Air Shows & Events

Among the new products introduced at this week’s show is the Arion Aircraft Lightning LS-1, a sleek little S-LSA airplane derived from an earlier kit model. Pete Krotje and Nick Otterback, co-owners of the Tennessee company, said they first developed the airplane as a kit, and their goal was to build something fast and fun […]

Editor’s Note:The following story snuck into Saturday’s Sun ‘n Fun coverage unedited and contained some obvious (and kind of funny) errors that betrayed the writer’s fatigue. For instance, while we anxiously await the 2,400 horsepower LSA engine, it was not discussed at Sun’nFun. Corrected version follows. Lycoming’s entry in the Light Sport Aircraft engine derby […]

It’s not often that airliners are on display at Sun ‘n Fun but Raytheon’s Beechcraft 1900D “Missionator” demo aircraft was in the commercial area showing the versatility of the design. And no, that’s not a misprint. When Raytheon sold off what is now Hawker Beechcraft, it kept the airliner division, even though the aircraft are […]

How often do you get to buy a piece of green aviation history? Randell Fishman’s ElectraFlyer-C-a heavily modified Moni homebuilt motorglider powered by an 18W electric motor and battery pack-is for sale to the highest bidder on eBay. “As far as I know, this is the first practical electric airplane ever,” said Fishman. “Someday that’ll […]

Arty Trost, 65, has been flying her “fat ultralight” MaxAir Drifter, which is now classified as an experimental LSA, for more than 19 years, and this year she flew it from her home in Oregon all the way to Sun ‘n Fun. Altogether, the seven-week round trip will cover about 7,500 miles, all of it […]

Business is booming at Build A Plane, President Lyn Freeman told AVweb at Sun ‘n Fun this week. The nonprofit group works to find old airplanes that need a new life, and pairs them up with schools that create projects to teach kids about science and technology. The donors get a tax write-off, the schools […]

Avemco Insurance has moved 13 Light Sport Aircraft models into its most preferred rate class and owners of those aircraft can expect premium reductions in the coming year. Avemco CEO Jim Lauerman told AVweb in a podcast interview that factors like company stability, parts availability and, of course, the claims record were all taken into […]

With the sun high in the sky and very few clouds in sight, staff photographer Mariano Rosales made his way over to “Paradise City” to check out the ultralights. CLICK FOR LARGER INDIVIDUAL IMAGES EACH IMAGE WILL OPEN IN A NEW WINDOW

Teledyne Continental, Hawker Beechcraft and Swift Fuels marked Earth Day Wednesday by announcing successful test flights of a Bonanza fueled with the Swift Fuel cellulose-based biofuel that is being touted as a replacement for 100LL. The maker of the fuel claims it can be made for half the cost of avgas and deliver more miles […]

Tuesday was the first day the show was officially open to the public, and we sent staff photographer Mariano Rosales off to check our the Sport Plane area. CLICK FOR LARGER INDIVIDUAL IMAGES EACH IMAGE WILL OPEN IN A NEW WINDOW