Helicopter Crash near Seattle’s Space Needle
March 18 2014
(CNN) — It was the sound of the engine that alerted some people who were in Seattle’s Fisher Plaza Tuesday morning that something was amiss.
At about 7:40 a.m., Bo Bain was a few feet from the famed Space Needle that towers over the northern end of the city when he heard sounds he has grown accustomed to hearing during his work in the tourist district on a construction project.
“We were working here on the corner and the helicopter came in and landed, as he usually does several times a day,” Bain told CNN affiliate KOMO.
The pilot put the news helicopter down on a landing pad outside KOMO’s offices “for a minute or two,” and then tried to rise again into the air, Bain said. That’s when the routine engine noises changed abruptly, and Bain knew something was up.
“When he went to take back off, the sound of the helicopter changed kind of drastically, and I looked and the helicopter was almost immediately pitched sideways and off balance, and he kind of just nose-dove over the trees, and clipped the top of the trees and crashed just on the other side of the street there.”
As soon as it hit the ground, the helicopter burst into flames and a line of aviation fuel started running down Broad Street. It was more than two hours before the Space Needle was to open but at a time when the area was abuzz with commuters en route to work. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation offices are about a quarter-mile away.
Flymall News March 2014
Lots going on at the Flymall (http://flymall.org/). We are now part of the Ural Motorcycle Emissary program. Keep checking our Facebook page for more information and details. Contact us if you need sales brochures or other information on these great motorcycles. We’ll be showing our Ural at shows throughout this coming show season and we will have some cool Ural items to give a way. We have one of the oldest (not the oldest) Ural Motorcycles in the country.
The team at Kraemer Aviation and the Flymall (http://flymall.org/) are pleased to announce that our membership has been accepted to the Association of Online Appraisers as a “Certified Member” status. We hope to earn some of their advanced certifications over the coming months.
Harry Kraemer, a 9-time Master Flight Instructor, recently renewed his Master CFI accreditation. Harry is the CEO and president of Kraemer Aviation Services (http://Flymall.org/). He specializes in glass cockpit, turbine, and complex aircraft training as well as aircraft checkouts.
Master Instructors LLC takes great pride in announcing a significant aviation accomplishment on the part of Harry Kraemer, the president of Kraemer Aviation Services and resident of Germantown, Maryland. Recently, Harry’s accreditation as a Master CFI (Certificated Flight Instructor) was renewed by Master Instructors LLC, the international accrediting authority for Master Instructor designations as well as the FAA-approved Master Instructor Program. He first earned this national professional accreditation in 1998, has held it continuously since then, and is one of only 5 worldwide to earn the credential nine (9) times.
To help put these achievements in their proper perspective, there are approximately 98,000 CFIs in the United States. Fewer than 800 aviation educators worldwide have achieved one or more of the Master accreditations thus far. Harry was the first in Maryland to earn this designation and is one of only 12 Maryland aviation educators to earn this prestigious “Master” title. In addition, he is the only person who has ever earned and held three different Master Instructor accreditations concurrently.
In the words of former FAA Administrator Marion Blakey, “The Master Instructor accreditation singles out the best that the right seat has to offer.”
The Master Instructor designation is a national accreditation recognized by the FAA. Candidates must demonstrate an ongoing commitment to excellence, professional growth, and service to the aviation community, and must pass a rigorous evaluation by a peer Board of Review. The process parallels the continuing education regimen used by other professionals to enhance their knowledge base while increasing their professionalism. Designees are recognized as outstanding aviation educators for not only their excellence in teaching, but for their engagement in the continuous process of learning — both their own, and their students’. The designation must be renewed biennially and significantly surpasses the FAA requirements for renewal of the candidate’s flight instructor certificate.
ELTs
ELTs can save pilots’ and passengers’ lives by helping search and rescue (SAR) personnel locate a downed aircraft after an accident and even minimize risk to SAR personnel during SAR operations. However, these lifelines can be rendered inoperative if the switch position is improperly set or if the ELT becomes detached from the aircraft.
See link below for full story
2014 Morgan Review
Here is a nice review/update on the 2014 Morgan 3 wheeler.
