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Garmin’s new GMA350C-series Bluetooth audio panel has direct wireless connection with smartphones and the Garmin Pilot tablet app for iPad and Android devices. Aviation Consumer editor Larry Anglisano plugged in to the system for a demo with Jessica Koss from Garmin while at AirVenture 2015 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. view on YouTube

We caught up with Swift Fuels’Chris D’Acosta at AirVenture to discuss the latest developments in the quest for a viable 100LL replacement. D’Acosta also brought us up to speed on his company’s efforts toward providing low-octane fuels for underserved portions of the current GA fleet. Duration: 10:54 File Size: 9.6 MB download here

For many pilots, the first realization that the bellies of their airplanes are becoming hazardous waste sites is when ATC advises that their transponders are intermittent. Investigation reveals a layer of goo on the belly antennas, doing its best to block the signal. Frequently cleaning the by-products of engine operation—oil, grease, soot and other delicacies—off […]

No one was expecting it, but at AirVenture 2015, Rotax introduced a new engine, the 135-hp turbocharged 915 iS. The company says it’s expected to be available by about 2017. Rotax/BRP’s Marc Becker gave AVweb briefing on the new engine. view on YouTube

Although the FAA and industry have been quiet about it, the effort to find and certify a replacement for leaded avgas appears to be on track toward a 2018 approval, according to Lycoming’s Michael Kraft. In a podcast recorded with AVweb’s Paul Bertorelli at AirVenture on Wednesday, Kraft said the group overseeing the testing effort, […]

For at least a year, Rotax has been hinting at a new higher horsepower engine and on Tuesday at AirVenture, it delivered. The new, 135-hp turbocharged 915 iS is a follow-up to the 912 iS introduced in 2012. Although the new engine shares similarities with the 912 iS, it has a reinforced crankshaft, newly designed […]

Wisconsin-based Engineered Power Systems (EPS) is moving forward with a clean-sheet aircraft diesel design that it hopes will fill a hole in the current heavy fuel market. While Continental has the low end of the power range locked down with its six-cylinder designs, EPS sees a market opportunity for diesels in the 320- to 430-hp […]

As the industry continues to push back against the high price of new aircraft, another company has joined the emerging trend in remanufactured aircraft. In conjunction with AOPA, Wichita-based Yingling Aviation announced Monday at AirVenture the Ascend 172, a ground-up remanufacture of the popular Cessna Skyhawk. As are several other shops, Yingling is restoring older […]

At AirVenture 2015, Superior Air Parts provided a progress report on their new Gemini three-cylinder diesel, showing off an installation in an American Legend Cub. view on YouTube

It’s been over a decade since we last looked at aviation life rafts. While there have been noteworthy changes in the industry, numerous evolutionary improvements and some new offerings, it’s also a case of the more things change, the more they stay the same. Winslow still, in our opinion, offers the best rafts—you pay a […]