Aircraft

Q: I would like to get my Sport Pilot Certificate and have a lot of questions about the training requirements. But first, I have an opportunity to purchase a Luscombe 8E. Can a sport pilot fly this airplane? A: Congratulations on your goal to become a sport pilot! But don’t buy the Luscombe 8E. Other […]

The opening line of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” is an apropos description of today’s used-airplane market. For buyers these are great times to be in the hunt for an airplane that’s gotten some gentle use and good care. But for […]

Visitors to the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) convention in Atlanta in October got the first public look at the results of a major transformation from the original proof-of-concept PiperJet. Even the name has changed. It’s now the PiperJet Altaire, and the new look and functionality are much more jetlike than the original’s. The basics […]

Now the Altaire, it’s a whole new species.

Christmas Eve 2002 should have been a happy time. It was my first Christmas with my new wife in our new home in Miami. I was a commercial pilot for a small, domestic freight airline. Pilots who do this type of flying are referred to as “freight dogs” because sometimes a day for us can […]

Like a lot of aircraft owners, I have my list of airplane expenses divided into ‘gotta-do’ and ‘wanna-do’ items. And also like a lot of owners, I schedule annual inspections during the winter. So the holiday season is when I start revisiting the improvements I’d like to make on my venerable V-tail Bonanza. I won’t […]

The buzz of light airplanes flying overhead is still a rare sound in China, but a new effort could resonate for general aviation in that country. A new FBO is opening at Zhuhai Airport, and Shuhai Tianyi Aviation Trading Company, the company behind it, has also ordered three Cirrus SR22s. Under the arrangement, Cirrus will […]

Teledyne Technologies has sold its Continental Motors division to Technify Motors, a unit of AVIC International of China. The new owner plans to keep the company headquarters in Mobile, Alabama, where it has been since the 1960s. The deal was worth $186 million and includes Teledyne properties Mattituck Services, which will remain in Mattituck, Long […]

Lord Alan Sugar’s (could he be known as ‘my sweet lord?’) Amsair Aircraft Limited has taken delivery of the first Embraer Legacy 650. The U.K. company will base the aircraft at London Stansted Airport, and it will be operated by Titan Airways Executive, a charter company. The Legacy 650 is a follow-on version of the […]

This past weekend I called upon a friend (who happens to be a private pilot working toward his instrument rating) and invited him to join me for a late afternoon leisure flight in the Remos G3. He would be my third passenger since certification. Admittedly, it’s more fun for me to have someone along so […]