News

The president of the Civil Aviation Medical Association, the group that represents aviation medical examiners (AMEs), says doing away with the third class medical is a threat to public safety. Dr. Mark Eidson has written members of Congress urging them to vote against bills in front of both houses that would eliminate the third class […]

“We blew it out of the water, went through the roof,” Sun ‘n Fun President John “Lites” Leenhouts told AVweb on Sunday morning as the show started to wind down for its final day. “The weather gods owed us one, from 2011, and they were very good to us.” Severe clear weather reigned all week […]

Quicksilver announced last year at EAA AirVenture they had a two-seat S-LSA model in the works, and this week they brought the finished product to Sun ‘n Fun. “There’s been a lot of very interested people looking at it,” Eugene “Bever” Borne told AVweb on Saturday on the Paradise City flight line. “We’ve definitely created […]

The SkyCraft SD-1 Minisport, a small single-seat S-LSA, first showed up at EAA AirVenture last summer, but this is the first time the airplane has visited Sun ‘n Fun, designer Joe Doherty told AVweb this week. The airplane, which sells for about $55,000, is based on a Czech experimental design, with a 50-hp Hirth F-23 […]

Stemme, the German motorglider manufacturer that got a boost with new ownership and investment a couple of years ago, is continuing its work to develop a robust network of dealers and service centers around the world, spokesman Lorenzo Costella told AVweb at Sun ‘n Fun. Stemme USA is now based at Columbia Metropolitan Airport in […]

Daher-Socata brought its new TBM 900 single-engine turboprop, which debuted just a few weeks ago, to Sun ‘n Fun this week. The 900 is an upgrade of the 850, which it replaces, with winglets and a five-blade composite propeller, plus numerous tweaks to enhance the aerodynamic design, pilot interface and passenger comfort. “We’re happy with […]

Norwegian skydiver Anders Helstrup may be pretty much incalculably lucky thanks to a chance encounter with a meteorite that has the skydiving and astronomy world buzzing. Helstrup did a wingsuit jump over his native land in June of 2012 and said he didn’t see anything but he got the feeling something happened during the canopy […]

Mooney is back, and although they didn’t have a booth at Sun ‘n Fun, the new executive staffarrived on Friday to meet with the faithful and the press to provide a snapshot of the new company and its plans. CEO Jerry Chen told the crowd of 100 or so in a tent behind the Florida […]

Dynon Avionics is a major player in the experimental and light sport aircraft avionics market and the companys flagship Skyview integrated avionics suite has been a huge success for a wide variety of models. Since the latest trend for LSA and experimental aircraft avionics is a touchscreen feature set, Dynon reworked the Skyview into the […]

The panel in one of CubCrafters Carbon Cubs has caused more than a few double takes by visitors at Sun n Fun. Instead of a few dials, its glass-and not just any glass, Garmins new G3X Touch flight display system. Referred to as Executive GLASS touch, it replaces the companys previous high-end panel with an […]