Aviation History
Fairchild 24
A step up in comfort and style
By Ian J. Twombly
Unlike modern aircraft offerings, where your choices sit in the range of relatively low-cost Light Sport aircraft, mid-range trainer, or high-end speedster, the Golden Age had a range of price points and styles to appeal to a broad base of pilots.
The Fairchild 24 sat squarely in the middle of the range. Considerably more capable and expensive than a Piper Cub, but much more reasonable than a Beech Staggerwing, the Fairchild offered the range, capability, and style of a true middle-class flyer. It was also meant as an early bush plane—with stout oleo landing gear and a high propeller clearance, the 24 can operate out of unimproved runways.
Fairchild pumped out more than 2,000 of the 24s, a fair number of which went to the military to help the war effort.
One unusual feature of the 24 is that it came with a choice of either a straight-six Ranger engine direct from Fairchild, or a Warner radial. The Ranger also supplied the power to the PT–19, a primary trainer of World War II pilots. Because so many were built, parts remain available to this day.
Stories such as this can be found in Freedom to Fly: AOPA and the History of General Aviation in America, celebrating the eightieth anniversary of AOPA, written by AOPA writers, now available for $39.95. Buy it here:
News
‘Unity’ reaches new heights
First woman to reach space in a commercial craft
Billionaire Richard Branson’s bid to shoot paying customers into space marked more milestones recently, when Virgin Galactic Chief Astronaut Instructor Beth Moses became the first woman to reach space aboard a commercial craft as the VSS Unity flew higher and faster than ever. The flight was the second by the suborbital rocket born from the drawing board of the legendary Burt Rutan and backed by Branson, who aims to win a race to carry paying customers into space.
The company’s supersonic test flight over Mojave, California was the first to include a third crewmember. Moses sat behind pilot Dave Mackay and co-pilot Michael “Sooch” Masucci, who joined a growing list of humans to fly above at least one of the (somewhat arbitrary and often argued-about) lines that mark the beginning of space. The hybrid rocket motor propelled them to Mach 3.04 and an apogee of 295,007 feet, and the video posted soon after included a view of Unity “feathering,” folding tail booms perpendicular to the fuselage so it could fall back to Earth at a stately Mach 2.7. (This Rutan innovation is arguably most important to making commercial spaceflight affordable, since the low-speed reentry eliminates the need for heavy heat shields and a lot of the rocket fuel that would otherwise be required to achieve the altitude and velocity.)
A kilted bagpiper was playing as Mackay emerged from the spacecraft (he is the first astronaut born in Scotland), and he was not at a loss for words.
“Beth, Sooch, and I just enjoyed a pretty amazing flight, which was beyond anything any of us has ever experienced,” Mackay said. “It was thrilling yet smooth and nicely controlled throughout with a view at the top, of the Earth from space, which exceeded all our expectations. I am incredibly proud of my crew and of the amazing teams at Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company for providing a vehicle and an operation which means we can fly confidently and safely. For the three of us today this was the fulfillment of lifelong ambitions, but paradoxically is also just the beginning of an adventure that we can’t wait to share with thousands of others.”
Hundreds of aspiring space tourists have paid $250,000 to get on the list for similar flights behind Branson, who hopes to get his own ride on July 16, the fiftieth anniversary of Apollo 11’s launch.
“Having Beth fly in the cabin today, starting to ensure that our customer journey is as flawless as the spaceship itself, brings a huge sense of anticipation and excitement to all of us here who are looking forward to experiencing space for ourselves,” Branson said. “The next few months promise to be the most thrilling yet.”
ASI NEWS
Is final clear?
Don’t put yourself in a hot spot
By Alicia Herron
The runway is an airport’s beating heart and most critical component, which makes it an airport’s busiest area. Here are a few tips to help you stay safe when operating near the busy runway environment.
Study taxi routes. If studying likely taxi routes isn’t already part of your basic preflight planning, it should be. Your most important tool in planning? The airport diagram. Translating the aerial view of an airport diagram into what you’re seeing on the ground can be challenging, especially at the start of your training. If you think you’re lost, just stop—use taxiway or runway signs to reorient yourself. With practice and the help of electronic flight bag apps, it is a skill you can quickly develop.
Know your airport’s hot spots. A hot spot is defined by the FAA as “a location on an airport movement area with a history of potential risk of collision or runway incursion,” and knowing where you might find trouble will make you extra aware on the ground. The usefulness of hot spots isn’t limited to ground operations, either. In the pattern and especially on final, knowing an airport’s hot spots can let you keep an eye on traffic holding short that may forget about you during their own preparation to enter the runway.
Verify with your eyes. Visually confirm that final is clear before you take the runway; and when you check final, expect to see an airplane. Angle in a way that allows you to see traffic when holding short—especially if you’re in a high-wing airplane. Just waiting for position reports or tower’s clearance is not enough. What if an airplane has a radio failure, or no radio at all? And controllers do an incredible job coordinating traffic, but what if ATC makes a mistake?
The runway is our key to the sky; make sure you stay alert on your way there and back. Learn more about staying safe near the runway environment with the AOPA Air Safety Institute’s course Runway Safety.
