Aircraft Upgrades

Superior Air Parts aims to get a piece of Lycoming’s business with a soon-to-be-approved 180-hp IO-360 Vantage engine, the company said at AirVenture on Monday. For a price about the same as an IO-360 overhaul, the new Vantage engine is a bolt-up conversion for the Lycoming IO-360 used in the R and S model Skyhawks, […]

Celebrating 20 years of providing integrated avionics and aircraft safety systems, Avidyne announced today that it received Technical Standard Order (TSO) approval and an Approved Model List Supplemental Type Certificate (AML-STC) from the FAA for installation of the IFD540 FMS/GPS/NAV/COM system in more than 1,000 aircraft makes and models. The IFD540 gives aircraft owners a […]

Build A Plane has joined with the Thomas Wathen Center in Riverside, Calif., to create a permanent facility that allows kids to build real airplanes. The Katrina Bradshaw Memorial BuildAPlane Center is outfitted as a complete A&P facility providing tooling and materials to build and restore aircraft. The Center is named after the late Katrina […]

Sonex Aircraft flew its JSX-2 single-seat single-engine jet for the first time, last Thursday, the company announced on Monday. The jet was subsequently flown several more times and proved “fast and smooth,” according to test pilot Bob Carlton. Carlton said he practiced stalls in the jet and flew at speeds above 200 mph. The company […]

At Sun ‘n Fun in April 2014, Rotax announced the new 912iS Sport, which has more mid-range torque for aircraft without constant speed props. In this video, AVweb’s Paul Bertorelli flew the engine with Rotax’s Alexander Mitter. view on YouTube

The Thai Air Force extended the life of its fleet of DC-3s by decades with their conversion to Basler BT-67s. They’re used for everything from troop transport to making it rain. view on YouTube

The resumption of supersonic passenger travel is getting closer to reality, NASA said this week, as the agency’s aeronautics researchers are making progress in developing low-sonic-boom technology. “Lessening sonic booms … is the most significant hurdle to reintroducing commercial supersonic flight,” said Peter Coen, head of the High Speed Project in NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission […]

Cessna 172s may be not be fast or sexy, but there are plenty of them out there and prices reflect that supply. There are also lots of aftermarket mods for these airplanes. Larry Gettleman of Louisville, Ky., put that to work in his refurb of this months Refurbished Aircraft the Month. I have owned this […]

Lithium-ion batteries, which have three times the power of lead acid aircraft cells, are starting to find their way into new aircraft. Mid-Continent Instruments and Avionics has formed a new division called True Blue Power to serve this market. In this AVweb video, MCI’s Todd Winter discusses the new battery products. view on YouTube

Continental Motors says it will take the wraps off a new 300-hp aircraft V-6 diesel engine at AirVenture in July, according to CEO Rhett Ross. Like the Centurion 2.0 and 2.0S diesels, the new engine leverages automotive technology from Mercedes Benz and is aimed at the high-performance single- and twin-engine segment not yet served by […]