Interesting Airplanes

Click for Full-Size Images Each high-res imagewill open in a new window. Be sure to check out ourgallery of launch day photos Scaled composites – not your average workplace Very Light Jets – a good (if old) idea A flower in the desert, making history There’s more than one reason NASA would have run way […]

The FAA recently granted ODAR status to Adam Aircraft – the Denver-based aircraft manufacturer and builder of the cabin class, centerline thrust, twin-engine A500 aircraft. ODAR (Organizational Designated Airworthiness Representative) denotes recognition that the FAA has approved the manufacturer’s organization, processes, and qualified staff members authority to perform conformity inspections for manufacturing processes and aircraft […]

Invited to Participate in 2005 Demo The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), in partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), has invited Adam Aircraft to participate in a demonstration of their new research & development program focused on developing technologies to create a small aircraft transportation system (SATS). Under the project, NASA has initiated […]

If a new airplane is a must, small-aircraft fractional ownership systems, like those from OurPLANE and AirShares, deserve a look. Depending on your flying habits, it could be cheaper in the long run. But as the editors of Aviation Consumer recently explained, put a sharp pencil on the numbers. This article appears in the June […]

Seems like everybody wants to strap a larger engine onto a successful aircraft design and call it “improved.” But when Cirrus Design was ready to develop a step-up model after its very successful SR20, they knew they wanted to do more than just add some horsepower. AVweb’s Dave Higdon shows that, while you might mistake […]

Thepreparation leading up to my first flight in a new aircraft design always renewsmy sense of adventure and stirs a bit of trepidation, as well. The promise ofsome new adventure, rooted in my hedonistic curiosity about airplanes, generallyoverwhelms any degree of anxiety attached to the coming flight. Nonetheless, arriving at the main gate of The […]

How frustrating this could be, my mind kept musing. Not three hours earlier the magnificent Three Sisters mountain peaks reached upward through clear skies toward the window seat of a Southwest 737 flying me to Portland International (PDX). No overcast blocked my view until we flew to about 40 miles south of PDX. But the […]

If Benjamin Braddock paid more attention to his future – and less to Mrs. Robinson- he might today hold an executive position at a young, new airplane company.All Ben, the central character in the classic film, “The Graduate,”had to do was heed that “one word” of advice he received during theopening reel of the movie: […]

I‘m often asked to sum up an airplane in one word. The problem is that most airplanes resist such a simple label. As a result, my responses usually trend toward “neat,” “cool” and “fast,” to “impressive,” “heavy” and “demanding” or to “slick,” “nimble” and “comfy.” Of course, these choices explain next to nothing about the […]

In many ways, watching Cirrus Design Corp. evolve into the two-model company it is today felt similar to watching a child mature from adolescence into adulthood. From its roots in the experimental community, Cirrus evolved from a niche airplane-kit maker into an advanced manufacturing firm. From serious airplanes for people with money and building ambitions, […]