“The EAA Sport Aviation Halls of Fame were established to honor the outstanding achievements of men and women in aviation who share the spirit of EAA and its community,” the organization said. “Those inducted into the halls of fame are selected by their peers for myriad contributions made to their respective areas of aviation.”

• READ MORE: NAFI Unveils Newest Flight Instructor Hall of Fame Inductees

The 2024 class will honor six inductees, representing the Vintage Aircraft Association, the International Aerobatic Club, ultralights, EAA Warbirds and homebuilders. 

The 2024 inductees include:

• EAA Homebuilders Hall of Fame: Sebastien Heintz, owner and president of Zenith Aircraft Company;
• International Aerobatic Club Hall of Fame: Linda Meyers Morrissey, a multi-time medalist at the World Aerobatic Championship, and long-time member of the U.S. Unlimited Aerobatic Team;
• Warbirds of America Hall of Fame: Frank Stickler, a former U.S. Air Force and American Airlines pilot, and founder of Fox 51, a maintenance business focused on antique and warbird airplanes;
• Vintage Aircraft Association Hall of Fame: Dave and Jeanne Allen (posthumous), the husband-wife restoration team known throughout the fly-in circuit for multiple projects including a 1930 Waco ASO and a 1947 Piper PA-11 Cub Special.
• EAA Ultralights Hall of Fame: Dave Goulet (posthumous), co-founder of Quad City Ultralight Corporation, known for manufacturing the Quad City Challenger.

The inductees will be honored by EAA at a dinner ceremony on October 16, in the Eagle Hangar of the EAA Aviation Museum in Oshkosh Wisconsin.

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The inductees for 2023 include: the late Neal Loving, EAA Homebuilders Hall of Fame; Lew Shattuck of Yelm, Washington, International Aerobatic Club Hall of Fame; the late Charles “Chuck” Greenhill, Warbirds of America Hall of Fame; John Parish Sr. of Tullahoma, Tennessee, Vintage Aircraft Association Hall of Fame; and Paul Mather of St. Elmo, Alabama, EAA Ultralights Hall of Fame.

• READ MORE: Members of EAA 983 Honored for Safe Operation

Loving was born in Detroit in 1916 and took his first flight at age 14. He began learning to fly in 1938 despite difficulties finding flight schools that accepted Black students. He later designed the S-1 glider and lost both legs in an aircraft accident but continued to pursue aviation. He went on to design his most well-known aircraft, the WR-1, which won the Most Outstanding Design Award at the 1954 EAA Fly-In Convention. Loving died in December 1998.

Parish is known for his interest in the Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing. After years of flying, he was able to buy his own Staggerwing in 1970 and became increasingly involved with the International Staggerwing Club. In 1973 he and his wife, Charlotte, helped establish the Staggerwing Museum Foundation, known today as the Beechcraft Heritage Museum, in Tullahoma, Tennessee. Parish’s involvement with EAA has included serving on its board for more than 30 years, and working as director and vice president of the EAA Aviation Foundation.

• READ MORE: EAA Chapter Marks 20,000 Young Eagles Flights

Shattuck enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1952, where he flew many different fighter aircraft. In 1966, Shattuck was captured after his F-105 was shot down in North Vietnam and was held as a prisoner for more than six years. He retired from the Air Force in 1976 as a colonel. He soon bought a Pitts Special and began practicing aerobatics. In 1978 he won the Pitts Cup trophy in the IAC National Championships. He continued flying in competition until 2018, when he was 85. Shattuck also spent many years mentoring aerobatic pilots and judges.

Greenhill became involved with restoring warbirds soon after he served in the U.S. Army. Greenhill used his skills as a tool and die maker to restore warbirds to their original condition working with his wife, Bev. One standout among his many projects is the only surviving Grumman J2F-4 Duck from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Greenhill’s restorations often appeared at EAA AirVenture and earned him the 2007 World War II Grand Champion, 2003 and 2005 Reserve Grand Champion, and 2014 Preservation awards. Greenhill died in April 2022.

