Aircraft

Part 1 of a 3-part series on the AirShares Elite small-airplane fractional ownership program, here on flyingmag.com. Last year I did a long-term evaluation of a small-airplane fractional ownership program run by OurPlane. During the nine-month period, I was for all intents and purposes an OurPlane owner, flying a new Cessna 182 along with the […]

The folks at Adam Aircraft don’t particularly like it when their new airplane is referred to as a “push-pull,” the most common (and cleanest) name attached to the Cessna Skymaster that made its debut about 40 years ago. The concept of centerline thrust, tandem power, was actually patented by Claudius Dornier in 1937 and developed […]

I recently finished a half-year evaluation of the OurPlane fractional ownership program, taking control of an eighth share in a brand-new Cessna Skylane. I was looking to see if fractional ownership programs, which are modeled loosely after those used for professionally flown business jets, like NetJets, could translate to owner-flown small airplanes. The OurPlane program […]

“Ten seconds.” This is it: the end of a 21-year countdown. The 9,600-foot Mojave runway stretches out in front of me, the chase plane is coming up from behind. It’s clear and calm this November 1st-the day when, as I heard someone explain yesterday on NPR, “the barrier between the living and the dead is […]

When governments buy airplanes, they face many of the same constraints that we do. If it is a new airplane, it takes a long time to develop. And, the fewer engines the airplane has, the more affordable it can be. The next generation fighters, the F-22 and the F-35 (Joint Strike Fighter) are perfect examples […]

Extra has introduced a new, turboprop version of its Extra 400 six-seat single. The EA-500 will be built at the company’s new 64,500-square-foot production facility at Dinslaken Airport near D?sseldorf, Germany. The EA-500 was the logical progression for Extra from the certified EA-400 six-place pressurized single, which makes use of the Continental Voyager liquid-cooled engine. […]

Aircraft Security & Alert Systems has introduced a new series of locks specifically designed for large-cabin business jets. The locking systems have already been designed for the Global Express, Challenger 604, Gulfstream IV, V, 200, the Falcon 900 and 2000 and the Embraer Legacy. Keys are cut vertically and horizontally, can only be duplicated by […]

I bought a new Cardinal RG in 1976 and, while I liked the airplane, my mission changed. I had been living in Little Rock, Arkansas, working for Flying, and the general aviation business of that day was concentrated in the middle of the country. My average jaunt was about 300 nm. In 1977, I moved […]

Compared with that of the Falcon 900EX, the composite and metal wing of the FNX will be longer, thinner and more highly swept. Dassault’s latest Falcon Jet, code named FNX, will be the fastest, roomiest and most modern the company has ever produced. First flight for the French jet is scheduled for 2004. The FNX […]

The natural evolution of airplanes is to increase the power, and that is just what Cirrus Design has done with its new SR22. Where the original production Cirrus, the SR20, flies with a 200-horsepower IO-360 six-cylinder Continental, the SR22 has an IO-550 Continental six that develops 310 horsepower. That is a big increase. Even though […]