October 18  2007
A Cessna operated by Goldfields Air Services - type believed to be a C210 - had departed Warburton airport about 1700hrs yesterday but failed to arrive at the Kalgoorlie destination approximately 2½ hrs later

A Search and Rescue effort was arranged by authorities and wreckage of the aircraft was located early today

 
Police have advised that "at this stage we're unsure whether the pilot has managed to escape - the site is in a very remote location 200km along a corrugated road and more than 50km into scrub land"

The search area is about 150 nautical miles north-east from Kalgoorlie

WA Police have located the body of a man believed to be the pilot inside the Cessna C210 aircraft

The 25-year-old Kalgoorlie based pilot was originally from New Zealand

October 18  2007
A 28-year-old pilot was lucky to escape his twin-engine freighter aircraft when is caught fire on approach to Alice Springs airport in Central OZ

 
The pilot landed the aircraft and airport emergency crews attended to the fire with reports that the damage to the unknown type aircraft was "extensive"

October 18  2007
The pilot of a single-engine Cessna 210 6-seat retractable is reported in the media as having made "a perfect emergency landing" at SA's Port Lincoln airport yesterday after the undercarriage failed to extend for the landing

 
The C210 was scheduled to land at Wudinna when the pilot - the only person on board - realised there was a problem - authorities diverted the Cessna to Port Lincoln and closed the airspace causing a minor disruption to a local Rex flight

October 15  2007
As a person interested in aviation matters you are no doubt aware of the FAA's "Light Sports Aircraft" category introduced a year or so ago - recently some interesting aircraft designs have emerged - Cessna introduced the C162 Skycatcher at the 2007 EAA Convention with orders now climbing beyond the 500 mark well before the first delivery of this "born-again C150" which is expected to be in late 2008

While innovative aircraft designs have flourished since the LSA introduction - the new Transition® steps backwards

For more than 60 years designers have been trying to perfect the motor-car that can fly concept - the Taylor Aerocar was one that never went much beyond the initial prototypes and a number of others have tried and failed to get 'airborne' due to the outlandish costs involved certifying the machine to meet FAA FAR-23 requirements

 
The LSA category is designed to reduce certification costs and to this end the 'aero-car' is back on the drawing board - at the EAA AirVenture convention public were introduced to a 'folding wing' 2-seat LSA - one that can drive itself to the airport - deploy the folded wings - restart the 100hp Rotax with the propeller now engaged instead of the road-wheels - and then call the tower ready for take-off

Called the Transition® - it is a factory certified (not kit) aircraft and is designed to be used by the sport pilot or by more experienced operators for flight instruction or other appropriate commercially based aviation related operation

At the end of a days flying one only has to taxi to the exit gate on the airport - fold the wings - disengage and lock the prop - select 'ground' mode and drive home making sure the Transition's top speed of 100km/h is not exceeded

October 15  2007
The project to establish a second migratory flock of the endangered whooping crane species entered its seventh year when 17 young birds departed Saturday from the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in central Wisconsin led by an ultralight aircraft - and numerous ground supporters - on a 1,250-mile journey to Florida

 
Last winter a Florida storm killed all but one of the 18 young cranes from this second group of trained birds - the sole survivor later died from what wildlife officials suspect was storm based trauma

The whooping crane at around 5½ feet tall is the tallest bird in North America - it was near extinction in 1941 with only about 15 remaining