Search Results for: general aviation inc

Engineering Propulsion Systems (EPS) continues to make progress on the development of its clean-sheet Graflight V8 diesel engine for the general aviation market. The phase one flight testing program has now been completed and the company has added staff, production capabilities and new tooling to its facility in New Richmond, Wisconsin. Built around eight cylinders, […]

Lancair continues to make improvements to its single-engine Evolution turboprop, modifying the engine inlet and adding a BRS parachute. The modifications will be included as standard equipment in the experimental airplane kit starting with Serial Number 70, the build of which will begin at the Lancair factory in the end of August, Lancair’s sales and […]

The bumper sticker tells us a bad day flying is better than a good day at the office. I think most pilots would agree, however, there can be bad days flying and there can be really bad days flying. If the latter involves bending an airplane, there are things to do after the airplane stops and the dust cloud departs. There also are things you can to help prevent the event in the first place. Once something happens, however, your priorities need to change.

On June 6, at AOPAs Homecoming Fly-In, the association and the FAA formally kicked off a new program focused on improving general aviation safety. Dubbed Fly Safe, the FAAs campaign will be highlighting GA accident causes and solutions in partnership with AOPA and other industry organizations. The agency says preventing GA fatalities is one of its top priorities, with the goal of reducing the GA fatal accident rate by 10 percent over a 10-year period (2009-2018). Noting that loss of control (LOC)-mainly stalls-accounts for the largest number of GA accidents, the new program will start there.

Lets face it: the brakes on typical general aviation airplanes pretty much suck. Thats what happens when you try to stop 2000-plus pounds of airplane at 70 knots with only two six-inch disc brakes that havent been serviced lately. Its going to take longer and be a bit more exciting than with the SUV parked in your hangar.

You shouldnt have gotten through private pilot ground school without understanding that, for the same power and weight, minimizing drag will result in an increased airspeed. A gross example might be the difference in airspeed with flaps extended at, say, 55-percent power and when theyre retracted. Of course, no one cruises with flaps extended, but you may inadvertently be adding to the airplanes total drag in cruise when you load it.

Beechcraft King Air 250 customers can now add the Rockwell Collins’ Pro Line Fusion touch screen suite after the system achieved type certification for the twin turboprop. The introduction came only two months after Textron Aviation made its announcement that the King Air would transition to the new avionics platform. Pro Line Fusion can be […]

Flying IFR is both easier and harder than flying VFR. A predetermined route gets you to your destination, and, as long as you follow your navigation aids correctly, you don’t have to worry about avoiding airspace, how to find the airport or how to enter the traffic pattern. There is no need to plan your […]

Disrupt or be disrupted. It’s one of the hard lessons emerging in today’s tech-fueled economy, in which the frenetic pace of innovation means not only seeing new ideas materialize with dizzying speed but also watching as they threaten to obliterate entire industries that came before them. We’ve glimpsed this trend in aviation already with everything […]

Air traffic controller Ray Smid watched the yellow blips slide across his radar screen. The circles moved in silence, but Smid never forgot that they embodied real aircraft. It didn’t matter if the traffic was big or small. Lives were lost if the blips merged. The eraser-shaped images toted “data blocks” displaying flight number, destination, […]