New Airplanes

It’s not often nowadays that a new airplane design has the potential to be a total game changer. But I would argue that German airplane designer Philipp Steinbach has created just that, at least for pilots who like to challenge their stick-and-rudder skills or “keep the green side up,” so to speak. Steinbach’s new, versatile […]

(function(d, s, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) return; var js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = ‘//cdn4.wibbitz.com/static.js’; d.getElementsByTagName(‘body’)[0].appendChild(js); }(document, ‘script’, ‘wibbitz-static-embed’)); Flying recently had the chance to fly Piper’s new version of the Meridian turboprop, the M600, over Vero Beach, Florida. Featuring a clean-sheet wing and interior, power, range and payload improvements over previous PA-46s, […]

They say that when one door closes, another opens. The trick is to stop looking at the closed door long enough to see which door is ajar. For Piper, the closed door was the abortive Altaire single-engine jet, an airplane many likened to a mini DC-10 with its Williams turbofan engine integrated weirdly into the […]

“And now for something completely different.” It was a line from that brilliant 1970s British television comedy show, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, but it could just as easily be used to introduce The Airplane Factory’s new, fits-into-its-own-niche airplane, the cheeky Sling 4. A four-place cruiser that carries four adults, several hours’ worth of fuel and […]

(function(d, s, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) return; var js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = ‘//cdn4.wibbitz.com/static.js’; d.getElementsByTagName(‘body’)[0].appendChild(js); }(document, ‘script’, ‘wibbitz-static-embed’)); French business jet maker Dassault has delivered the first Falcon 8X, the company’s latest ultra-long-range flagship. The trijet was delivered to Amjet Executive, an operator based in Athens, Greece, which offers fleet management, charter, […]

Textron Aviation began the week on uplifting news of Saturday’s successful 2-hour and 2-minute first flight of the company’s new Longitude super midsize business jet. The Longitude, announced four and a half years ago and unveiled at last year’s NBAA Convention in Las Vegas, departed Beech Field on the east side of Wichita, with experimental […]

The addition of Garmin G3000 touch-screen avionics and interior improvements took this turboprop to a different level when it debuted in 2016.

Boeing has teamed up with Swedish Saab AB, designer of the Gripen multi-mission fighter jet, to produce a military jet trainer designed to compete for the U.S. Air Force T-X contract. The contract is expected to include an order of at least 350 jets worth billions of dollars to replace more than 400 existing T-38 […]

The TriFan 600 project, currently in development by Denver-based XTI Aircraft, has reached an agreement with Primary Capital LLC for Series B financing totaling $20 million. This batch of funds should give investors some peace of mind when putting up their money toward the developmental VTOL aircraft. The investments are offered to accredited investors — […]

Polish car-part manufacturer Metal Master has for years been working on a very light jet named Flaris LAR 1, which was on the road to its first flight in early 2015. The company has now mounted a new engine, the Williams FJ33-5A, to the tail section of the tiny fuselage. The engine received FAA certification […]