News

A new partnership will result in the resumption of production of Liberty Aerospace’s XL2 two-place touring airplane. Discovery Aviation has merged with Liberty and Liberty principals are joining them to make the resumption of production possible. “Combining the expertise and experience of the two organizations will result in a stronger and more capable entity,” Discovery […]

The FAA has backpedaled considerably on its previous sleep apnea policy proposal. The highly controversial plan to require expensive sleep clinic testing based solely on body mass index appears to be dead. As AVweb reported last year, outgoing Federal Air Surgeon Fred Tilton announced, without consultation with aviation groups or the doctors that do flight […]

“Building Interest in the Future of Aviation” was the name of the discussion at Sun ‘n Fun on Tuesday evening, with four of general aviation’s major players on the panel — EAA’s Jack Pelton, Mark Baker of AOPA, Ed Bolen of NBAA, and Matt Zuccaro, president of Helicopter Association International. “General aviation is shrinking, not […]

At Sun ‘n Fun 2014, Hilton Software, maker of the popular WingX Pro7, showed an interface between the iPad/iPhone app and the Pebble e-Paper watch. WingX Pro7 for Pebble uses a Bluetooth connection to integrate the watch with the WingX Pro7 running on an iPad or iPhone.While the watch won’t display mapping graphics, WingX Pro7 […]

The acquisition of Beech Aircraft by Textron has brought Cessna and Beech back together for the first time since Clyde Cessna and Walter Beech were principals of Travel Air Company in the 1920s. In a position that didnt even exist six weeks ago, Textrons Senior Vice President of Piston Products, Joe Hepburn, briefed AVwebs Rick […]

With over 200 of its eight-place Airvans in operation worldwide, primarily in the back country, GippsAero came to Sun n Fun ready to target the owner-flown market in the U.S. by offering an up-market, more comfortable interior. AVwebs Rick Durden sat down with Earle Boyter, Director of Business Development for the Americas, for a podcast […]

Tecnam said on Tuesday at Sun ‘n Fun they will establish a new facility at Sebring Airport in Florida to serve their North American customers. The facility will provide customer service and support, demo flights for potential buyers, expanded spare-parts capacity, re-assembly for both LSA and Part 23 certified aircraft, and sales and marketing. The […]

Glasair brought a mockup of its new Merlin LSA to Sun ‘n Fun this week, along with the first Sportsman diesel. The diesel airplane features a 155-hp Centurion 2.0s engine, a Hartzel Bantam three-blade propeller and VFR glass panel avionics. “This is a major step for Glasair Aviation, and we believe the market will readily […]

If you like looking at airplanes–and who doesn’t?–Scheme Designers is offering at way to make that activity fun and profitable. At Sun ‘n Fun, the company–which provides aircraft paint scheme design services–is plastering a number of airplanes on the grounds with a special decal. Register for the scavenger hunt and find enough stickers and the […]

Premier Aircraft said this week at Sun ‘n Fun that’s it’s considering expanding its aircraft diesel conversion program to include the Piper Warrior II and III models under STCs originally developed by the former Thielert Aircraft Engines. Earlier this year, Premier announced a Cessna 172 Skyhawk conversion program, using the Continental Centurion 2.0 aerodiesel that’s […]