Aircraft

After sustaining substantial damage during a crash landing, enthusiasts vow to restore aircraft.

An all-electric, twin-motor French airplane known as the MC15E Cri Cri piloted by Hugues Duval recently reached 153 knots, breaking its own speed record for electrically powered airplanes by about 10 knots. While several power plants have been tested on the Cri Cri, the record setting airplane was powered by a pair of 35-horsepower Electravia […]

The flying car that created a buzz when it was unveiled at Oshkosh three years ago has just received a variety of special exemptions from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The vehicle, known as the Transition Roadable Aircraft, is a dual-purpose model intended for travel both in the air and on the road. […]

Cirrus Aircraft has received a vote of confidence from the U.S. Air Force in the form of a fleet order for 25 single-engine SR20s for the Air Force Academy’s cadet training program. The Academy will take delivery of the airplanes — designated as T-53A trainers in the customized configuration — starting this summer and continuing […]

(July 2011) Can light-sport aircraft be seaplanes? In short, yes. But only as long as the aircraft “intended for water operation” meets and stays within the LSA definition. And, as with land aircraft, that includes meeting a maximum takeoff weight. In the case of seaplanes, the magic number is 1,430 pounds instead of the 1,320 […]

Wednesday morning was one of those mornings I was “living the life.” At 0800 John Moreland, the southeast rep for SWT Aviation, a certified CubCrafters sales center, picked me up at Orlando-Apopka in a Sport Cub for a leisurely flight over to Deland and back so I could get a feel for the airplane. I […]

ICON Aircraft, the California developer of the ICON A5 amphibious sport airplane, announced receiving $25 million in additional equity funding that will allow the start-up company to complete engineering development work and enter production as early as next year. The primary financing sources come from venture capitalists Satyen Patel, the former head of Nike’s Asia […]

Cirrus Aircraft is now officially owned by the Chinese aviation firm CAIGA. The two companies confirmed the completion of their merger on Tuesday, exactly four months after the deal was first announced. The change in ownership has sparked much speculation about what kind of presence the manufacturer will maintain in the United States. Cirrus president […]

A prototype of the Evektor EV-55 Outback turboprop twin made its first flight from Kunovice Airport in the Czech Republic last Friday, delivering on a promise made by the fledgling aircraft manufacturer when it launched the project seven years ago.** ** Evektor test pilot Josef Charvat and military pilot Major Jiri Hana flew the airplane, […]

The title of this article is a bit strange, so I will explain. For six years I was “engaged” to an Eclipse VLJ, but the romance dissolved when the originally promised range did not materialize. I sold my delivery position (see the July 2008 Flying article “My Torrid Affair with a VLJ”). I continued to […]