Mark Phelps

Centurion, the German company controlling the former Thielert diesel aircraft engine design, announced it has received a supplemental type certificate for its Centurion 2.0s on the Cessna 172F. The 2.0s is an upgraded version of the original 2.0 — the new version has 20 more horsepower. Issued on May 21, the approval was granted by […]

Scott Miller, a Lycoming spokesman, said, “Now we don’t have to worry if there is a supplier out there to fill our needs. We can fill our own needs.” He referred to an announcement last week that the engine maker has begun to produce pistons for its engines in-house for the first time in more […]

The Air France Concorde on display at Paris Le Bourget Airport could be the first of the retired fleet to return to the sky. The French advocacy group Olympus593 has begun tests to determine if the pickled SST could be rendered airworthy. Cost of the project is estimated at $20 million and the group hopes […]

Flying into Martha’s Vineyard (KMVY) could be different this summer. A $7 million project now underway will relocate some 300 feet or pavement from one end of the main runway to the other. The purpose is to increase the overrun area to 1,000 feet from 700 feet. As part of the project, taxiways, runway end […]

Most pilots are aware of the danger of wingtip vortices from heavy fixed-wing aircraft. And they understand the wisdom of avoiding the mini-tornadoes that flow invisibly outward and down. And intuitively, we all can easily imagine that a helicopter’s rotor wash stirs up the air in the immediate vicinity — picture a turbine-powered ceiling fan. […]

Since we all know that anyone who flies a general aviation airplane must be rich, a Wall Street Journal online story published Monday might be of interest. Titled “The Meaning of Wealth Translated Around the World,” it cited a recent study by Barclay’s Wealth and Ledbury Research. Analyzing how the wealthy expend their largesse is […]

Ironically, the latest in a long series of short-term FAA funding extensions will expire on Independence Day. A bill passed in March is expected to end a stint in budget limbo that goes back to 2007 — but the House and Senate versions differ in one key aspect that has yet to be resolved. The […]

Reports poured in from as far away as Australia, declaring the May 15, first ever International Learn to Fly Day a huge success. Across North America, close to 450 events focused on the mission of exposing non-pilots to the joys and usefulness of general aviation. The primary goal was to conduct as many demonstration flights […]

It’s hard to imagine a less scientific look, but my regular review of FAA preliminary accident reports has shown an apparent trend. Numbers of accidents seem to be down significantly over the past several months; and fatal accidents have also seemed to be significantly on the wane. Over the past two weeks, the Monday reports […]

Three aviation-oriented colleges — the University of North Dakota (UND), the University of Alaska and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) — are co-opting on a research project aimed at clarifying pilots’ needs for in-cockpit weather. The study also hopes to gain insight into how best to educate pilots in using the available weather data. Dubbed […]