Trade-A-Plane announces 75 years of business
August 27, 2012, 02:05 pm
The aviation marketplace publication Trade-A-Plane recently announced its 75th anniversary as the leader in buying and selling resources for the general aviation community. The company is a family run business and is currently on its fourth generation.
Cosby Stone, a publisher for the company, reports that his grandfather, Cosby Harrison, found interest in aviation when he began constructing a glider in his living room in the 1920s. He later purchased a 1929 Laird Swallow in 1930.
"In 1935, my grandfather crashed that airplane on a hot, hazy day," said Stone. "When that happened, there's no way that he could have realized the lasting impact of his adventure. His slight misfortune would give rise to a shoestring operation that would become a great entrepreneurial success - and play a significant role in aviation history."
Stone said his grandfather borrowed nearly $1,000 from a bank to buy the plane, which was now ruined and needed parts.
"Luckily, after the crash, my grandfather's ego was the only thing hurt, aside from his airplane, which was in tatters," Stone said. "In spite of his determination, he encountered a great deal of frustration finding parts to repair it. Aviation magazine ads of the day took months to generate a response. So, at the age of 37, this became the inspiration for him and my grandmother, Margaret, to start Trade-A-Plane at their kitchen table."
Stone's grandfather published the first issue of Trade-A-Plane in 1937, sending copies to 9,00 registered transport pilots across the United States.
In other aviation news, it would seem pilots are having to go to Trade-A-Plane for parts because birds are causing damage to planes, and the Federal Aviation Administration can't seem to contain the problem.
Assistant Inspector General Jeffrey Guzzetti wrote a recent reported stating the FAA's failure to act against airports violating bird-strike prevention policies on 25 occasions from 2009 to 2011.
Guzzetti wroted bird strikes have quintupled in the last 20 years to 9,840 in 2011. Populations of Canada geese, brown pelicans, sandhill cranes and wild turkeys pose risks to pilots because a bird could get caught in an engine and cause it to fail.
The most notable instance could be the 2009 crash landing by US Airways Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, who was forced to land an Airbus SAS A320 on the Hudson River after four Canada geese struck two of the plane's engines, causing failure.
The agency said it is continuing to make improvements and has already adopted recommendations put forth by Guzzetti.
For those worried about the unexpected geese flying around, pilot life insurance is a viable option.
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