Air Shows & Events

Electric airplanes have been making inroads at Aero in Friedrichshafen and this year’s bumper crop included a model from the Czech-based Jihlavan Airplanes in concert with MGM COMPRO. The two companies were showing a pure electric version of the Skyleader 400, a slick, low-wing light sport model. The airplane actually appeared at Aero last year […]

An investor group based in Maine says it will manufacture the Atol 650, a Finnish-designed high-performance light sport amphibian. Atol USA is a joint venture with the Finland-based Atol Avion mother company. Because of its many lakes, amphib flying is popular in Finland and the company says Maine has similar topography so the company sees […]

As Piper rides a wave of trainer aircraft demand, it announced at Aero in Friedrichshafen, Germany, that it will offer a diesel version of its PA-44 Seminole. The new model will be powered by a new Jet-A engine model from Continental Motors, the 170-HP CD-170, a variant of Continental’s CD-100 series diesel engines. The Seminole […]

As Aero 2018 in Friedrichshafen, Germany is set to open this week with more than 630 exhibitors from 38 countries, electric aircraft and drone technology are expected to dominate the show. The expo will also be well populated with gyrocopters, new light sport aircraft and efficient engine technology. With roots in Hungary, the Magnus Aircraft […]

With little fanfare, at Sun ‘n Fun 2018 BendixKing was showing its new XVue Touch integrated flight deck for experimental aircraft. Priced at $5499, the XVue Touch system has a high-resolution (near 4K graphics) 10.1-inch WUXGA color display with split-screen capability. The coated glass used on the display is anti-scratch, anti-glare and anti-smudge. The tech […]

Evidently, I’m either a recovering taildragger guy or one who’s in denial, according to John Whitish, the marketing guy at CubCrafters. I suppose I could be both. This was revealed Friday evening when I was speeding away from Sun ‘n Fun in the Millennium Nissan and Whitish invited me down to South Lakeland for a […]

As flight simulators have become ever cheaper, they are also getting more capable. In this video shot at Sun ‘n Fun, Precision Flight Controls shows off its DCX MAX series simulator. Tracy Cook gives us a 90-second rundown. view on YouTube

At Sun ‘n Fun 2018, CubCrafters was showing its FX3, a fast-build kit version of the popular Carbon Cub LSA. But it’s a lot heavier and has the CubCrafter proprietary ASTM engine. Duration: 6:22 File Size: 6.1 MB download here

If you’ve seen that Boeing 727 parked outside Sun ‘n Fun’s aeronautical education center, you may have wondered what it’s used for. In this AVweb podcast, Jayme Jamison tells us all about this unique combination classroom and event facility. And yes, the engines still run. Duration: 6:30 File Size: 6.8 MB download here

The fully functioning Boeing 727 parked on Sun ‘n Fun’s Lakeland campus serves not only as a classroom, conference center and museum exhibit, but also as a safe environment to help individuals with disabilities familiarize themselves with the airline environment before travelling. Florida Air Museum personnel use the exhibit’s unique setup to allow people to […]