Video by: DAC Promo
Whiteplains Plantation SC is a premier residential aviation community. Located 20 minutes W of Columbia, Whiteplains Plantation combines a quiet rural location, friendly neighbors, and access to some of the state’s best schools. There are currently 50+ aircraft based at the airpark. Pattern Altitude 1500' Right traffic 9 - ELV 524' Left traffic 27 - ELV 491' Rwy 3000' X 35' paved Columbia CAE approach FR N 133.4 FR S 124.15 CTAF 122.9 Lighted Dusk to 11:00 pm 3 clicks
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Friday, March 20, 2015
New Record Set
Talk about a steep dive and a perfect landing. This incredible footage captures an eagle named Darshan as he descends from the tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa, which stands at over 2,700 feet tall in Dubai. Once the bird spots the falconer, he executes a precision dive at over 100 mph, ultimately landing on his trainer's arm with such effortlessness it will put your greatest spot landing to shame.
Read more at http://www.flyingmag.com/news/video-first-hand-view-spectacular-eagle-flight#BWmpOs3qpTBXZ78h.99N
New low cost ADS-B Unit
image: http://www.flyingmag.com/sites/all/files/imagecache/article_image/_images/201503/FreeFlight-ADS-B.jpg
FreeFlight Systems has introduced an ADS-B Out unit for light general aviation airplanes that's fully compliant with the FAA's 2020 NextGen mandate at a rock-bottom price of under $2,000.
There's "no fine print," the company promises, and the unit includes everything you'll need for ADS-B compliance, including a TSO'd ADS-B Out transceiver, built-in WAAS GPS receiver, ADS-B and GPS antennas, installation kit and control head. The only additional cost is what you'll pay an avionics shop to install it all.
There is one catch, however. FreeFlight Systems says it will offer a limited number of the units, named the Rangr Lite FDL-978-TXL, at the low, low list price of $1,995. The avionics maker is offering the product as part of the FAA's Equip 2020 program to drive down ADS-B compliance costs for those who upgrade well ahead of the Jan. 1, 2020 deadline.
FreeFlight explained that recent proposals by AOPA and others to rewrite ADS-B requirements to allow portable ADS-B units in GA airplanes weren't gaining traction with the FAA due to the "critical nature" of ADS-B, which will eventually be used for traffic separation as a replacement for surveillance radar.
"Many of our customers, especially those with older aircraft, told us that they need a low-cost option for equipage to meet the January 1, 2020, deadline for ADS-B," says Tim Taylor, President and CEO of FreeFlight Systems. "We needed to find a way to accomplish that without compromising the quality of the system. Volume was the way to make that happen, and we are stepping up."
As part of the push for lower-cost ADS-B gear, FreeFlight Systems also introduced the Rangr Lite FDL-978-XVRL, a rule-compliant unit that adds an ADS-B In transmitter and Wi-Fi capability for displaying subscription-free weather and traffic data on a tablet. Retail price for that product is $3,695.
FreeFlight Systems says it will build and sell no more than 10,000 of the lower-priced Rangr Lite ADS-B units. The company plans to reveal a list of participating dealers next month and start shipping the products in June.
Read more at http://www.flyingmag.com/avionics-gear/instrumentaccessories/freeflight-unveils-sub-2000-ads-b-out-unit#QbClwXCm9eov6okm.99
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Dick Hitt spotted at Whiteplains, seemed to be a bit "Green" around the edges.
Our resident Irishman, Mr. Dick Hitt, is leading our neighborhood celebration today.
Friday, March 13, 2015
Cub Kit Crate Arrives 3-13-2015
A very fine crew assembled this afternoon to brave the drizzle and help unload Ed Fisher’s “Cub in a Box”. Short slide show from today.
Thursday, March 12, 2015
New ADS-B Out transceivers that are battery powered.....From Flyingmag.com
image: http://www.flyingmag.com/sites/all/files/imagecache/article_image/_images/201503/Battery-ADSB.jpg
Will we soon be seeing fully TSO compliant battery-powered ADS-B Out transceivers that are approved by the FAA for the 2020 equipment mandate? Yes, we will. But don’t get too excited just yet.
Unfortunately you probably won’t be permitted to install the gear in the airplane you fly. That’s because under the new TSO guidance that avionics makers say they are reviewing, the battery-powered ADS-B Out products would be intended for use only in gliders and general aviation aircraft certified without electrical systems.
