EAA Sport Aviation - October 2011

FUELVENTURE 200/400
PREPARES COMPETITION
ASPEN SYNTHETIC VISION APPROVED

ENTRIES ARE BEING SOUGHT FOR THE FOURTH

annual FuelVenture 200/400, billed as “a competition for the most fuel-efficient aircraft on the planet” and scheduled for are recorded upon completion of the flight, and the difference between the before and after flight number gives the amount of fuel burned. Fuel usage is then divided in miles flown to get the miles per gallon, and a formula created by the Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency (CAFE) Foundation is also calculated. Prizes are awarded for competitors with the best mpg ratings as well as the best CAFE scores.

ASPEN AVIONICS EARNED
FAA APPROVAL to display
synthetic vision on its line
of flat glass primary flight
displays and multifunction
displays. The Aspen flat
glass displays already have
the necessary hardware
capability to show synthetic
vision, so installation of
new software at your
avionics shop is all that is

required to install the capability. Aspen has an introductory price of $2,995 that permits you to install synthetic vision in up to three Aspen units in the same aircraft for the one fee. Aspen synthetic terrain data currently covers only the contiguous 48 states in the United States but will expand to the rest of the world in late 2011. The first FAA approval for synthetic vision covers piston singles and light twins but will be expanded to helicopters and high-performance airplanes later this year, or in early 2012.

BETTY SKELTON, ‘FIRST LADY OF AEROBATICS,’ PASSES

AEROBATICS LEGEND AND INTERNATIONAL AEROBATICS CLUB HALL OF FAME member Betty Skelton—the “First Lady of Aerobatics”— died at her home in Winter Park, Florida, on August 31 at 85 years old. Skelton was a pioneer as a female aerobatic competitor and air show performer, winning the U.S. National Female Aerobatic Championships for three straight years (1948-1950). She’s also known for making the Pitts Special airplane famous, as her performances in her Little Stinker

created a market for the biplane designed by Curtis Pitts. Among her other aviation achievements were her participation in the post-World War II Cleveland National Air Races, speed records in a P- 51 Mustang (421.6 mph), and an altitude mark of 29,050 feet in a Piper J- 3 Cub.