Turboprops

What aviation aficionado hasn’t watched the iconic 1986 hit movie Top Gun, the story of Maverick, a US Navy F-14 pilot portrayed by actor Tom Cruise? In an early scene with co-star Anthony Edwards, the pair is walking among a bevy of parked F-14s when Maverick’s overcome with the need to yell, “I feel the […]

Daher reported steady deliveries in 2020 of its TBM series and Kodiak 100 turboprops, carrying it through a difficult year. The company has also shuffled its executive committee as part of a restructuring plan aimed to meet the challenges of a changed aeronautical industry. Two women will join the executive committee for the first time […]

Textron Aviation has gained FAA certification on the King Air 260, as it closes down production of two key models in Cessna and Beechcraft history—the Citation Sovereign+ and the King Air C90GTx. Flying contacted Textron Aviation for its official comment on the changes: “Textron Aviation continually aligns its product offerings with current and future market […]

New turboprop aircraft are one of the most exciting market segments for 2020 and beyond, with plenty of innovation being delivered in current and future models. While the General Aviation Manufacturers Association reported 525 turboprop shipments in 2019—down from the 601 turboprop units delivered in 2018—new models and upgrades to existing models point to continued interest from […]

Sunday mornings at the Waypoint Cafe at the Camarillo Airport (KCMA) in California are generally bustling with hungry visitors eagerly awaiting a seat while drooling over the delicious menu. But on the Sunday in early May when I met Doug King, Epic Aircraft’s CEO, outside the restaurant, it was deserted despite crystal-clear blue skies. The […]

I first flew a Pilatus PC-12 Model 10 back in 2008 and found it made a nice, stable instrument platform. At 270 knots, it was no jet, but a walk through that gargantuan cabin on the ground with the massive rear cargo door open made no bones about the airplane’s ability to carry tons of […]

The sound of bells emanating from the cows and goats that graze in the lower parts of the picturesque valley below Mount Pilatus can’t be heard at its peak, which sits at 7,000 feet. But as I take in the view of the bright-green fields and the snowcapped Alps and breathe in the crisp high […]

I’m hanging out with photo­grapher Jeff Berlin and Quest’s chief demo pilot Mark Brown beside the stunning Green River, which through the millennia has carved a deep gorge flanked by dramatic red rock cliff walls through Canyonlands National Park in Utah. The river begins at the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming and feeds into the […]

Daher announced at the Sun ‘n Fun International Fly-In and Expo that it has made further enhancements to its TBM 930. The French single-engine turboprop received the latest upgrade to the Garmin G3000 system, adding the SurfaceWatch alerting system for the runway environment; Baro VNAV, which allows pilots to fly precision approaches based on barometric […]

Settled into the left seat at our final cruise altitude of 26,000 feet, we were showing a true airspeed of 304 knots and burning about 700 pounds of jet-A per hour. As the lush rolling landscape of central Pennsylvania slid by far below, a nagging question had entered my mind. What is it about the […]