Mather began flying in 1974 at age 18 and has flown a range of ultralights, including hang gliders and Quicksilver foot-launch models. In 1980 Mather began working at Quicksilver in sales and marketing. Among his notable feats was his 1984 nonstop flight in an MXL II ultralight from Annaba, Algeria, to Monaco over the Mediterranean Sea, setting numerous FAI records. Mather left Quicksilver in 1995 to start his own venture, M-Squared Aircraft, which produces a variety of aircraft, including the part 102 ultralight Breese-XL.

In addition to the inductions, Jim Casper received the Henry Kimberly Leadership Award, which recognizes Oshkosh-area residents for volunteer service to the EAA. Casper is a longtime EAA Aviation Museum docent volunteer.

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ByDanJohnson.com, a website dedicated to news and media coverage of the LSA and affiliated categories, will be rebranded as AffordableAviation.com. In addition, all of the historical content found on ByDanJohnson.com now will soon be housed on FLYINGMag.com, as part of our  Affordable Aviation coverage. 

Craig Fuller, CEO of FLYING Media Group, said of the acquisition, “Most importantly, AffordableAviation.com will be led by Dan Johnson. For 20 years—an eternity in internet time—Dan has led the recreational aviation industry with original content in written, graphic, and video formats. Throughout the transition, Dan will continue to produce fresh written and video content. Look for AffordableAviation.com to provide coverage of the LSA market, aircraft, and updates on the FAA’s proposed Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certificates—or MOSAIC—rulemaking.” 

Johnson said, “From a front-row seat, I have witnessed and reported on the birth of three aviation sectors—hang gliders, ultralights, and LSA. My work has spanned an exciting, ambitious period in worldwide aviation, and I am excited about the new opportunities that will be possible as part of FLYING.”

Fuller added, “The LSA category is the most exciting part of the aviation industry, offering affordable access to some of the most advanced general aviation aircraft in the market. With the changes expected under MOSAIC, we expect an explosion in new aircraft models, innovative technology, and more affordable offerings for pilots and aircraft owners. Affordable aviation is coming to general aviation and FLYING Media Group plans to capitalize on this opportunity by providing far more coverage and content related to the category, across all of our channels.” 

The integration of FLYING Media Group’s channels also includes incorporating content from Affordable Aviation into the print edition of FLYING. In addition, more than 2,000 articles with tens of thousands of photos—as well as many other content features—will be moved to Affordable Aviation over the next few months. Finally, a special section of FLYING’s new aircraft marketplace, Aircraft for Sale, will feature aircraft that meet the definition of Affordable Aviation. 

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There is, however, a way to take a pretty good look at what LSAs might become once MOSAIC is etched in stone. You’ll need to travel to Friedrichshafen, Germany, and attend the upcoming 2022 Aero Friedrichshafen trade show (AERO22), known affectionately as “AERO”—much like EAA’s AirVenture is referred to by many simply as “Oshkosh.” This year’s AERO22 show is April 27-30 at the Messe Friedrichshafen convention complex, adjacent to Bodensee Airport (EDNY).

The reason the airplanes found at AERO22 can be considered a possible preview to our post-MOSAIC LSA world is that in the EU, the “ultralight” class of airplanes are in many ways the same airframe and engine combinations as found here as LSAs, only without many of the limitations sport pilots in the U.S. have to contend with. In the EU, what we know as an LSA can fly with higher maximum takeoff weight, go faster because retractable gear and constant-speed props are allowed, and be used for many commercial purposes.

“It’s safe to say that what’s going on in the EU could be a precursor to what our post-MOSAIC world might look like,” said LSA industry expert Dan Johnson, who has flown across the pond to attend AERO 26 times. 

“The EU and U.S. sort of leapfrog each other when it comes to regulations,” Johnson said. “I have seen this several times. Right now, they’re ahead of us when it comes to features, speed limits, and maximum takeoff weights with their ultralights, but we should move ahead of them when the MOSAIC rewrite is final. And because of a collaborative relationship between governments and universities, innovation thrives in the EU. 

“Even after our MOSAIC rewrite is in the books, they could again leapfrog ahead of us in the future with new ideas we are not yet even pursuing.”

What Could Be Coming Soon

A good example of the differences between EU ultralight regulations and LSA regulations here in the U.S. is the JMB Aircraft VL3, sold in the U.S by Alion Aviation. 

