Aircraft

At this year’s EAA Airventure, there was just a whiff, or lack thereof, of change in the air, as a small bevy of electric airplanes made an appearance on the AirVenture stage. And there were a few such creatures flying at the show, including the first electric two-seater to go airborne at Oshkosh. The e-plane […]

The hamstrung economy has affected almost all aviation projects, and the developmental single-engine PiperJet is no exception. Piper now plans first deliveries for 2013 – a schedule based partly on available funding, but also on when the company expects the economic recovery to occur. Piper initially announced program delays, then enjoyed a funding infusion from […]

There used to be this guy on late-night television who would promote a home decorating store and would yell, “It ain’t just paint!” Wandering around Wittman Field at Oshkosh during AirVenture, I was reminded once again that, for me, the annual gathering “ain’t just planes!” Sure, on display there were more than 2,500 airplanes of […]

At about 8:25 A.M. on Sept. 3, 2007, Steve Fossett took off from a friend’s ranch, about 60 miles southeast of Reno, Nevada, in a borrowed 1980 Bellanca Super Decathlon. A few minutes later, about nine miles south of the airstrip, an employee of the ranch who knew the airplane well saw the Decathlon fly […]

Someone once told me that aircraft accidents happen every 5,000 hours during a pilot’s flying career. Well, mine came at 6,000 hours rather than 5,000. I have been flying small airplanes and helicopters since I was a teenager. My life has been pretty much the epitome of “will fly for food.” Stints as a police […]

Hawker Beechcraft is in the odd position of having two Hawker jets in its lineup that are many generations apart. The Hawker 4000 is a high-tech, super midsize jet with a carbon-fiber fuselage and the latest in system sophistication. The Hawker 900XP is the newest version of one of the very first business-jet designs. This […]

Jack Benny, the legendary comedian, was asked once about the secret to being funny. Benny looked away to his right. Beat. Benny cupped his chin in his hand. Beat. Benny looked left, and then his eyes ricocheted back to the right. Beat. A small smile. Beat. Then, with explosive exclamation, “Timing!” Very loud. Timing indeed. […]

The year was 1979. I walked into a gray and sterile office below the gates of the relatively new Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. Less than a year earlier, President Jimmy Carter had signed the Airline Deregulation Act. Before the ink was dry on the document, Braniff Airlines was already expanding its route system. Before the ink […]

One evening in the late ’60s, probably after a few “ginskies” in the Sky Galley bar, Ebby and Walter Rye decided to buy a curious little antique airplane I’d seen advertised in the yellow rag (Trade-A-Plane) that arrived that day. I think they called the seller from the phone in the bar and closed the […]

Brazilian airframer Embraer hasn’t let the down economy slow its developments plan. The company surprised NBAA convention attendees by announcing a new product, the Legacy 650 large-cabin business jet priced at $29.5 million. The Legacy 650 combines the fuselage of the smaller EMB-135 regional airliner with the wings of the larger EMB-145, resulting in more […]