Mark Phelps

To be correct, we should really be calling them Localizer Performance with Vertical guidance (or LPV) approaches; but most pilots simply refer to them as “WAAS” approaches. That’s because they are based on the Wide Area Augmentation System for GPS enhancement. Now that the FAA has commissioned the 1,333rd such approach, they officially outnumber the […]

At the AOPA Expo in San Jose last week, Cirrus again raised the safety bar with the announcement that an enhanced vision system (EVS) is now an available option for aircraft equipped with the Cirrus Perspective by Garmin synthetic vision avionics suite. The $14,900 EVS system is also available as a retrofit for existing Perspective-equipped […]

Lew Gage is a retired airline pilot and A&P mechanic who knows more about operating early E-engine Bonanzas than Warren Buffett knows about the side streets of Omaha. And he’s written much of it down — as a regular contributor to the American Bonanza Society magazine. Gage has published a book of his articles (E-Series […]

With worldwide panic over the economic crisis and cautious euphoria over the presidential election, aviation can expect to assume back burner status for the foreseeable future. There are no hot button issues affecting the general public, and that means concerns of pilots and others who are neck-deep in this industry will just have to wait. […]

The FAA has granted technical service order (TSO) approval to Avidyne for its new MLX770 Datalink Satellite weather transceiver. The approval clears Avidyne to begin deliveries of the unit, which allows operators of Avidyne-equipped aircraft to access the company’s Network Operations Center for WSI weather updates around the world. Certified to TSO C159 for “avionics […]

Eclipse, the self-proclaimed standard bearer for the very light jet (VLJ), appears to be in dire financial straits; and an attempted financial comeback by Adam Aircraft has apparently come up short. Reports from two aviation-oriented think tanks-the Teal Group and Forecast International-predict that Eclipse will cease production of its Eclipse 500 twinjet before the end […]

Pending approval from European business regulatory authorities, Socata parent company EADS has agreed to divest a 70 percent interest in its general aviation unit, Socata, to Daher. The latter is a European industrial conglomerate with interests in aerospace, nuclear power and the automotive industry. Socata’s TBM series of single-engine turboprops are among the most successful […]

Listed in order of their impact on the respective companies, Mooney, Hawker Beechcraft and Cessna all announced this week that they will either scale back production, cut staff or both. A spokesman for Mooney said yesterday that employees had been notified the company was “scaling production to market demand.” He said the Mooney factory in […]

This year’s forward-looking report from the FAA puts much of its emphasis on advancing safety and improving airspace capacity. Though understandably weighted heavily toward airline issues, the report includes information on initiatives vital to general aviation pilots, as well. For example, under the heading of ‘Safety’ the second topic identified is improving the general aviation […]

Just in time for this week’s AOPA Expo in San Jose, Garmin has announced it will introduce its first all-new portable GPS product since the GPSMap 496. The new GPSMap 696’s most prominent feature is its size. With a 7-inch screen (measured diagonally) it can display a full-size approach plate. The unit is qualified as […]