Milestones
First flight of SkiGull
Rutan’s forty-seventh design makes maiden flight
By Jim Moore
Legendary aircraft (and spaceship) designer Burt Rutan was in a celebratory mood, dispatching an email to friends that had been a long time coming: The SkiGull, the forty-seventh aircraft designed and built by Rutan or one of his companies, completed a successful maiden flight in Idaho on November 23, 2015.
Rutan was in a Piper Super Cub flown by Mike Kincaid, a former Alaska state trooper and movie pilot, who made many turns to avoid overtaking Rutan’s latest creation as test pilot Glenn Smith put the SkiGull through its paces. The new airplane is an amphibious piston single with wing-mounted engine and retractable skis that are also fitted with small wheels, an arrangement that enables it to handle hard surfaces and rough water. The flight was limited to 80 knots and below 8,000 feet.
Smith began the 1.8-hour test with an option: He would take off for a short hop just above the runway, but could proceed with the flight if he felt comfortable doing so. Smith felt confident in the airplane after liftoff and proceeded with additional maneuvers, staying close to Coeur D’Alene-Pappy Boyington Field. An “aggressive” flight test plan included basic stability and control tests in various configurations. Smith knocked out every item on the test before returning to land, verifying that handling and maneuverability were as good as Rutan expected.
More than a dozen people were on hand for the test, which wrapped up just ahead of the first north Idaho snow of the year. Rutan said he has no plans to build another aircraft, although he does plan to continue creating new designs.
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Burt Rutan accepted the National Aeronautic Association 2015 Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy at the Aero Club of Washington in December 2015, the latest honor in a storied career.
Headlines that affect you
Recent news from the aviation world
FAA rules Santa Monica obligated into 2023
Santa Monica Airport is under federal grant obligations until August 27, 2023, the FAA has ruled. —AOPA Online
Avgas replacement testing detailed
The FAA has released photos and details of the laboratory tests of new fuels vying to replace 100LL avgas. —AOPA Online
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Mike Mangold died in an accident at Apple Valley Airport in Southern California on December 6. —ANN Online
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Hybrid design will deliver packages up to five pounds in 30 minutes. —Aviation Week
AOPA News
Flight Training winners announced
Ceremony held at AOPA headquarters
By David Tulis
AOPA President Mark Baker spoke informally with honorees before flight school winners and individual instructors accepted awards for their accomplishments.
Winners of the 2015 Flight Training Excellence Awards shared aviation training success stories and accepted silver-winged trophies and plaques for their accomplishments during a ceremony at AOPA headquarters in Frederick, Maryland, in December.
The group in attendance included five outstanding flight instructors, two outstanding flight schools, the student’s choice winner, president’s choice winner, and best flight instructor. The winners later celebrated with a tour of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
AOPA named AeroVenture Institute in Southbridge, Massachusetts, the 2015 Best Flight School and Todd Shellnutt of Atlanta the 2015 Best Flight Instructor. To pick the winners, members of the association’s You Can Fly initiative, which supports flight schools and flying clubs (see “President’s Position: You Can Fly Takes Off,” p. 6), tallied the results from more than 7,300 online poll respondents focusing on four key factors: educational quality, customer focus, community, and information sharing.
“The Flight Training Excellence Awards were created to recognize those who are ‘doing it right’ in providing a great aviation experience for their customers,” said AOPA President Mark Baker.
He announced the winner of the AOPA President’s Choice Award as Paragon Flight from Fort Myers, Florida. “One of their customers even described how they took care of his dog while he flew,” he said.
Chris Schoensee, an instructor at Paragon Flight, said its program uses a large wall sign to celebrate students’ solo flights rather than a cut T-shirt to commemorate the event.
Wings of Carolina Flying Club’s Jay Nabors said the club’s students are required to attend maintenance insight sessions at least twice a month, where he can spend hands-on time with them deciphering technological or maintenance procedures. During meetings at Raleigh’s Executive Jetport at Sanford-Lee County Airport, Nabors teaches the group how to pull spark plugs from an engine and then displays a handful of the carbon-fouled devices to help students visualize the consequences of rich idling. He said it drives home the lesson because students better understand why they should pay attention to details like proper leaning techniques during taxiing.
Best Flight Instructor winner Todd Shellnutt, who also is a designated pilot examiner operating at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport in Atlanta, topped 1,533 nominations in the category. Shellnutt said he took things a step further by initiating a CFI development program to help instructors focus on their own careers, using coaching methods for professional resume development and networking skills.
Chris Moser, AOPA program manager for flight training initiatives, said a great teacher is “someone who teaches students not just their content area, but also one who pushes them to grow as a person. Flight training can be a life-changing event that builds confidence by seeing what we are able to accomplish, introduces us to a welcoming new community, and can inspire us with endless opportunities for new adventure.”
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This month in aviation
February 3, 1959
“The Day the Music Died.” Crash of the Beechcraft Bonanza 35 carrying singers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Richardson (“The Big Bopper”). The pilot, Roger Peterson, flew into a snowstorm en route from Clear Lake, Iowa, to Fargo, North Dakota. Don McLean dedicated his album American Pie to Holly.
“February made me shiver, with every paper I’d deliver. Bad news on the doorstep, I couldn’t take one more step. I can’t remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride. Something touched me deep inside, the day the music died.” —Lyrics from American Pie by Don McLean
