Ownership

The U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday voted to provide $15.7 billion to the Federal Aviation Administration in fiscal year 2015, representing a slight increase from the current $15.6 billion funding level. AOPA is reporting that the bill prohibits the imposition of aviation user fees and also fees for digital navigational charts. The bill also directs […]

As a journalist, Ive come to recognize a certain look when I ask a victim…err, I mean, a source, a question I know is going to be sensitive. If the question is getting close to pay dirt, the person suffering the interview adopts a certain Cheshire cat look that implies to me: if only I […]

A team of scientists at the University of Illinois has developed materials that can immediately respond to damage and self-repair large cracks and holes. “We have demonstrated repair of a nonliving, synthetic materials system in a way that is reminiscent of repair-by-regrowth as seen in some living systems,” said chemist Jeffrey Moore. The technology comprises […]

Late last week, I visited the Rotax factory in Austria, where Ive been once before and Ive interviewed the company executives and technical people more times than that. These discussions drift around various themes, but two recur noticeably. First, Rotax and its parent, BRP Powertrain, is, above all else, an engine company. But the conversations […]

At its Gunskirchen, Austria, factory, Rotax celebrated both 25 years of producing the 912 series engine and the 50,000th engine in the series. AVweb was there and prepared this video report with the company’s Francois Tremblay. Learn more here. view on YouTube

At its Gunskirchen, Austria factory, Rotax on Thursday rolled out its 50,000th 912-series aircraft engine and celebrated the 25th anniversary of the engine family with a fly-in at the nearby Wels airport. Manufacturers from around Europe flew in Rotax-powered aircraft for sales demos. The company combined the event with an annual homecoming of Can-Am Spyder […]

If you were asked to describe the great technological challenge of the age, what would it be? Cracking fusion as an energy source? The 1000 wh/kg lithium-ion battery? Cheap turbine engines made of plastic? For me, it would be a flashlight that does what its supposed to for, say, at least a year after purchase. […]

Owners who fancy a little light aerobatics—or even semi-serious competition—might lust after a Pitts S1 or an Extra 300. But then reality sets in. Those airplanes require no small degree of skill to simply fly safely and that’s before we consider the insurance premiums. And that’s why so many owners inevitably gravitate toward the American […]

Diamond’s still-in-development DA52 got a name change on Wednesday. It will now be known as the DA62, a move the company said is supposed to provide it some addition product identity. We are renaming the DA52 to improve differentiation from our DA42 series that continues indefinitely in parallel production, said Christian Dries, CEO of Diamond […]

A California company says it’s the first to fly a passenger in a solar-powered airplane. Solar Flight, of Ramona, Calif., launched its Sunseeker Duo from Milan, Italy, with both of the company’s founders, Irena and Eric Raymond, in the spacious side-by-side cabin.”Sunseeker Duois now officially the first solar powered airplane to carry two people,” the […]