Ownership

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 […]

I’ve been pawing over some additional details on the specs for the new airplanes Mooney announced last week in Zhuhai. They truly are clean-sheet designs and the first we’ve seen from a major manufacturer in more than a decade. The airplanes are interesting less for what they have than what they don’t have: ballistic parachutes. […]

Lamda Guard, a company based in Canada, has developed a thin film filter that could protect pilots from laser strikes when applied to airplane windows. The film is built from an array of nanoparticles. It’s quick to install, long-lasting, and cost-effective compared to other options, the company said. The metamaterial technology can block multiple laser […]

Cirrus markets the new SR20 as a dual-role aircraft – easy to manage for a newer pilot and suitable for business travel. It’s also an airplane that can make for an easier transition to the faster SR22. In this video, Aviation Consumer editor Larry Anglisano, along with Cirrus’ Cliff Allen takes a close look at […]

Velocity Aircraft introduced a twin a couple of years ago, and it’s expanding the engine options and creature comforts. We talked to John Abraham at Flying Aviation Expo in Palm Springs about the program. Editor’s Note: This video has incorrect information in the introduction. The aircraft was designed by Danny Maher, not Burt Rutan as […]

At this week’s Redbird Migration conference, I wrote a short straightnews piece quoting the proposed direct operating costs for an electric trainer of about $5 an hour. That number came from George Bye, whose Aero Electric Aircraft Corp. appears poised to bring an electric-powered trainer to market within…well, it’s on the horizon. A couple of […]

Buying or selling a used general aviation airplane is not fun. A root canal is probably more pleasant. Pilot training does not include education on airplane selection and evaluation, there are no regs on sales standards and no consumer watchdog agency to go after unscrupulous sellers. Sellers often spend hours answering telephone calls from tire […]

With a year and 1,300 hours of operation behind them, Redbird says its converted diesel Skyhawks have delivered bulletproof maintenance reliability and significant savings in direct operating costs. At a short briefing during the company’s fourth annual training conference in San Marcos, Texas, Redbird’s Darren Bien told a small group that thus far, customer response […]