EAA Sport Aviation

FLIGHTLINE
INDUSTRY AND COMMUNITY NEWS
CARROLL SHELBY PASSES AWAY
CARROLL HALL SHELBY passed away in
Dallas on May 10 at the age of 89. An
EAA member from 1988 to 2010, he
was a frequent AirVenture attendee,
signing autographs and participating
in numerous activities including the
Gathering of Eagles fundraiser. Shelby
was one of the most influential high-
performance designers in automotive
history, and he leveraged that back-
ground to help design several one-
of-a-kind vehicles that were specially
constructed by Ford Motor Company
for auction at the Gathering event.
Shelby enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps, trained
at the San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center (Lackland Air Force
Base), and served as a flight instructor and test pilot during
World War II.
AVIATION WORLD MOURNS LOSS
OF EVELYN BRYAN JOHNSON
EVELYN BRYAN JOHNSON, who had more flight
hours logged than any living female pilot in the
world, died May 10 in Jefferson City, Tennessee.
She was 102 years old. According to the National
Aviation Hall of Fame, which inducted her in
2007, “Mama Bird” had 57,635 flight hours—
more flying time than any woman in aviation
history and second all-time only to Ed Long’s
64,000. She also taught more than 5,000 pilots
how to fly, and as an FAA designated pilot exam-
iner since 1952, conducted more than 9,000 checkrides. Evelyn was an
EAA member from 1979 to 2009 and a Vintage Aircraft Association
member from 1980 to 2008.
Among her many honors and awards: Elder Statesman of
Aviation Award, Flight Instructor of the Year, Aviation Airport
Manager of the Year, Women in Aviation Pioneer Hall of Fame,
Flight Instructors Hall of Fame, and the Wright Brothers Master
Pilot Award.
KING RADIO FOUNDER DEAD AT 90

ED KING JR., WHO FOUNDED King Radio, one of
the most successful GA avionics companies,
passed away on June 3 at the age of 90. In
1948, King founded his first electronics com-
pany to make components, and Collins Radio
in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was a major customer.
Collins was so happy with the components
that it bought Ed’s company, paving the way
for King to found King Radio in 1959.
King Radio engineers created the KX
170 nav/comm, which went on to become
the best selling nav/comm of all time.
The company expanded into all levels of
GA, including turboprops and business
jets, but the company’s greatest success
was in personal piston airplanes. In 1985
King sold his company to Bendix and the
name was changed to Bendix/King.
Additional mergers left Honeywell in
charge, but the Bendix/King brand is still
very active, and new product developments
are underway.

// THE FAA ISSUED AN airworthiness
directive (AD) requiring inspection of
the lower wing spar caps on all models
of the Cessna 210 piston single with
cantilevered wings—all but the first version
of the airplane, which had a strut-
braced wing. The inspection is looking for
cracks in the lower wing spar cap,
and if cracks are found, the cracked spar
components—or the entire wing—must
be replaced.
// ROTAX HAS RELEASED MANDATORY Alert
Service Bulletin ASB-912-061, covering spe-
cific part number and serial number ranges
of fuel pumps that were manufactured since
late 2011 and supplied on new engines or as
spare parts. Engines affected will require
replacement of the fuel pressure hose as well
as an inspection and cleaning of the pressure
side of the fuel system including carburetors
before next flight.
// THE GENERAL AVIATION Manufacturers
Association reports that GA piston airplane
shipments fell 2. 1 percent, from 377 units in
2011 to 369 units, in the first quarter this
year as compared to 2011. Piston-powered
airplane shipments totaled 184 units in the
first quarter compared to 188 units during
the same time period in 2011. Turboprop
shipments were up 3. 3 percent, from 61
units in 2011 to 63 units in 2012, while busi-
ness jet shipments decreased 4. 7 percent
from 128 to 122.
// CESSNA AIRCRAFT COMPANY and
Bombardier announced new jets in May at
the European Business Aviation Convention
and Exhibition (EBACE). For Cessna, the
Longitude medium-sized, long-range busi-
ness jet has a range of 4,000 nautical miles
and a maximum speed of Mach 0.86.
Bombardier’s Learjet has two new models,
the Learjet 70 and 75. The 70 has speeds up
to Mach 0.81 and a range of 2,060 nautical
miles. The 75 has a range of 2,040 nautical
miles and speeds up to Mach 0.81.