Ownership

A few days ago, we emerged from a polar vortex that drifted south – a textbook example of what those things do from time to time. The associated cold managed to get the media into full cry and revived all of the how cold is it? jokes. Judging from Internet aviation forums, it also got […]

More than 10 years after Congress mandated that the Transportation Security Administration establish security regulations for repair stations certified under FAR Part 145 and four years after the TSA issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on the matter, the TSA is about to formally publish the final rules (PDF). In a January 10 conference […]

Ive been covering the aviation piston fuel story intensely for four years now and off and on for a lot longer than that. And honestly, the more we bump along toward an eventual replacement for 100LL, the more confusing and confounding the process appears to be. Not that Im discouraged, for there will be a […]

What will it take to stimulate a flat avionics retrofit market? There are buyers, bythe way. Its just that fewer of them are willing to slap $40,000 on the counter at the avionics shop like they did 10 years ago. Today, $20,000 is the new sweet spot for a modest up- grade. For many, thats […]

An incentive to use technology to reduce overflight noise for Grand Canyon National Park air tour operators kicked in on the first day of the new year. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the eight flightseeing operators have to pay a $25 fee per flight over the Grand Canyon; however, the fee is reduced to […]

Accidents, like elections, have consequences. And as youve probably read, a consequence of one accident is that the ATP will soon rise to the level of unobtanium, so if you always wanted one, 2014 is the time to act. And better be quick about it. The accident, of course, is the Colgan Air crash in […]

With the average age of the light aircraft fleet north of 40 years, it’s a challenge to keep older aircraft maintained. In this video, Cub owner Paul Bertorelli shows how the shop uses a borescope to see deep inside the aircraft to detect any issues before they become serious. view on YouTube

It used to be self-fueling just referred to the aircraft owner who brought mogas to her airplane in five-gallon cans and upset the airport manager or FBO because of lost fuel sales. While thats still the case, over the last decade, its also come to mean putting avgas into your airplane from a self-service pump. […]

Cessna this week started deliveries of both the all-new Citation M2 light jet and the Citation Sovereign+, an upgrade to a design in service since 2004. The M2, in the works since 2011, offers a six-passenger cabin and aims to provide a step up for Mustang owners and turboprop pilots. “The Citation M2 is a […]

Piper’s Twin Comanche–affectionately known as the Twinkie by many owners–is one of the most efficient twin-engine aircraft ever manufactured, eclipsed only Diamond’s diesel-powered DA42. The Twin Comanche is a popular refurb platform because the airframe performs well and is reasonably priced on the used market. For this month’s refurb of the month, we’ve picked Ron […]