This sleek high-performance model can be ordered in the EU with the Rotax 912ULS, 912iS, 914UL Turbo, or the 141-hp 915iS Turbo engine, with the latter delivering 200 ktas cruise speed on the VL3 with retractable gear, a variable-pitch propeller, and 1,500-pound maximum takeoff weight. This faster version of the VL3 is available now to the U.S. market, but only as an “Experimental Exhibition or 51 percent amateur build with factory assistance” model that would require a private pilot certificate at a minimum to operate and be capable of all kinds of flying, including flight into IFR conditions.

The same VL3 airframe is available to the U.S. pilots as an SLSA, with either 912ULS or 912iS Rotax engine options, but with fixed-pitch propeller and fixed landing gear, and U.S. LSA limitations of 120 ktas cruise speed and 1,320 pounds maximum takeoff weight. While nobody knows what future LSA regulations will look like after MOSAIC, it is possible that aircraft such as the much more capable EU version of the VL3 may end up being qualified for pilots to fly here with a sport pilot certificate.

Additionally, JMB Aircraft just announced that a version of their VL3 flew for the first time in early April at Valenciennes Airfield (LFAV) in France powered by a TurboTech turbine engine. The model will feature full FADEC control, and since no performance targets were released, it is unclear how this turbine VL3 would fit into the FAA’s MOSAIC framework.

AERO22’s 30th Anniversary Show 

This year’s 30th edition of AERO will feature more than 700 exhibitors from 38 countries and is expected to host more than 35,000 visitors, 63 percent of whom hold a pilot certificate, according to the AERO22 website. Show organizers welcome pilots to fly into EDNY in their aircraft, and each will get a one-day free entry to the show, though arrival slots are required. There will be free bus shuttles from the airport to the pilot’s entrance at the Messe Friedrichshafen complex.

Clock is Ticking on MOSAIC Release

Johnson says it is “highly likely” that the FAA will release big news about the MOSAIC rewrite at the upcoming EAA AirVenture Oshkosh show this summer.

“When [the] FAA went to Congress to ask for a bigger budget, the response from Congress was that in order to grant that request, [the] FAA would need to rewrite regulations to incorporate UAVs, air taxis, drones, multicopters, and other related aircraft into our national airspace system. Congress said it had to be done by December 31, 2023, and [the] FAA says it needs 16 months to release the NPRM and read every comment. 

“If you do the math, and if [the] FAA is staying on that Congressionally mandated schedule, that means we are looking at Oshkosh 2022 for the NPRM release. If they do not release it then, that will mean their schedule is slipping,” Johnson said.

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AC 90-109A is quite long and may tax spans of attention weaned on television, but it is full of pithy observations and good advice and is well worth reading. (It can be readily downloaded; just search for the name.) After a discussion of various kinds of flying characteristics and types of stability and instability, it supplies a multipage list of amateur-built airplane types and the broad categories to which they belong. Some of these categories are self-evident; for example, it is quite obvious that a VariEze has a nonconventional configuration. But one category stands out for the number of types in it, particular challenges that it presents, and the fact that it might have never occurred to you that it is a category at all: the “low-inertia, high-drag” airplane.

What brought me to this publication was its mention in an accident report on the summer 2019 crash of a Rans S-12—a two-seat, side-by-side, pod-and-boom pusher—in Indiana. The accident was notable mainly for its lack of distinguishing characteristics. It took place on a clear evening half an hour before sunset at the pilot’s private grass strip, where he had been practicing landings. No one saw the crash, but a surveillance camera captured the airplane’s spiraling descent, impact and ensuing fire. The airplane came to rest in a nearly vertical position, and the pilot, 42 years old, must have died instantly.

A neighbor later told a relative of the pilot that he had heard the airplane fly over his barn. He said the motor had “died,” and he went outside to look. The engine restarted, and the airplane proceeded toward the runway. He turned away, but then heard the crash and saw the fire.

Accident investigators did not tear down the engine, a two-cylinder, two-stroke Rotax 582 of 65 horsepower, but the witness’s report implied that it was running at the time of the crash. It is unclear what would have caused it to “die” and then return to life. Perhaps the pilot merely pulled back the throttle abruptly and then pushed it forward again. Suppose, however, that without any action on the pilot’s part, the engine had done something unexpected: given some sign that it might, at any moment, quit running for good.

