Aircraft

Continental announced at Oshkosh that is had earned certification for fadec control on its big turbocharged engines, and that it had completed testing and knows how to qualify all of its engine models to burn 94UL unleaded avgas. The company also announced a number of price cuts and incentives for factory engines and certain replacement […]

Lycoming flew a Lancair Evolution to Oshkosh, powered by its new TEO-540-EXP iE2 engine. Advantages of the 350-hp engine include single-lever operation, automated preflight safety checks, automotive start simplicity and reduced pilot workload. The iE2 system also allows use of alternative fuels and promises increased fuel efficiency and reliability. The iE2 system was announced at […]

Piper made its first appearance at AirVenture under new ownership and under the stewardship of new CEO Kevin Gould and President John Becker. Now owned by Imprimis, Piper unveiled sweeping plans to expand its product line globally and moved to “reintroduce” two of its training airplanes, the Warrior and the Seminole, in support of the […]

It was Sunday morning and time to head home. I had been fishing in British Columbia over the previous four days with some of my friends. There were four airplanes in our group, my T-tail Piper Lance II, a Bellanca Aries, a Cessna 210 and a Piper Dakota. We were located about 70 miles southwest […]

Part of my rationale, when I plunked my entire financial nest egg down to buy my 1977 Grumman Cheetah, over 10 years ago, was that I was buying a durable good. An asset that would probably hold or increase its value over time, so that if I ever needed some extra cash, I could sell […]

Whenever new pilots ask me to suggest a first airplane to learn to travel in, the Cessna 182 Skylane is always at the top of my list. My recommendation of the Skylane is especially strong for a pilot new to IFR flying. Part of the reason I believe so firmly in the value of the […]

After 28 flights, stage one of testing is complete for the Terrafugia ‘Transition’ roadable airplane. Woburn, Massachusetts-based Terrafugia (Latin for ‘escape from land’) now moves on to the Beta Prototype testing stage, with a second airframe to be developed based on lessons learned from the POC vehicle. First flight was March 5. First deliveries of […]

A coal-powered CitationJet? It just might happen. Williams International, the turbofan engine manufacturer, has completed an extended engine run of one of its FJ44-3 turbofans running fuel made from coal. The tests, which included 21 hours of operation and 118 operating cycles, were extremely promising and confirmed, Williams said, the promise of the FJ44, a […]

Diamond Aircraft has earned European certification for an Austro-engine-powered version of its Twin Star, the DA42 NG. The certification came on the heels of European certification of the Austro AE300 turbodiesel engine, developed by Diamond sister company Austro Engine for use in the revived twin. FAA approvals for both the airplane and engine are expected […]

At a web-based press conference officials of Bombardier’s Learjet division gave a progress report on the status of the company’s Learjet 85 all-composite midsize bizjet. If it succeeds, the 85 would be the first all-composite business jet to earn certification under Part 25. The program, however, appeared to be at risk with the failure of […]