Aircraft Upgrades

Some owners are reluctant to buy avionics warranties, but they might not realize the high cost of component replacement and flat-rate factory repairs. On top of that, there’s expensive shop labor. The going hourly rate at most avionics shops is over $100 and won’t include the shipping costs for sourcing replacement parts. For some glass-cockpit […]

Tiny devices called synthetic jet actuators could be placed along the leading edge of a wing and create small puffs of air that virtually change the shape of the wing, reducing drag, according to scientists at GE Global Research. The scientists are developing the technology not only for use on airplanes but also on wind […]

Safe Flight Instrument Corporation is in the process of achieving FAA certification for their new angle of attack and speed control system for Part 23 aircraft. Aviation Consumer‘s Larry Anglisano flew with the system in Safe Flight’s Beech Baron. This video features a tour and wring-out of the new system. view on YouTube

The first new copies of the Cessna TTx, which the company calls “the world’s fastest commercially produced and certified fixed-gear single engine aircraft,” have been delivered, Cessna said on Monday. The all-composite, turbocharged four-seat aircraft evolved from the Corvalis (previously Columbia) line. The cockpit features sidestick controls and debuts the Garmin G2000 avionics suite, with […]

A California company says it has increased the top speed of the fastest fixed-gear single by almost 10 percent, added up to 30 percent range and given it a 40- to 50-percent increase in climb rate without touching the engine. In fact, says Lam Aviation, the Columbia 300 (predecessor to the Cessna Corvalis) saw all […]

There’s nothing like a global recession to kill the buzz around new airplanes and gadgets, but they seem to keep cropping up. This week, we have a 1,430-lb. personal jet, two flying bicycles, and electric taxiing for airliners. What’s going on? Is innovation in aviation alive? (click to answer) Last Week’s Question: Results Want to […]

Frank Thielert, founder of Thielert Aircraft Engines, which produces Centurion diesel engines for the aviation market, last week was jailed by a judge in a German bankruptcy court who reportedly considered him a “flight risk.” According to the Google translation of a story in the Hamburg Abendblatt newspaper, the judge said Thielert faces several years […]

Last week, a group of Czech engineers flew a hybrid bicycle/multi-copter by remote control, but this week, another take on the flying-bicycle concept — one that’s already flown with live human pilots — turned up in the news. This one is basically a lightweight powered-parachute with a bicycle attached as a means of traveling from […]

Safran and Honeywell have unveiled an electric taxiing system for airliners that is expected to save millions of gallons of fuel and make airports much nicer places. According to France 24 the companies collaborated on the system, which puts electric motors on the main wheels to allow pilots to maneuver on the ground without using […]

When the original Eclipse jet was certified, back in 2005, the FAA approved the airframe for a 10,000-hour lifetime, and last week, the owners of Eclipse Aerospace said the FAA had agreed to double that. “An actual Eclipse jet was subject to the movements, loads, and fatigue that would normally be experienced over more than […]