AVweb Insider

I don’t make a habit of including photos in this space unless there’s a compelling reason to do so. I prefer to imagine that my incisive prose will somehow deliver you to a place where a mere photo would be nothing but a rude intrusion on a near metaphysical bond between author and reader. But […]

It’s convenient for the media narrative to look at events like Sun ‘n Fun as barometers for the overall health of GA. If that were ever accurate, I’m not sure it still is. Attendance and exhibitor numbers spike up and sag down from year to year, seemingly not connected to anything to do with the […]

I think if you explained to someone outside of aviation that, by the time we’re all done, it will have taken 10 years to develop a new, unleaded, high-octane aviation gasoline, they’d believe you to be making it all up. And that doesn’t count 30 years of half-serious research on the topic hardly worthy of […]

As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, the biggest story here at Sun ‘n Fun this week was one we didn’t even expect: EAA’s announcement that it has partnered with Dynon Avionics to bring less expensive, non-certified avionics to the cockpits of certified aircraft. The first AML-STC list is modest: Cessna 172s and Piper’s PA-28 and […]

When I was writing a news brief about Garmin’s new experimental-only G5 self-contained gyro last week, I was thinking, boy, how cool would it be to find a way to stick this in the panel of a certified airplane? When I was shooting this video of Dynon’s new Skyview SE system, I thought the same […]

One of my least favorite things to do in covering shows like Sun ‘n Fun is flying airplanes. Yeah, no kidding. The reason is that shows are just too hectic. The demo period is often compressed to less than an hour and if I get a lousy, rushed video out of the experience, I’m doing […]

Icon Aircraft founder Kirk Hawkins has famously said his company aims to reshape—actually reinvent—general aviation by “democratizing” access to it. What that means exactly is about as clear as mud, but this week, Icon’s buyer agreement escaped into the wild, and it appears as though Icon’s view of “democratization” centers on a legal construct that […]

The phrase “rusty pilot” seems to be a thing now. Since we can’t find many new pilots, we’re stirring up the walking wounded, clearing out the ambulatory wards, perhaps enticing them with AOPA logo walkers and a discount on the early-bird special at the airport cafe. I get it. It’s as good a plan as […]

As the inevitable autonomy of everything looms just ahead, rock-star entrepreneur Elon Musk had this to say at a recent development conference: “You can’t have a person driving a two-ton death machine. It’s too dangerous.” And that’s to say the driverless car visionaries don’t just want to offer you an autonomous vehicle, they’ll insist on […]

With more than 6300 CAPS-equipped Cirrus aircraft out there and given all the unblinking security cameras running 24/7, it was inevitable that good video of a Cirrus parachute touchdown would eventually emerge. Earlier this month,it did. (More here.) On March 5, an SR22 en route from Groton, Connecticut, to Republic Airport on Long Island suffered […]