Ownership

Throughout my flying career, I’ve occasionally run into what I might generously call the Marlboro Man of aviation. That should probably be the plural form, men, because there’s more than just a small handful of these guys. You know the type. It’s the guy who has no use for any kind of regulation, even if […]

For almost 10 years, Africair has been converting Cessna Skyhawks to diesel power and shipping them to the African market for training. In this video, AVweb’s Paul Bertorelli has a look at these conversions and takes a brief flight trial. view on YouTube

Diamond Aircraft’s first DA42 Twin Star has a new home in Austria’s science and industry museum, theTechnisches Museum Wien in Vienna. The twin-engine diesel airplane had its first flightin December 2002 in Austria with Diamond CEO Christian Dries as test pilot. A year and a half later, the DA42 made the first nonstop Atlantic crossing […]

While the romantic bloom toward aviation may be off the rose for the public at large, automobile companies have been smitten on and off with the idea that aircraft features can sell cars. Recall about a decade ago that several car makers–Subaru comes to mind–were flogging aircraft style dashboards. Basically, they turned the soft white […]

Rotax is well known for its line of aircraft engines, but these are just a small part of the company’s engine-manufacturing business. Last summer, AVweb’s Paul Bertorelli visited the factory and produced this engaging video of how the company builds its aircraft engines. view on YouTube

Garmin now has a 7-inch G3X Touch display option available for experimental amateur-built and light sport aircraft, the company said this week. The high-resolution touchscreen display provides an option for owners of aircraft with smaller panels who may be looking for upgrades. The new screen also can be paired with a 10.6-inch display to serve […]

Batteries are often crippled from the outset-that may be a bit of hyperbole, but it may be other causes than the battery maker responsible for problems with short lived or early failed batteries, especially with flooded cells. Look at the battery maker requirements for activation of a dry-charged battery as well as elements that an […]

With refurbs gaining momentum, we’re seeing more restoration of modest airplanes, especially Cessna 150s, which are among the most economical airplanes to own and fly. Don Toy of Homestead, Iowa, recently sent us this report on his refurb. “Here is my project of the last year. I boughta 1966 Cessna 150F model of a friend […]

Boots and weeping wings are fine as far as they go, but it’s also nice to have some means of automatically detecting and alarming the presence of ice in flight. A company called SafeFlight is out with a new device that does just that. view on YouTube

Continental Motors Group announced Thursday it will offer its CD-100 diesel series for existing light piston airplanes in China. The company has filed for a Chinese STC for the installation of its CD-135 and CD-155 engines in the Cessna 172, Piper PA-28 series and the Diamond DA40. It expects the STC to be granted in […]