Model Airplanes

Reports of nuisance stall warnings triggered by frozen angle-of-attack (AOA) vanes has led FAA to mandate replacement of the parts on Boeing 757s, 767s and 727s.

FAA, in a notice of proposed rulemaking set for publication July 9, is proposing a 36-month window for replacing affected AOA vanes—a shorter time period than Boeing recommended in alert service bulletins that target each model. Boeing issued the bulletins in the last six months.

“We have received reports of nuisance stick-shaker activation while the airplane was accelerating to cruise speed at the top of the climb,” FAA explained in the NPRM. “A review of recorded flight data and weather reports indicated that the cause of the nuisance stick-shaker activation was immobilized AOA sensor vanes, which were frozen because the heaters in the AOA sensors vanes were not sufficient to prevent ice build-up in the AOA sensor faceplate and vane.”

Water entering the vanes and freezing during takeoff can trigger the issue, FAA added.

If finalized, the rule would require inspections of nearly 1,300 US-registered 757s, 767, and 727s for certain AOA vanes. If vanes with certain part numbers are found, operators must swap them for components with different part numbers.

Boeing’s bulletins recommended compliance within 9,960 hr. for 757s, 3,470 hr. for 767s, and 2,750 hr. for 727s.

“We have determined that this compliance time will not ensure that the identified unsafe condition is addressed in a timely manner,” FAA explained. “In developing an appropriate compliance time for this AD, we considered the degree of urgency associated with addressing the subject unsafe condition, the average

Article source: http://atwonline.com/airframes/faa-orders-aoa-vane-upgrades-boeing-757-767-727

MACOMB — On Saturday evening,  the buzz of propellers and colorful model airplanes filled the sky as the Macomb RC Flyers met up at Veterans Park to celebrate the theme of this year’s Heritage Days: aviation in McDonough County.
The Macomb RC Flyers are a group of remote control model airplane enthusiasts that get together to share their love of the hobby and fly their planes together.
Originally, members of the Heritage Days Committee had asked the group to fly their planes during the parade on Saturday morning. According to Lyle Payne, a member of the group, flying in such crowded areas is against Federal Aviation Administration rules and they respectfully declined. Instead, the flyers gathered in the park and invited individuals to come out and watch the airplanes in action.
While some of the RC airplanes are purchased already assembled, many flyers choose to either make their airplanes from printable blueprints or to improvise their own designs using materials such as foam board, hot glue, and dowel rods. By using these types of materials, costs are kept to a minimum and the airplanes are easier to repair after a hard crash.
“With the advent of these foam airplanes that are cheap, easy to build, easy to fly, and don’t cost much when you crash, I think [the group] has taken off pretty good — no pun intended,” said Payne.
According to Payne, he had handcrafted one of his airplanes using a trial and error method

Article source: https://www.mcdonoughvoice.com/news/20190702/macomb-rc-flyers-celebrate-aviation-on-model-sized-scale

Perhaps feeling that the Sisters Fate are yanking the kite strings of my destiny as I scribble is due to some odd convergence of my life’s ley lines.
Get this.

A century ago, when I was an itinerant scholar, I frequently flew from the wilds of Western Labrador en route to St. John’s, Newfoundland. It wasn’t unusual for circumstances — nasty weather, faulty airplane parts — to require the flights I travelled on to pitch, and terminate, in Gander, the erstwhile Crossroads of the World.

Recently, I remarked on the anthropomorphic yarn of a goose from Gander — Commander Gander — visiting New York City.

This weekend Missus is in Gander having a high old time at a Women’s Institute convention …

… and kinda like that young buddy in the Christmas movie, I’m home alone with Errol, the mouse from Beachy Cove Drung. I’ve been reading Errol’s second adventure story and reflecting on the significance of its appearance in my life, because — and get this also — the book’s title is Flying Ace: Errol’s Gander Adventure.

Gander! For frig sake.

Flying Ace [Breakwater Books] takes Errol not only to Gander, but also to the dangerous skies of the Second World War.

Wait a minute. As Granny habitually said, I’m getting before my story.

First things first. Errol gets in touch with a young girl named Natasha who he meets while she is flying her airplane around the garden.

Not a real airplane, of course. Natasha is tearing around with a model Lockheed Hudson bomber stuck up sky

Article source: https://www.thewesternstar.com/opinion/harold-walters-flying-ace-errols-gander-adventure-331083/