Hangar Talk

“The Corvalis TT is one of those airplanes we dream about,” says Associate Editor Ian J. Twombly. “It’s fast, comfortable, responsive, and incredibly fun to fly.” Twombly’s report on Cessna’s high-performance single, “A Pilot’s Airplane,”. “When I say it’s a pilot’s airplane, I mean it in the truest sense. It’s everything we could ever want from our flying machines. Flying it is pure joy, but it’s also very practical. There’s no question these airplanes are fast, but they are also hugely efficient, both in terms of time and fuel. Especially in this down economy, Cessna should be marketing the airplane in terms of savings, not just speed. A flight from Teterboro, New Jersey, to Naples, Florida, for example, takes less time than the airlines door-to-door, and only burns about 67 gallons. That’s awesome.” Twombly is a commercial pilot and CFII and is the deputy editor of Pilot’s sister publication, Flight Training.

A quiet nontowered airport and two IFR aircraft: one inbound on approach and another awaiting takeoff clearance. It’s a common occurrence that rarely results in a mishap. But on a summer afternoon there were a few omissions, a couple of assumptions, and an odd circumstance or two that lead to a ground collision at a runway intersection. It all came together in exactly the wrong way and an accident was the result—but a little more care and a suspicious attitude might have yielded a better outcome. Those are the findings of AOPA Air Safety Foundation President Bruce Landsberg, who examines this runway incursion in “Safety Pilot Landmark Accidents: I Think We’re Alone Now,” which begins on.

“If you’re not flying, the next best thing is a conversation about flying,” says Technical Editor Mike Collins. Interviews with five members of the U.S. House of Representatives and one member of the Senate (see “GA in the Halls of Congress,”) proved this extends to Capitol Hill. “The passion and enthusiasm these legislators have for general aviation is impressive, and encouraging,” Collins said. And they clearly talk flying with each other. “On one visit, I dropped off a couple of hot-off-the-press copies of the newly redesigned May Flight Training magazine,” he said. “When I returned to the Hill the following week for another interview, the first thing my subject said after introductions was, ‘Do you have one of those new magazines for me?’ Luckily, I did.” Collins is an instrument-rated private pilot who currently handles the business of the publications department of AOPA.

“Two of my favorite words are road trip (followed by road trip snacks!) and with my role at AOPA two more favorites are cross-country,” says Managing Editor Julie Summers Walker. So what better project to undertake but the Fun to Fly Sweepstakes Road and Runway Rally, which combined a road trip in a smart fortwo car and a cross-country in our Remos GX from headquarters in Frederick, Maryland, to the Sun ’n Fun Fly-In in Lakeland, Florida ( “The Ultimate Road Trip/Cross-Country,”). The four-day extravaganza allowed us to showcase the fun and utility of both vehicles and offered us an opportunity to take the GA message beyond our airport borders. Between the scheduled and unscheduled stops along the eastern seaboard, our rally teams were able to really engage in aviation—the association’s major initiative in 2010.