Aircraft Upgrades

Aspen’s angle-of-attack indicator doesn’t require any additional hardware beyond the Evolution Flight display. AVweb’s Paul Bertorelli took it for a spin recently and prepared this video report. Although it’s intended for stall awareness, it can also be used to improve approaches. view on YouTube

Better batteries for electric aircraft are in the works, but it may be five years before we see significant improvements in energy density, according to a leading battery researcher at the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. Jeff Chamberlain, who heads the lab’s Collaborative Center for Energy Storage Research Science, told AVweb in an exclusive interview […]

Paul Bertorelli recently sat down with Jeff Chamberlain from the Argonne National Laboratory as part of his research for an in-depth comparison of battery technologies for our sister publicationAviation Consumer. Chamberlain had a lot to say about the future of battery technology and its impact on the push toward electric airplanes. Read more here. Duration: […]

EasyJet is developing a hybrid hydrogen fuel-cell system that could power taxi operations with zero emissions, the company said in a news release today. “Each aircraft would have motors in their main wheels, and electronics and system controllers would give pilots total control of the aircraft’s speed, direction, and braking during taxi operations,” the company […]

An airplane conceived in the 1980s gets a modern avionics makeover to take on the small-jet market. SyberJet’s Chuck Taylor says that even after all these years, the late Ed Swearingen’s crowning accomplishment still has no equal. view on YouTube

At every show we attend, we see more aircraft applications for lithium ion batteries, although some safety concerns related to thermal protection remain a worry. At the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring this week, Reg Nicosan of Earth-X, a major lithium ion manufacturer, gave AVweb an update on the state of the lithium ion […]

Whether you are upgrading the audio system in an older LSA or experimental or building a new project, PS Engineering and Garmin have non-certified audio panels equipped with advanced features better suited for smaller cabins. In this video, Kitplanes magazine contributor Larry Anglisano puts three of them on the bench for a look and listen. […]

A couple of blogs ago, we examined avionics for old guys, but what about avionics for old airplanes? As the fleet ages along with the pilots who own it, a not-that-old airplane these days is one built in the early 1980s. As an inveterate observer of panels, I always peer inside the windows of airplanes […]

At NBAA, GE had on display its H-series turboprop engines, meant to compete with Pratt & Whitney’s PT6. GE’s Matt Garas gave AVweb a tour of the new engines. view on YouTube

Sandel surprised the NBAA show with a complete new glass panel system for the King Air. AVweb spent some time with Sandel’s Gerry Block taking a tour of the new system. view on YouTube