The two-year-old Morgan 3 Wheeler has been revised to take into account customer feedback
Full story at http://flymall.org/docs/MorganReview2014/2014MorganReview.pdf
Traffic Patrol Thanksgiving Eve
Way back when in the late 1980s as my aviation career was getting started I was flying reporters during am and pm traffic – traffic patrol. Thanksgiving eve was always exciting. The reporters were always all fired up for the evening flight. We flew a longer evening flight to cover all of the traffic. That was fun flying. There were three other aircraft flying traffic around the Baltimore belt…way and we all flew at different altitudes. I had the lowest assigned altitude. We all would look forward to Thanksgiving eve just for all of the excitement coming from the reporters onboard our aircraft. And of course accidents just added to the fun. There’d be four aircraft circling an accident. Fun, fun, fun flying traffic on Thanksgiving eve!
Dreamlifter landed at Jabara
A Boeing jet is sitting on the runway at Wichita’s Jabara Airport – and may be stuck there for awhile.
A Boeing 747 LCF Dreamlifter landed at Jabara around 10:20 Wednesday night. Statements from the city of Wichtia confirm the cargo plane was heading for McConnell Air Force Base.
It’s not clear if the jet landed at Jabara by mistake, or for some other reason. The F.A.A. will investigate that deviation from schedule. But radio transmissions posted online suggest the crew thought it landed at a different airport.
Boeing sent a tug to Jabara Airport to turn around the jet. It had a law enforcement escort, because it had a top speed of about 13 miles per hour.
The Dreamlifter is too large to takeoff from Jabara’s 6,100-foot runway.
The jet reportedly is owned by Atlas Air of Purchase, New York, and had a two-person crew.
2014 Morgan 3 Wheeler
The Morgan policy of continuous improvement has led to a comprehensive review of the 3 wheelers
characteristics, resulting in some important updates for the 2014 model. Click here for more details.
characteristics, resulting in some important updates for the 2014 model. Click here for more details.
Morgan Three Wheeler Beginning Details
Here are more details on the restart of production of the Morgan Three Wheeler – Click here for the story
The New Morgan Three Wheeler Begining
How the Triking Helped Jumpstart the New Morgan Three Wheeler
A gentleman named Pete Larsen (of Liberty Motors in Seattle, Washington) was trying to import a Moto Guzzi powered Triking into the states. Unsuccessful Pete decided to design and manufacture his own 3 wheel cycle car. Already in the sidecar manufacturing business Pete used his vehicle design and manufacturing experience and created the American Cycle-car Endeavor or ACE, also referred to as the ACE Cycle Car or Liberty’s ACE. The ACE is/was modeled after a 1930s Morgan Aero and it is powered by a Harley Davidson V Twin.
Pete’s ACE was in limited production for several years when Andrew English (A world re known automotive journalist) test drove one and did a very nice review that was published in the London Daily Telegraph newspaper in February 2009. Charles Morgan (president and third generation CEO of Morgan Motor Company) just happened to see the article and pictures and was inspired to bring back the Morgan Three Wheeler which stopped production in the 1950s.
Charles Morgan hired Lance Tunick (an American based automotive consultant) to meet with Pete – this was in early 2009. This meeting went well and later that same year Charles Morgan sent two top executives (Steve Morris / Director of Operations and Tim Whitworth/Chief Financial Officer) to meet with Pete and further evaluate the ACE.
Needless to say the top folks at Morgan were impressed. Pete had spent numerous hours on research and development on many engineering challenges on the ACE and was able to correct and/or overcome all of the challenges.
A year later the Morgan Motor Company had an agreement with Pete Larsen for him to provide blueprints, engineering drawings, engineering consulting services and a fully operational ACE. And the rest is history.
N731WA Appraisal
N731WA Appraisal Summary
1973 Piper PA34200
SN 347350245
12,457 TTAF
Time SMOH on right engine is 1486.6 (based on current tac of 3576.6). Time SMOH on left engine is 879.6 (based on current tac of 2857.3).
A visual inspection and log book analysis was performed October 20 2013 on the aircraft N731WA at: Tipton Airport, located in Fort Meade, Maryland. It is the opinion of this appraiser that the fair market value of the above aircraft is:
$57,275.00 USD
