Mark Phelps

Bob Kromer, Piper vice president of sales and marketing said it best. “The [Garmin] G1000 gives the Meridian a new brain taking [Piper’s turboprop single] to a whole new level of performance. With this new sophisticated avionics suite, the Piper Meridian takes on the feel and capabilities of a larger, business class aircraft.” The first […]

Owners of existing Avidyne Entegra-equipped Piper PA-46 Meridians, Mirages and Matrixes can now upgrade to Avidyne’s Release 9 version. The latest iteration of the Entegra flight deck includes more powerful digital radios, digital autopilot, dual WAAS/RNP-capable GPS receivers, FMS900w flight management system and a trio of XGA high-resolution IFD5000 cockpit display screens. Initial deliveries are […]

With the coming of GPS, my home base, Somerset Airport (SMQ) in New Jersey, now has three instrument approaches. Not bad for a field with one paved 2,700-foot runway and a pair of grass strips. The legacy approach is a VOR non-precision procedure using the Solberg VOR, 4.2 nautical miles away. It’s a bit unusual […]

Higher performance doesn’t usually come at a lower price. But Hartzell’s latest Top Prop for the Piper PA-46 Matrix and Mirage piston singles offers just that. With advanced carbon fiber/Kevlar blades and a new lightweight aluminum hub, the second-generation three-blade Top Prop for the Piper cabin-class single saves 11 pounds over its ancestor. That represents […]

More than 5,000 aircraft usually flock to Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in Florida for the annual Sun ‘n Fun show. This year’s kickoff event will open next week and run from Tuesday through Sunday. With more than 500 exhibitors usually on site and an average of 160,000 visitors over the week of the show, Sun […]

With the bankruptcy auction for the assets of Eclipse Aviation imminent, several groups are positioning themselves for the bid. One of those groups, a collection of Eclipse 500 owners known as the Eclipse Owners Group (EOG), has negotiated a letter of intent from Hawker Beechcraft to service Eclipse 500s should the EOG win the bid. […]

An article from Bloomberg Business News cites a Middle East newspaper report that Textron could be sold to a group of investors from the United Arab Emirates. Skeptics say the deal will never pass U.S. government scrutiny based on the many sensitive defense holdings of Textron, including the military division of Bell Helicopters. According to […]

Good news is in short supply in the aviation industry these days. But CAE Flight Training Services has announced that close to 50 Embraer Phenom 100 customers have completed the 14-day pilot training course for the hot selling light jet. The program launched at CAE’s Dallas facility in September, and a cadre of government officials […]

Doug White, 56, had about 130 hours total time in Cessna 172s when he faced the sort of challenge usually reserved for characters in action movies. On Easter Sunday, with his wife and two teenage daughters on board, White was in the right seat of a King Air 200 when the pilot-in-command collapsed and died. […]

Citing six recorded in-flight breakups leading to 10 fatalities since 2006, the NTSB has asked the FAA to ground the Zodiac 601XL. Previously available as a kitplane, it was certified as a light sport aircraft in 2005. It is based on an original configuration created by designer Chris Heinz, of Switzerland, in the early 1970s. […]