Aircraft

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 […]

Operators of Quest Aircraft Kodiak turboprop singles are now eligible to equip their aircraft with TKS ice-protection, and receive approval for flight into known icing (FIKI). The word couldn’t come at a better time, as the winter icing season is descending on North America with a vengeance this month. The big utility turboprop is used […]

Editor’s Note: The Lockwood AirCam is a one-of-a-kind airplane, tough, capable, ingenious and elegant all at once. Designed as a photo platform for a National Geographic_ story on the remote and pristine Ndoki Rain Forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the AirCam soon evolved into a commercially available product that continues to attract a […]

The pilot, 69, had almost finished a six-month refurbishment of a Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser. He had been rebuilding airplanes for 40 years, and his habit was to have a certain A&P mechanic perform a “semifinal” inspection as each project neared completion. The mechanic would give him a list of things that needed to be […]