The FAA says the TSO guidance for battery-powered ADS-B Out units came after two years of extensive flight testing. In other words, the technology has been proven safe and effective and is ready for prime time.
The big question is, why limit these units to Aeronca Champs and Piper Cubs?
Lightweight, low-cost ADS-B transmitters are also in the works for UAVs, Experimental aircraft and LSAs. Again, these transmitters won’t be approved for use in the vast majority of Part 23 GA airplanes, which must carry equipment that meets a strict set of certification criteria — and which has driven the price of ADS-B Out gear to around $5,000 per airplane at a bare minimum.
AOPA, the Experimental Aircraft Association and others have been trying without success to convince the FAA to amend the ADS-B mandate to permit the use of lower-cost gear, such as battery-powered portable units. There has been no word from the agency yet about whether it is considering such a change, but time is running short.
Meanwhile, once the lower-cost battery-powered ADS-B Out products start hitting the market, the outcry from GA pilots over ADS-B’s high price tag will likely only grow louder.
Read more at http://www.flyingmag.com/avionics-gear/instrumentaccessories/battery-powered-ads-b-out-transmitters-coming#0ed0kjL9ikh0Q73R.99
Monday, March 09, 2015
Windy Road Clean Up!
About 4-6 times a year, our neighbors gather to pick up trash along Windy Road, which is the access road to our airpark. Jack and Diane Fastnaught host us for breakfast, where we enjoy good food, fun and fellowship before we put on our colorful vests, pick up our orange bags, and go to work.
We took 29 bags of trash to the dump later in the morning. Another successful event…………….our Whiteplains Neighbors at their best!!
Thursday, March 05, 2015
Friday - 3-6-2015 TFR for Whiteplains.
|
|
Wednesday, March 04, 2015
From Flying Magazine
image: http://www.flyingmag.com/sites/all/files/imagecache/blog_detail_image/_images/201503/GD-pilots-rights-blog.png
As you've no doubt read by now, both houses of Congress in a welcome and unusual bipartisan effort have gotten behind a pair of bills that would eliminate the outdated pilot third class medical certificate. The identical bills, nicknamed the Pilot's Bill of Rights 2, are the result of efforts of a few longtime friends of general aviation, Senators James Inhofe (R, Oklahoma) and Joe Manchin (D, West Virginia) and Representatives Dan Lipinski (D, Illinois) and Sam Graves (R, Missouri).
Under the rule the third class medical certificate would get the boot, replaced by a more sensible self-certification process resembling that used successfully by Sport Pilots for several years now.
With Congress regularly getting a lot of heat, much of it deserved, for engaging in partisan battles that result in legislative gridlock, these bills stand as a testament to what the legislature can do when they set their collective minds to a worthy task.
As I've written about before, the FAA has been considering changes to the third class medical certificate for more than a year now, and it has become clear that the agency has decided to slow-track the proposal. The twin bills in Congress send a clear message to the FAA: General aviation needs this change and it needs it now. The bills, once enacted, contain a provision that would mandate they go into effect even if the FAA fails to act on them in a timely fashion (180 days). It's a critical clause; inaction on the agency's part would have been a near certainty otherwise.
Change One: Goodbye Class Three Medical (for many of us)
The new rules will immediately benefit a huge number of pilots, who can avoid the expensive, restrictive and punitive process of going through the FAA's current medieval maze. That labyrinth of conditions and special issuances did almost nothing to protect pilots or their passengers while entrenching the FAA in a position of playing doctor to unwilling patients who never needed their services in the first place. That system won't go away for commercial pilots or those of us who fly large aircraft, but more than a hundred thousand pilots (by our non-scientific estimation) will be able to fly free of the FAA's medical harassment.
Changes Two and Three: Bigger Faster Airplanes and IFR
Private pilots flying under the new rules will enjoy a wealth of privileges denied private aviators under the FAA's moribund proposal on the subject. Pilots will be able to fly real personal transportation flights both VFR and IFR, flying airplanes 6,000-pounds and less at speeds up to 250 knots while carrying as many as five passengers.
As you know Flying led the charge to eliminate the limitation to VFR-only flying under the new medical standard, and we are gratified that our friends in Congress and in a number of pilot membership organizations listened to us. The new rules make sense, give pilots meaningful privileges and will result in an equivalent level of safety.
Those are great goals to hit. The FAA should take notice of how it's done.
Read more at http://www.flyingmag.com/blogs/going-direct/three-big-changes-pilot-medical-and-what-they-mean-you#pzQLAgTw7WuOo73x.99
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)