Aircraft

My wife and I visited Bell Helicopter in Texas recently for recurrent training in the Bell 407. The day following completion of our training, we had the opportunity to make a 90-minute flight in the new Garmin G1000-equipped Bell 407GX. I have extensive Garmin experience, and have flown G1000-equipped fixed-wing aircraft since Cessna first offered […]

The incredibly popular PA-28 Cherokee line was launched in 1961, but the 180 horsepower engine was not introduced until the 1963 models. This configuration was later to become the Piper PA-28-180 and PA-28-181 Archer. While the Cherokee 180 model underwent various upgrades through the years, its basic design has remained remarkably unchanged — a tribute […]

While the name Daher-Socata is new, the roots of the company can be traced back to the beginnings of man’s adventure with the airplane, starting 100 years ago under the name Morane-Saulnier. Over the last century, the company has developed 94 models and produced more than 17,000 aircraft. It also participated in many aviation firsts: […]

Take a look at the TBM 850’s roots, which reach back itself to the early days of aviation.

Boeing has completed flight trials of the 787-8 Dreamliner, with the final round of testing occurring on a 90-minute flight last weekend from Billings, Montana, to Everett, Washington. Boeing is now preparing to make the first delivery of a 787-8 equipped with Rolls-Royce engines to Japan’s All Nippon Airways next month. Flight testing continues for […]

After a demo flight in a light-sport airplane a few years ago, private pilot Steve Satter decided on his first airplane purchase. “Up until I bought the Flight Design CTLS, I had been renting standard category airplanes,” explains Satter, who earned his private ticket in 2003. “I discovered that the new LSAs offered affordability compared […]

Builiding a Glasair Sportsman from start to finish.

Two Weeks to Taxi was kicked off in late 2005. The program began in 2004 where only the airframe was completed in 18 days. But the program quickly evolved, and through an ingenious feat of organization and efficiency, customers can now come to the factory and get their airplanes ready to taxi during a quick […]

If you spend a day at the airport in Mojave, California, chances are good that you’ll see some special airplanes and helicopters rolling out from the National Test Pilot School, located adjacent to the control tower. To provide a wide range of aircraft for its students while keeping the cost of aircraft acquisition reasonable, NTPS […]

Icon Aircraft last week released the details of its remarkable week at AirVenture. The startup LSA manufacturer scored a total of 143 deposits for its composite folding-wing Icon A5 amphibious sport airplane, which pushes the order book to nearly 700, the company said, turning the calendar for first available delivery positions into 2015. The company […]