Aircraft

The biggest photo op for Piper at Sun ‘n Fun was the first delivery of a PiperSport light sport aircraft (LSA). Three co-owners took delivery of their new airplane, with the common thread being their high levels of flying experience. Two were former airline pilots and current Airbus simulator instructors with 20,000 and 16,000 hours […]

A graph showing the current U.S. fleet of light sport aircraft showed Flight Design dominating. With more than 300 aircraft flying, the German-based manufacturer bests its closest rival by a wide margin. At Sun ‘n Fun, Flight Design demonstrated its intention to expand its market share even further with new and upgraded models and some […]

Randy Groom will join Piper Aircraft as executive vp of sales on June 1, a move that signals Piper is, indeed, serious about leveraging its position as a GA airframer. Not that that was ever in question, but signing an aviation veteran with Groom’s impressive resume is further proof that the local Piper dealer will […]

Certain universal questions pop up over and over, like “Why is there something, when there could be nothing?” or “Can a jet fly faster than its own exhaust velocity?” Let’s look at the second one; I’ll get back to the first in a future column. Reciprocating engines inhale about 15 pounds of air for every […]

Piper is a company built on the two-seat Cub, the light-sport airplane of its day, and now, with introduction of the PiperSport, it is returning to its roots. The PiperSport, a two-seater in the Light-Sport Airplane (LSA) category, gives the company a new entry level in terms of cost, particularly for flight training. The PiperSport […]

Piper goes back to its roots with this two-seater LSA.

Tom, I’ve got bad news for you,” Brian says when I answer the phone. The phone call isn’t a surprise. I’ve expected the call every time my airplane was in the hands of a mechanic during the last year or so, but it isn’t welcome. The Lycoming IO-360 in my 1976 Cardinal RG was overhauled […]

There are many indicators of how the North American general aviation market is doing — and we’ve certainly had enough up and down cycles to hone our view. Over the years, sales of used aircraft have been one of the surest measures of the industry’s overall health. So a snapshot of one month’s sales, year […]

Brian Foley of Brian Foley & Associates, Sparta, New Jersey, believes that sales of piston aircraft will lead the next GA comeback; and it’s already started. Foley contends that piston-aircraft buyers march to different market beats than jet or turboprop customers. For example, he cites the immediate post 9/11 period when sales of pistons dropped […]

Eclipse Aerospace reiterates its plans to resume production, but says it will take a slow, conservative road back. As one step along the way, the company has announced a new refurb and completion program for the approximately 260 Eclipse EA500s in the existing fleet. Under the trademark ‘Total Eclipse’ program, Eclipse Aerospace will offer the […]