Such a signal coming from an engine heightens the attention of any pilot. But different pilots react in different ways. Experienced pilots try to analyze the situation and remind themselves not to be distracted from flying the airplane. Inexperienced pilots may shed what little finesse they have. This pilot had around 20 hours toward a sport-pilot license and a solo signoff. He was hardly likely to react to engine trouble with icy calm.

This is where the low-inertia, high-drag idea comes in. As the National Transportation Safety Board’s analysis of the accident explains, airplanes of this type have a narrow margin between cruise speed and stall speed; they are always in that “coffin corner.” They “rapidly lose airspeed when there is a loss or reduction of power.” They may also experience significant airspeed decay with increased load factor, for instance, during turns and so are “particularly susceptible to unintentional stalls.” (This last characterization may be a little misleading. The drag increase in turns is due to induced, or lift-dependent, drag and is a function of the wingspan, not the dragginess of the airplane as a whole. It is true, however, that when an airplane has little excess power to start with, the effect of increased induced drag is more evident.)

The Rans S-12 is included in the circular’s list of such airplanes, but it’s in good company; the Piper Cub, Aeronca Champ, Quicksilver, Pietenpol Air Camper and Piel Emeraude—all classic types—are there, along with many others.

• Read More from Peter Garrison: Aftermath

We often speak of an airplane’s wing and power loading, which are easily calculated, but we never mention its drag loading, which can be equally important. Drag loading could be expressed in various ways. We could divide the weight of the airplane by its equivalent flat-plate area, or “drag area,” in square feet; this would give us a pounds-per-square-foot result resembling wing loading. Or we could give the airplane’s terminal velocity—the speed at which it would stabilize in a vertical, power-off dive. Either of these numbers would provide a metric for what the phrase “low-inertia, high-drag” implies: an airplane whose drag is sufficiently high, and weight sufficiently low, that it slows down rapidly when not under power. Think of a parachute.

The NTSB’s probable cause cites the pilot’s “exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack while maneuvering toward the runway, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and a loss of control.” The engine problem reported by the neighbor is not included as a contributing factor, but its mention in the analysis portion of the report suggests that the pilot could have been hastening to return to the runway. The wreckage was located near the middle of the 1,000-foot strip, a location that could require some sort of tight turn to get into position for an approach. Presumably, the airplane was already at a low altitude. If its nose dropped, the pilot’s instinctive reaction to pull back on the stick could only lead to disaster.

Pilots who are accustomed to flying the opposite type of airplane—ones having low drag and high inertia—are familiar with the difficulty of getting them to come down. They lose touch with the other type, which seem to fly in thicker air and upon which gravity seems to exert a more irresistible influence. This is not to say that this category of airplane is evil or characteristically dangerous. For decades, in the early years of aviation, this was the only type of airplane there was. Still, once you have flown the other type—the slick, fast type—low-inertia, high-drag airplanes must be approached with particular care. Airplanes, like people, have their personalities and must be treated considerately. Otherwise, they take offense.

Taking a Flight in a Trike

A professional pilot, 61, who was a multiengine ATP with glider and instructor ratings and 18,870 hours, asked to fly his friend’s “trike,” which had been in storage for 10 years. The owner refurbished the aircraft thoroughly and flew it several hours before turning it over to his friend, who had logged 13 hours of instruction in this category of aircraft and awaited only a check ride to get an official type endorsement. A trike is a weight-shift aircraft. It consists of a fabric wing from which dangles an open frame with a seat and, attached to the back, an engine. The pilot controls the angle of attack of the pivoting wing by pushing or pulling on a control bar. It is the very quintessence of low-inertia, high-drag aircraft. The pilot took off, climbed above the tree tops, began a turn to the left, stalled and spiraled in. The crash was fatal. It is not clear whether the aircraft was still climbing as it began the turn, but what does seem clear is that a narrow speed range is a trap into which even a highly experienced pilot may fall.

This story appeared in the March 2021 issue of Flying Magazine

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