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Reno Air Races:
Have you ever been? Are you going? Do you want to go? Let us know your thoughts below.


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Ordinarily, I read and appreciate the great diversity in opinion and judgment, in aviation and elsewhere. In the case of Brent Blue, MD, however, I find his pronouncements on nutrition to be so biased and misaligned with the facts that I am motivated to point this out.

I think most readers understand that, as a group, physicians are not particularly knowledgable on the topic of nutrition. That is changing with the younger MDs and with the other health care providers who now have a large share of the primary healthcare responsibility.

Dr. Blue however, is clearly from the old school. He regales us with his "n = 1" generalizations (all blonds have blue eyes, at least the one I saw did) self-selected to serve his bias that nutritional supplements are worthless, while ignoring the real evidence on all sides of this large and complex issue, evidence based on replicated clinical trials.

It is not my intention to open a debate on nutritional supplements. I do want to point out that when Dr. Blue cites a single incident where "X" occurred to one individual "because" he took supplement "Y," he is reasoning out of superstition and/or bias. I would invite anyone interested in furthering his knowledge on the topic to scan the titles of 100 or so articles in the Journal of Clinical nutrition. Read the abstracts of a few that interest you. 

Stick to what you know Brent. 

Airparks. The benefits of having a runway in your neighborhood. Have you ever or do you live on a airpark or are you privy to a private strip in your backyard? If so, where? For the rest of us, do you want to or have you thought about living on one? Let us know below.

This week we ask "Where is your favorite fly-in vacation destination?"
Let us know your fav spot below.

This week we ask: If you had your choice what would you choose to fly most often:
bi-plane, high wing or low wing? Sound off below.

We are learning more and more that mobile devices like the Apple iPad are becoming a valuable tool in the cockpit; with many apps available from the likes of ForeFlight, Airguide Publications, Jeppesen, ASA, Sporty's Pilot Shop, and NEXTGENsystems to name a few. Do you have an iPad or similar device? Do you use yours in the cockpit? If so, comment below to let us and other readers know what apps you use and how beneficial this technology is for the GA community.

GA, This Week in Review
3/28/2011 - 3/30/2011

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U.S. Air Force flying daily humanitarian missions from Yokota into Sendai, Japan
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan -- Sendai is the biggest city in the region hit by the tsunami March 11 and its airport was practically destroyed.  Within hours, a U.S. Air Force Special Operations team working with the Japanese cleared the runway allowing C-130s and eventually C-17 aircraft to land carrying much-needed disaster relief.  Sendai Airport has become a "symbol of hope" for Japanese people in the region.  To date, the Air Force has flown more than 643 tons of humanitarian relief supplies into Sendai Airport to be distributed to the Japanese people throughout the region. For additional information & photos from this and other missions can be found here: http://www.af.mil/japandisasterassistance.asp

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Press Release - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: DYNON AVIONICS ANNOUNCES HAND HELD RADIO AUCTION.

As part of their initial entry into aviation communications, Dynon is offering a limited edition hand-held radio.  100 Dynon DX15 compact aviation band handleld transceivers were created as part of their plans to eventually supplement the versatile SkyView Glass Panel System with a panel mounted radio. As part of that program they have created the hand-held transceivers to learn about radio design, FCC Part 87 certification, and radio production. These 100 limited edition hand-held aviation radios are restricted to usage in the United States and are being offered to U.S. pilots through a unique auction. To participate, bidders must visit http://www.dynonavionics.com/docs/Radio.html and place a bid. A typical retail price for equivalent radios would be about $250, but bids will be accepted starting as low as $75. Participants can only bid once, for up to two units. Shipping in the U.S. is free. The top legitimate bids for the 100 hand-helds will be accepted. The price for all of them will be the lowest bid of the top 100.  Anyone who bids below the top 100 bids will not receive a unit. If there is more than one bid at the lowest price, then Dynon will accept the first bid submitted at that price. Bids will be accepted between March 29th and April 27th. Winners will be notified by email and will be expected to pay by credit card.

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NEWS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: USAG EXPANDING LIGHT SPORT SERVICE IN MIDWEST

Denton, TX – US Aviation Services, a division of US Aviation Group, is taking steps to become a national/regional factory authorized service center for the maintenance and repair of the majority of Light Sport Aircraft models. They already have Rotax and Jabiru qualified A&P’s on staff and factory authorizations from the majority of Light Sport aircraft manufacturers.

“We perform routine services such as oil changes and conditional inspections, and have the capability to accept aircraft in Texas instead of returning them to the factory for major repairs. This will ultimately reduce insurance premiums due to lower repair costs for the industry. We have a broad knowledge of Light Sport repair and manufacturing and have great relationships with the LSA manufacturers. This is critical to cost effective and legal maintenance for light sports.” said Scott Severen, Director of Business Development for US Aviation.

“Because of the way the ASTM Standards are written for LSAs, routine maintenance is a different issue than general aviation,” said Butch Johnson, Director of Maintenance. “The FAA requires that any replacement parts conform to original factory specs and there can be no substitutes without factory authorization. This means there must be a very close relationship between the maintenance facility and the factory to ensure that, in the event of an insurance claim or legal issue, the repairs and paperwork are all in order. It’s a technicality that is easily overlooked.” Johnson said there may already be a significant number of LSAs out there that are technically not in compliance. US Aviation provides Light Sport, Single and Multi Engine, Turboprop and Jet Maintenance services, is an FAA 145 Repair Station U9FR750K, and Full Service Executive FBO that delivers quick turn line and fuel services at Denton Airport, Denton, Texas KDTO. For more information on LSA maintenance contact US Aviation Services at 866.383.2400 or visit www.usaviation.aero.

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Press Release - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
FAA-Conforming HondaJet Achieves Maximum Speed  
Greensboro, NC, March 29, 2011 – Honda Aircraft Company, Inc., today announced that the first FAA-conforming HondaJet light business jet has achieved a maximum speed of 425 KTAS (489 mph) at 30,000 ft. and a maximum Mach number of 0.72 above 30,000 ft.  This achievement surpasses the company's performance commitment of 420 KTAS for the production HondaJet.

The FAA-conforming HondaJet's maximum speed of 425 KTAS was recorded on March 11, 2011.  While flight testing and the build of FAA-conforming aircraft continue, construction of the HondaJet production facility on the company's Greensboro campus nears completion.  Honda soon will take occupancy of the 263,400 ft2 production facility and begin the process of moving equipment and personnel into the facility and undertaking pre-production preparations and training necessary to support HondaJet production ramp-up beginning in 2012.  Click here to read more about this story or click here to learn more about HondaJet:  http://hondajet.honda.com 

 

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We get a lot of useful GA press releases, product announcements, fly-in info & more each week. Because we cannot possibly fit all of this in our weekly e-newsletter, we decided this is the best way to get the information out to you. Enjoy.