Sun ‘N Fun

Piper’s share of the training market has slipped in recent years but the current management has targeted it as a growth area. AVweb spoke with COO Jim Funk at Sun ‘n Fun about a long list of orders for a full range of training platforms from schools all over the world. Duration: File Size: download […]

The noise-cancelling aviation headset has been with us for three decades and may have now reached a plateau in further development, according to Allan Schrader of Lightspeed Aviation, which just released the Zulu3, an incremental upgrade to its best-selling Zulu2. “So what could be next? There’s little reason to make a quieter headset. We learned […]

Full-time internet connectivity is a fact of life for businesses, homes and even some cars and will soon be just as common in light aircraft, according to Avidyne’s Dan Schwinn. The company is busily whiteboarding what may be the next big thing in avionics. He explained his vision of the future in this long-form AVweb […]

If drones can do pipeline patrol and survey work, why can’t a light sport aircraft do the same? That’s the question the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association is asking the FAA to consider and the answer may eventually result in an approval for just such work. “We’ve adopted the term aerial work, which is a European […]

Mooney’s decision to rethink the M10 reminds me that I’ve seen this movie before. As we mentioned in today’s coverage, the company apparently realizes that the trainer market isn’t—and will likely never be—robust enough to support a major investment in a new aircraft. And that’s likely to be true no matter what the price point […]

Teresa Eamon, a professional vocalist, sings at the Victory’s Arsenal Stage at Sun ‘n Fun 2017 in Lakeland, Florida. Before a restorer presents their airplane to the assembled crowd, Teresa puts on a show, singing music from the airplane’s era of manufacture—in full contemporary costume and hair. Mostly, that means big-band swing music and attire […]

Cessna sent a new 206 Turbo Stationair HD to Sun ‘n Fun 2017 in Lakeland, Florida, and AVweb crawled all over it to report on the updates. From the cockpit, the plane feels like a really nice Cessna 182 with the new Garmin G1000 NXi flight deck, but up front there’s a turbocharged Lycoming producing […]

The noise-cancelling aviation headset has been with us for three decades and may have now reached a plateau in further development, according to Allan Schrader of Lightspeed Aviation, which just released the Zulu3, an incremental upgrade to its best-selling Zulu2. But what’s ahead for future headset technology? Allan Schrader offers his views in this podcast. […]

Never one to stand still, French aircraft maker Daher unveiled the TBM 910 at Sun ‘n Fun this week. Although it’s not a complete revision of the popular TBM 900, the 910 features new avionics in the form of the Garmin G1000 NXi, the follow-on to the G1000 suite that has become the de facto […]

For many Mooney owners — and a few would-be buyers — a second cabin door has always been on the wish list and on Tuesday at Sun ‘n Fun, Mooney delivered just that. The company rolled out the fully certified Acclaim Ultra, sporting both the new left-side cabin door and a lighter, spiffed-up interior. Mooney […]