Aircraft

Reading Ken Scott’s very sound advice to would-be homebuilders in Flying‘s May issue got me thinking about my own experiences, and how things have changed since I got involved in homebuilding. I started thinking about building an airplane around 1963. At that time there were no prefab kits on the market and only a limited […]

One of the toughest tasks in all of aviation is landing a jet on the narrow, rolling deck of an aircraft carrier. It might be even tougher when the job is done without a pilot on board. Yesterday an X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator successfully completed not one but two landings aboard the […]

Lisa Airplanes recently announced the company is resuming development of its Akoya LSA, a two-seat amphibian with foldable wings and retractable landing gear. The project was put on hold last summer when the young French company entered receivership after much-needed funding failed to come through. Lisa Airplanes said it “coped with the observation period during […]

Piper Aircraft has made a series of test flights in a Lycoming-powered Archer running on 93-octane premium automotive gasoline as the Vero Beach, Florida, manufacturer seeks a more environmentally friendly alternative to 100LL fuel. For the tests Piper worked with Airworthy AutoGas of Phoenix to evaluate a new high-purity unleaded fuel due to go on […]

Sonex Aircraft has announced that it will make production slots available for its “personal jet,” the single-place SubSonex kitplane. Details on terms of the order process (price, deposits, schedule, refund policy, and so on) are expected to be released at the Sonex Homecoming and Open House Fly-in event, on Sunday, July 28. The event begins […]

Europe’s EASA has signed off on a modified version of Tecnam’s best-selling P2002 Sierra with a variable pitch propeller. The P2002JF provides an increase in cruise speed of 5 to 7 knots and improved climb performance of an extra 150 to 200 fpm, the company claims. The new version of the two-seat low-wing LSA will […]

Our friends over at _PopSci _recently took a visual look at their top 6 favorite aircraft from the 2013 Paris Air Show. And here’s what they had to say about some of the innovative aircraft that came out for the show. The future of aviation was on display at the 50th Paris Air Show, a […]

Terrafugia is planning to show off the capabilities of the Transition flying car to the world at AirVenture Oshkosh, set for July 29 through August 4 this year. The Woburn, Massachusetts-based company announced it will take the unconventional aircraft to the skies around 8 p.m., just before the night airshow on Wednesday, July 31. During […]

Cessna has delivered the first TTx, an airplane that holds the distinction as the world’s fastest in-production fixed-gear single. Powered by a turbocharged Continental TSIO 550-C engine, the TTx has a top speed of 235 ktas and an operating ceiling of 25,000 feet. An optional TKS flight into known icing (FIKI) system is also offered. […]

Photo by Bo Ryan| There is a magic number associated with every airplane — a number referred to as time between overhauls, or TBO for short. TBO is the number of hours the engine manufacturer expects you can operate the engine before it needs to be taken apart and have components replaced or repaired. The […]