Zenith Aircraft Company hosted its 32nd annual Homecoming fly-in and open hangar days on September 15 & 16 at its factory located at Mexico Memorial Airport (KMYJ) in Mexico, Missouri. Zenith builders and fliers from around the country flew into the Homecoming, one of the largest of its kind in the nation. Organizers proclaimed the 2023 event as the "best one yet" and thanked everyone who visited and participated.
These age-appropriate activities are designed to introduce girls ages 8-18 to the career and lifestyle possibilities in aviation and aerospace. Girls are presented the opportunity to meet female role models, attend career panels, get up close with aircraft, tour airports, and take advantage of hands-on fun and educational activities, including chart reading, scavenger hunts, exploring the moon and Mars research sites, and learning about aircraft engines and avionics with the help of aviation maintenance technicians.
While it's not a new concept, the emergence of very small, or "micro," turbines is of great interest, especially these days when fuel costs and availability are on every owner's mind.
Several manufacturers have jumped into what is likely to be a lucrative general aviation market for these microturbines. While the concept of turbine engines remains consistent with all the players, subtle differences between the offerings are present. Before we get into some of the available microturbines, let's look at what makes an engine a "turbine" and what differentiates the micros from what we know as the "standard" turbine engines widely used today.
R66 Turbine Helicopter Takes the C-Suite to New Heights
Executives rely on the R66 for efficient, reliable transportation, whether it's a board meeting across town or a conference out of town. The R66 features 5 seats, large baggage compartment, and a 350 nm (650 km) approximate maximum range. The lightweight yet powerful Rolls Royce RR300 engine operates on readily available Jet A fuel and delivers reserve power, additional payload, and excellent altitude performance.
I learned the value of this when I was training for my private pilot certificate, and the MVFR we took off with started leaning toward the IFR as a rain squall moved up from the south. We were doing maneuvers over the Puget Sound in Washington state when my CFI pulled up the ATIS for the home field and we learned the field—which was behind us—had dropped to IFR, and unfortunately the airplane we were in was VFR only.
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