Air Shows & Events

The Chinese owners of western aviation infrastructure—Cirrus, Continental, Mooney, Diamond—generally remain low key, as in invisible. So, it was unusual yesterday when Diamond’s Austria CEO, Liquin (Frank) Zhang, conducted the company’s press conference at Aero. He gave a brisk overview of Diamond’s parent, Wanfeng Auto Holding, a $30 billion closely held Chinese conglomerate. Confident and […]

With the current EPA administration seen as unlikely to issue a finding of endangerment against the tetraethyl lead used in aviation fuel, its eventual demise may have to come at the hands of consumers. That was one message from a 100LL briefing held at Aero in Friedrichshafen, Germany, this week. Conducted by Shell’s Tim Shea […]

At Sun ‘n Fun 2019, Daher Aircraft introduced a first for turboprop singles: autothrottles. The system is integrated within the TBM940’s Garmin G3000 integrated flight deck, providing an additional layer of envelope protection, including automatic descent mode. The company also introduced a new automatic deicing system for the TBM910 and TBM940 models. Larry Anglisano took […]

AOPA President Mark Baker gave a presentation about some surprising growth trends in pilot certifications at Aero 2019 in Friedrichshafen, Germany. In this podcast, he discusses the relationship between the number of active pilots, pilot salaries and flight training in the U.S. and Europe. Duration: 4:59 File Size: 4.57 MB download here

GAMA President Pete Bunce discusses the potential industry-wide impacts of the questions that have arisen regarding the certification of the Boeing 737 MAX including how to balance safety, regulation and providing a pathway for innovation and new certifications. In this podcast from Aero 2019 in Friedrichshafen, Germany, he also talks the economics of sustainable aviation […]

While the NTSB and FAA do what most of us consider a diligent job in tracking accidents and reporting rates, it’s just the reverse in Europe, according to GAMA. The association is trying to remedy this by surveying GA pilots to determine the all-important hours flown necessary to calculate risk. At a briefing at the […]

The much-anticipated CS23 revision—or FAR 23 to U.S. aviators—not to mention some tweaking of microlight and ultralight rules in Europe has kicked off the predicted new model development. At Aero on Wednesday, Italian planemaker Tecnam drove home the point by announcing three new variants. The low-wing P2002 Sierra has been a popular choice for schools […]

Cirrus’ sales success all but tanked the idea of a high-performance single with retractable gear. But at Aero on Wednesday, Diamond Aircraft revived the idea in announcing that the long-stalled DA-50 is coming back, this time as a diesel-power retractable with at least five seats. Diamond CEO Liquin Zhang says certification is planned for the […]

Under reorganized management from its parent Lift Air, Flight Design announced a new four-place aircraft at Aero on Wednesday, with ambitious plans to certify in about a year. It also announced a recasting of the existing CTLS line that will include a new modular model capable of being an electric aircraft. The new four-place model […]

Even as it announced new a new initiative into the piston training market last week, Piper reports that sales of its big-ticket M-Class airplanes continue to show growth, with strong interest coming from Europe. At a press conference on the opening day of the Aero exhibition in Friedrichshafen, Germany, Piper CEO Simon Caldecott said sales […]