Aero

New draft regulations published on Wednesday by the European Aviation Safety Agency raised hopes among industry advocates that it will become easier and faster to certify new airplanes and other aviation products. “These new rules will shift the methods of design compliance from an outdated, prescriptive system into standards that are continually evolved by the […]

The economics of “synergy” were a driving force that motivated Eclipse Aerospace and Kestrel Aircraft to join together into a new company called One Aviation, Kestrel CEO Alan Klapmeier told AVweb on Wednesday at Aero Friedrichshafen. The new company was announced Wednesday in a news release. “This gives us more choices and more independence,” Klapmeier […]

Flight Design’s C4 is the company’s first four-seat, fully certified aircraft. Engineer Robert Adam spoke with AVweb at Aero in Friedrichshafen, Germany about the C4’s first flight last week. view on YouTube

Pipistrel’s all-electric trainer, long known as the “WattsUP,” has acquired a commercial designation, the Alpha Electro. And according to chief engineer Tine Tomazic, she’s ready to meet the public. Tomazic gave us the lowdown at Aero in Friedrichshafen, Germany. view on YouTube

At Aero Friedrichshafen this week, Kestrel’s Alan Klapmeier spoke with AVweb’s Mary Grady about his rationale in joining forces with Eclipse Aerospace to form the new company, One Aviation. Duration: 5:04 File Size: 11.6 MB download here

Pipistrel’s electric-trainer project, which started out with a prototype called Watts Up, now has evolved into the ready-for-the-market Alpha Electro, the company announced at Aero Friedrichshafen this week. During a pre-show news conference on Tuesday, Pipistrel chief engineer TineTomazicsaid the airplane, which can fly up to an hour with a half-hour reserve, is designed for […]

Aero Friedrichshafen, the biggest general aviation event in Europe, opened today with 645 exhibitors, a new record for the show, representing 38 countries. The show, held in the country’s southernmost region adjacent to a regional airline and GA airport — and a lofty Zeppelin hangar — attracts thousands of visitors, pilots and aviation enthusiasts, and […]

Flight Design brought its C4 prototype to Aero Friedrichshafen this week, just a few days after the airplane’s first flight. The flight, which took place in Germany last Thursday, lasted for about an hour. “We were able to finish all of our test points,” flight engineer Robert Adam told AVweb. “We checked controls and stability. […]

When I was a little kid riding in my Dad’s Oldsmobile across the plains of Texas at night, we would spot the lights of Amarillo in the distance and two hours later, we’d get there. An exaggeration of course, but it reminds me of covering the electric airplane industry. We’ve reported periodically about this company […]

Piper chose the Aero show two weeks ago to unveil its new diesel-powered Archer DX for good reason. The work on the conversion was done at Continental/Technifys skunk works at the Altenburg airport, a former East German military base where Thielert did all of the original test flying for its initial certification of the Centurion […]