Aircraft

How do you one-up the world’s best-selling helicopter, the Robinson R44? Simple. You put a turbine in it. But wait! … It wasn’t that easy. Talk of a “Robinson turbine” began swirling around the helicopter community clear back in 2001. But if you asked company CEO and founder Frank Robinson back then if the company […]

A rash of seat track failures in the mid 1980s led to an FAA airworthiness directive (AD) on several Cessna models. Faulty latch mechanisms led to several accidents in which the seat slid back and the pilot lost control of the airplane. Now, the FAA has published a notice of proposed rulemaking that adds new […]

“And then we’ll drop down to, oh … 15,000 or so and do some stalls if you’re up for it,” Learjet demo pilot Chris Barnett said casually during our preflight briefing. As a jet pilot for many years, I’ve tried to keep the words jet and stalls in separate corners of the universe. “Are we […]

Refining and redefining the super-light jet category.

You could say the bad news is that Bye Energy’s plan for an electric Cessna 172 will have only two seats and an endurance of two hours. But the good news for flight schools might far outweigh those drawbacks. For one, the energy costs to fly the airplane are expected to be less than $10 […]

General aviation is still in the doldrums, reflected by low third quarter numbers from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). Deliveries dipped to 420 aircraft, that’s 23.4 percent lower than Q3 2009. Stacked up against the same time period in 2008, it’s even more depressing — down by almost 60 percent. But that was the […]

Anyone on the decision-making fence about springing for a new aircraft needs to act fast. The stimulus 50-percent bonus depreciation law covers new aircraft delivered by year end, and the tax savings can be huge. Essentially, buyers are able to accelerate half the overall depreciation of the aircraft into one year, allowing a significant tax […]

There are a lot of unnecessary fears in flying, or at least fears that are overblown. How many aircraft owners resist adding a multi-engine rating, or shy away from buying a twin, based on the fear of loss of control when an engine fails on takeoff? It is certainly a valid concern, and dealing with […]

The Citation Mustang High Sierra edition incorporates several desirable upgrades along with some limited edition aesthetic touches to create a Mustang that will stand apart. The exterior paint is a striking two-tone scheme with mountain silhouettes on the nacelles and a special edition logo near the entry door. Inside, Cessna designers have given Mustang customers […]

Southern California’s Santa Monica Airport (KSMO) now has a fitting tribute to its history as a center of airline manufacturing with the installation of a full size DC-3 monument. It’s hard to imagine tony Santa Monica being an aviation manufacturing hotbed, but not too many decades ago it was home to the production line of […]