Aviation History
100 Years Ago: February 24, 1921
Solo flights
Lt. William D. Coney completes a solo flight from Rockwell Field in San Diego, California, to Jacksonville, Florida, in 22 hours and 27 minutes flying time. Flying coast to coast alone became a challenge that many attempted—Charles Lindbergh in 1930 (14 hours, 45 minutes); Lt. James “Jimmy” Doolittle in 1922 (21 hours, 19 minutes) and again in 1931 (11 hours, 16 minutes); and Howard Hughes in 1936 (9 hours, 27 minutes) and again in 1937 (7 hours, 28 minutes)—to name a few. It was the late John Glenn, former astronaut, who would fly “Project Bullet” in 1957 at supersonic speed (3 hours, 23 minutes).
AOPA News
Hudson rejoins AOPA board of trustees
William “Will” Hudson is rejoining the AOPA Board of Trustees. He served for several years after the retirement from the board of his father, Fitzgerald “Jerry” Hudson, in 1999; the elder Hudson had served on AOPA’s board for more than 30 years. He died in 2003. Will Hudson is a founding partner of Vx Capital and an avid pilot. In his position, he handles transaction origination, asset management, and engine portfolio activities. During his career, he has bought, sold, or leased numerous aircraft, and managed several large passenger-to-freight conversion programs. Before founding Vx, Hudson was vice president of Pegasus Aviation, where he was responsible for aircraft remarketing. Hudson holds a bachelor's degree from Duke University and a master's in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has two children and resides in Marin County, California.
Industry News
Icon goes with Garmin G3X Touch
Icon Aircraft is offering the Garmin G3X Touch and autopilot as options on its A5 amphibious light sport aircraft. The 7-inch G3X is a $15,500 option, and the addition of a Garmin GMC 507 autopilot raises the total price of the upgrade to $25,000. The two-seat, folding-wing Icon A5’s base price is $360,000.
“The Garmin G3X Touch takes our commitment to product improvement to the next level, greatly enhancing the adventure flying experience while seamlessly fitting into our intuitively designed cockpit,” said Jason Huang, Icon president. The A5 typically uses a portable Garmin aera 796 for navigation.
Icon has long advocated that pilots use an angle of attack indicator as a primary flight instrument, and the company’s in-house AOA indicator is still front and center in the A5 panel. —Dave Hirschman
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