wondering if he was kidding. He wasn’t. *** “Well, thanks… I think…,” I replied, mildly annoyed, “but I think I’ll just finish up here if you don’t mind.” *** “Naw,” he said, waving at the air, “just jump in and go; it’s alright.” *** I ignored him and his distracting insistence, wondering what his game was. *** We didn’t know each other. He had no reason, or right for that matter, to try and persuade me to skip a vital part of good airmanship practice. Perhaps, I thought, he’s an angel sent to cement my determination to do things right.

Right after Sun ‘n Fun, the e-flight Expo kicks off for the third time at “Aero” in Friedrichshafen, Germany, April 13-April 16. *** Bunches of new aircraft and propulsion technologies along with the awarding of the Lindbergh Electric Aircraft Prize (LEAP) will mark the gathering of 550 exhibitors from 26 countries. *** The e-flight name stands for more than electrical flight innovations: ecological and evolutionary advances in flight regardless of their nature are embraced, although electric is certainly leading the show. *** Erik Lindbergh, grandson of Charles Lindbergh, will present his foundation’s prize for outstanding achievements in the development of electric flight. *** This year should bring several exciting advances in electric flight . I’ll be doing a broad story for Plane & Pilot magazine soon on what’s up and what’s coming. *** Another highlight of the Expo is “History for the Future of Flight”, a tantalizing assemblage of descendants and close relatives of last century’s aviation pioneers:  Claude Dornier, Igor Sikorsky, Marcel Dassault and Count Zeppelin.

There’s been some controversy lately regarding FAA’s mandate that flight training towards the Sport Pilot license is not allowed to count toward the Private Pilot (PPL) and higher licenses and ratings unless the instructor is a certificated CFI, rather than a CFI-S (as FAA delineates Sport Pilot-only instructors). *** Recently, AOPA petitioned the FAA to change the regulations and allow those hours to count for all higher levels of certificated airmanship. *** The pilot member organization picked up support along the way from EAA, GAMA (General Aviation Manufacturers Association), and NAFI (National Association of Flight Instructors), all of which are now petitioning FAA to change these regs: FAR Part 61.99 and 61.109.  The specific language asks FAA to “permit the instruction time received in pursuit of a sport pilot certificate to be credited toward the instruction requirements of additional certificates and ratings.” *** Of course, getting advanced ratings requires training from a qualified CFI.