Aviation News

Before it has even sold its first diesel Cessna 172 conversion, Premier Aircraft Sales announced a vast expansion of the program to cover all Skyhawks from the 172F model first built in 1965 to modern 172R and S models. Earlier this year Premier announced the diesel upgrade program, which replaces the Lycoming engine in a […]

Sun ‘n Fun president John “Lites” Leenhouts started the 2014 edition of Sun ‘n Fun with a shocking announcement. Because Sun ‘n Fun had been unable to reach an agreement with the FAA for air traffic control services, all air operations were suspended. He quickly followed up with, “April Fools’.” In all seriousness, the 40th […]

Flying magazine and Redbird Flight Simulations have teamed up to create the Flying Challenge Cup, a stick-and-rudder skills competition that pits contenders from across the country against each other in a virtual fly-off in Redbird’s full-motion flight simulators. The competition officially starts today at Sun ‘n Fun and wraps up this summer at EAA AirVenture […]

Attendees at the opening day of the Sun ‘n Fun International Fly-In in Lakeland, Florida, had a chance to get the first glimpse of the Tecnam Astore as the Italian light airplane maker unveiled the LSA for the first time to the U.S. market. Not only is it the Astore’s first time on American soil, […]

Rotax today introduced a new version of its popular 912 series engine for light aircraft, the 912 iS Sport. The big change from the current 912 iS engine is a bigger airbox that ups the torque curve for shorter takeoff runs and steeper climbs while also providing improved fuel efficiency and higher top-end cruise speed. […]

My friend Justin is a superb flight instructor with considerable experience in real-world flying and is charmingly full of himself. He amuses me by constantly working deals that involve flying really nice airplanes to major league games, rock concerts, ski resorts, airshows, Mardi Gras festivals, NASCAR races and weekends at somebody’s oceanfront condo. Last week, […]

Since 2009, 42 Air Force MC-12Ws have been deployed to war zones in the Middle East. The MC-12W is a modified Beech King Air 350, externally similar except for a plethora of antennas and several unsightly bulges, including a huge belly pack. Communications and surveillance equipment and stations for two technicians replace the usual executive […]

Nearly 100 people spoke on Tuesday night in front of the Santa Monica City Council for and against the city’s suggestion to continue with its plans of shutting down the historic Santa Monica Municipal Airport. Those against the airport spoke about the issue of noise and pollution, some citing a decrease in the amount of […]

In typical no-nonsense fashion, Van’s Aircraft has issued a special edition of its customer newsletter to inform RV-12 kit builders of new avionics options. Dynon and Garmin both recently announced touchscreen versions of their SkyView and G3X systems. Van’s laid out the price and delivery details as they currently know them, including a set of […]

Continental Motors plans to bring the Reims-Cessna F406 Caravan II back into production after acquiring the type certificate, inventory and manufacturing rights for the twin from Reims Aviation of France. Continental says it is partnering with ASI Innovation in France on the unpressurized, 14-passenger twin, first introduced by Reims Aviation in 1983. Once production resumes, […]