Pistons

Marking a milestone in India’s first public-private partnership for aircraft development, the country’s CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories and Mahindra Aerospace have flown their jointly developed C-NM5 piston single for the first time. Engineers from CSIR-NAL and Mahindra Aerospace spent close to three years designing the airplane before building the real thing over a 10-month period with […]

While Boeing’s newly certified 787 Dreamliner is dominating headlines, a gathering of vintage aircraft enthusiasts in Mukilteo, Washington, will get the chance to look back at the company’s roots as they catch a glimpse of the oldest flying Boeing in the world.**** The Boeing Model 40C, owned and restored by a family in Spokane, arrived […]

When taking a closer look at the Tecnam P2006T Twin, the airplane appears to merge features that are commonly found on training airplanes with design elements that are mostly used for much larger, faster airplanes. The result is an airplane that is well suited for the training market, particularly the international market with the capability […]

_(September 2011) _Just fly it like a Cessna 172,” said Tecnam’s demo pilot David Lubore as we approached to land at Plant City Airport (KPCM) in Florida, just west of Lakeland Linder Airport, at the completion of our demo flight. I set the airplane up on downwind at around 90 knots with the gear down. […]

The incredibly popular PA-28 Cherokee line was launched in 1961, but the 180 horsepower engine was not introduced until the 1963 models. This configuration was later to become the Piper PA-28-180 and PA-28-181 Archer. While the Cherokee 180 model underwent various upgrades through the years, its basic design has remained remarkably unchanged — a tribute […]

Better than New Stinson 108-3 __One of the nicest examples of a custom restored Stinson you’ll find anywhere occupies a row hangar at Sussex Airport (KFWN) in northern New Jersey. Here, a 1947 Model 108-3 “Flying Station Wagon” (so called because of its Woody-style wood-paneled interior and reinforced floor) proudly displays its window sticker signifying […]

__For more than six decades after its birth in 1937, the North American AT-6 Texan and its offshoots (the Navy SNJ and the Canadian Harvard) were used throughout the world as advanced trainers, artillery spotters (in Korea and Vietnam among other theaters), and even as counterinsurgency and fighter-bombers by numerous developing countries. The last known […]

Like early models of many well-known airplane types, the first Cirrus SR22s felt lighter than they do today. In part, that’s because they were light, and in part that’s because Cirrus has learned over the years how to make an airplane be both substantial feeling, which we pilots like, while staying light. They also felt […]

Created in the late 70s and first delivered as a product about five years later when Piper delivered the first Malibu, the PA-46 has proven a remarkably versatile airframe. It has, in fact, been developed (by Piper or others) into at least six different airplanes. Its impact on the continued existence and success of Piper […]

Back in 1983, the new Piper Malibu was a revolution. In the nearly 30 years that have passed since its introduction, the ride has been anything but silky smooth, though the resultant product is a very satisfying one. Owners, it should be said, have pretty much always felt that way. There are options galore when […]