Chapter 211

Pilot Michelle Stauffer, a veteran pilot with over 30 years experience, and co-pilot Terry Blake, successfuly land a Cessna 414 with landing gear up, at New Century Air Center in Gardner, Kansas, Thursday, April 25, 2013. A KMBC news helicopter captured footage of the plane's descent. Stauffer and Blake called five different mechanics from the air, plus broke out the manuals and went through the procedures. "I had Terry reading the manual to me," she said. "You've got to have directions, just in case there's something I forgot or something one of us forgot, but you just go through it step by step by step." Eventually Stauffer realized she had no choice but to land the plane on its belly and hope for the best.

Spitfire low pass!

First flight in the families 46 Champ at York, S.C. She was nervous at first, but after she started flying she really liked it. She keeps begging to go back to York so she can go fly again. Music by Mike Masse', Jeff Hall, and lead vocals Brenda Andrus.

Fishing out a P-51 Mustang RC model airplane with a Robinson R-22. (Rated PG for Language)

Airplane takes off from horse race track

SMALL PLANE CRASS CAUGHT ON VIDOE FROM INSIDE COCKPIT, By Dylan Stableford, Yahoo! News. A single-engine plane crash in the Idaho wilderness in late June was captured on video from inside the cockpit, and the harrowing footage has made its way to YouTube. The plane?a 1947 Stinson 108 four-seater?took off from Bruce Meadows Airport in Stanley, Idaho, at about 2 p.m. June 30 with four passengers aboard: the owner and pilot, 70-year-old Leslie Gropp, his 38-year-old son, Tol, and two of Tol's friends?all returning from a morning hike on a clear, 80-degree day in an area known as No Return Wilderness. The four were headed to McCall, Idaho, a small mountain town where they planned to have dinner. "I knew that the takeoff took a little longer than normal," Tol Gropp told Boise's KBOI-TV. "But the runway was so long that once we got up in the air I wasn't concerned about it." The plane struggled to gain altitude after takeoff. According to the National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary crash report, the pilot "flew straight out for about three or four minutes, but the airplane would only ascend to about 60 to 70 feet above the tops of the trees." The plane "started losing altitude and experienced a downdraft," sending it into the trees below. "It happened so fast that I remember hitting the trees and it sounded like rapid fire," Gropp said. "Gunfire, it sounded like, but then we were all upside down, seat-belted in, and you can hear in the video my dad asking if everyone is all right." The entire ordeal was captured by two GoPro cameras?including one mounted inside the cockpit. The cameras were left on for several hours, Gropp said, resulting in the gripping footage, edited down to the seven-minute film now on youTube. Leslie Gropp?a retired 31-year veteran of the Idaho Army National Guard?suffered a broken jaw and cheekbone in the crash, but is expected to make a full recovery. Tol and his two friends?copilot Nathan Williams, 41, and Alexander Arhets, also 41?were treated for minor injuries. And all four walked away. "I honestly believe my dad saved our lives by the way he continued to fly the plane through the trees and making sure he didn't give up or try and pull out of it too hard," Tol told the network. Two campers who witnessed the crash rushed to the scene and alerted authorities, according to the Idaho Statesman. Firefighters battling wildfires in the area had to cut down several trees so a helicopter could land and airlift the pilot to the hospital.

Think your plane is too heavy to be affected by a little wind?

Here's why you ALWAYS tie down your plane!

Outstanding video promoting the 2012 EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh Wisconsin. The 2012 AirVenture will include a tribute to the J-3 cub, the Tuskeegee Airmen, the Poberezney family, and just about every aircraft ever built. See you there!

From home, to the airport, to where you really want to be. All in the Transition(R) Street-Legal Airplane, all on super unleaded autogas, all on your schedule. www.driventofly.com

Awesome video of Base Jumper and Wingsuit Pilot, Jeb Corliss, "Grinding The Crack"

John invited a class of special need students to spend some time at his hanger. Lots of fun with the airplanes, hangar toys, and food. Everybody left with a toy, a hug, and a big smile.