Air Shows & Events

The Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In in Lakeland, Fla., is where many pilots are this week, so AOPA is making the most of it to collect signatures on its anti-user fee petition. Giant boards posted at three sites on the field are staffed by volunteers handing out Sharpies to all comers, and they keep coming and […]

“How can a buyer have confidence that Light Sport Aircraft manufacturers are really in compliance with the ASTM standards? Who’s guarding the hen house?” EAA’s Bob Warner said his staff is asked that question “every hour of every day,” and he’s glad that now he has an answer. On Thursday morning at the Sun ‘n […]

Jeppesen has teamed up with Diamond to create a Web-based private pilot curriculum specific to DA20 and DA40 aircraft. Being online “provides access to all the resources of the Internet,” says Jeppesen’s Kert Thielen. “It also means we can constantly update the content.” The format will also make it easy for Jeppesen to re-design the […]

Police have identified two Ohio men as those who died in the crash of a Wheeler homebuilt on final approach to Lakeland Linder Airport on Monday. Terrence Albert Sack, 61, of Dublin, Ohio, the pilot, and his passenger, Roger L. Caldwell, 56, of Blacklick, Ohio were killed when the aircraft hit a barn just east […]

Avemco Insurance has announced that rates for Cirrus aircraft will drop from 10 to 30 percent depending on model, and the insurance cost for Diamond DA42 Twin Star will be cut by 30 percent thanks to a better than expected loss record. Vice president of aviation insurance underwriting Jim Lauerman said at Sun ‘n Fun […]

There will likely be one less entry in the light jet market as Comp Air has all but abandoned its jet project. “It’s not dead,” said President Ron Lueck but he said the prototype has languished in Bowling Green, Ky. since last July when Lueck dead sticked it after an engine failure. “We have an […]

Fallout from last year’s devastating hail storm at the Columbia factory in Bend, Ore., has yielded some encouraging information. After the storm, Columbia did some structures testing that convinced the FAA the planes were safe to repaint and ship to customers. But the FAA also wanted the long-term durability of the hail-pummeled airframes put through […]

James Bass, president and CEO of Piper Aircraft, this week revealed that the Vero Beach, Fla.-based aircraft manufacturer plans to announce a new airplane later this year. “We can’t tell you much about this new airplane, but it will be very, very special,” he said at the Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In in Lakeland, Fla. “It […]

At the Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In, Avidyne said it plans to expand its reach into the lower end of the general aviation market, a segment that includes more than 70,000 airplanes. With this goal in mind, the company has teamed with Southern Star Avionics to offer the Envision integrated flight deck in most Cessna 300 […]

Diamond Aircraft launched its long-awaited Diamond Flight Center (DFC) program this week the Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In at Lakeland, Fla. “We have heard for some time that flight schools wanted a fresh alternative to the status quo,” said Diamond Aircraft Industries President Peter Maurer. “There were several key elements we wanted to have in place […]