Ownership

SkyCrafts SD-1 single-place Minisport has completed flight testing successfully, meeting all the performance requirements needed for S-LSA Certification. According to the companys report, the aircraft has good longitudinal and latitudinal stability and exhibited no issues with flutter, vibration or dangerous stall/spin tendencies. SkyCraft was able to verify the performance specifications for the SD-1 achieved by […]

The last plane to undergo maintenance inside Boeing Wichitas facility, an E-4B, started its engines and took off Thursday. It flew to the south, then gracefully turned back north for a final goodbye pass before disappearing from sight. A fixture in Wichita, Kan., since 1927, Boeing once employed as many as 40,000 people there. It […]

That’s not a Beech, and it didn’t just roll off the line. It’s Joe Shepherd’s immaculately restored Lockheed 12A Electra Junior. We got story on this aircraft (and a good look at it) at Sun ‘n Fun 2014. Learn more here. view on YouTube

Thank goodness there are passionate and determined owners of vintage aircraft in this world. Due to people such as Joe Shepherd, the lives of we who are crazy about flying machines have been vastly enriched because we get to see the results of their passion fly rather than gather dust. Shepherd owns, and regularly operates, […]

The Lear 60 is a fast, affordable business jet. But like most airplanes, it could do well with additional baggage space. Raisbeck Engineering, a well-known STC house, has developed just such a product. AVweb takes a look at it in this brief product video. view on YouTube

Calling it a “new paradigm in aviation propulsion,” test pilot Dick Rutan completed the first flight of the quiet new Graflight V-8 diesel engine from the Mojave airport, on May 2. The engine was installed in a modified Cirrus SR22. The test flight took about 20 minutes, staying at altitudes 5,000 feet and less. The […]

I was looking through the archives the other day to see when we did our first serious coverage of electric aircraft. It was 2009; five years ago this summer. We imagined then that production versions would be trickling to market in a few years. They arent. But thats not to say theres not interesting progress […]

Corporate buyouts, mergers and acquisitions are frequent features on the global business landscape. When one is announced, the press releases babble on about how market synergies and leveraged branding will soon make the customer experience a veritable orgasmic cornucopia of products and services and competitive prices. The reality is that when big companies buy little […]

I hear it consistently, Yeah, Ill do the ADS-B bit later, once there are more boxes to chose from and the price comes down, Ive got lots of time. Maybe not. While the sky is not falling, pilots are notorious for procrastinating when it comes to compliance with regs-ask any AME whether the demand for […]

Finding a reliable and skilled paint shop is a daunting challenge for many aircraft owners. If you’ve had your aircraft painted within the past few years, the editors at Aviation Consumer magazine want to know about your experience. Please take this brief survey, and the staff will report on the results in an upcoming issue […]