Ownership

For aircraft, increases in aerodynamic efficiency often translate to increases in economic efficiency, and NASAs bug team has recently concluded tests on eight different coatings designed to reduce bug accumulation for that very purpose. The team flew NASA Langleys HU-25C Falcon jet through low-altitude flight this past summer in Virginia. The flights included multiple departures […]

In the admittedly dwindling universe of aircraft owners, there is some small percentage of people who are not ethically or morally qualified to own airplanes. Im probably deluding myself by saying it is a tiny fraction of owners, but it may very well be growing. Im referring to the deadbeats, the hustlers, the malcontents and […]

DiamondShare, a cost-sharing program for new Diamond DA40 aircraft, isnt designed to be a cheaper way to fly. Instead, it’s intended to make the high cost of new aircraft ownership more compelling, especially for owners that dont plan to fly more than 100 hours per year. For the non-owner, its a way to gain access […]

Weve all seen them. Sad old derelict ramp dwellers with sun-faded paint and flat tires, awaiting rescue by the aviation equivalent of the Good Samartan. This months refurb aircraft is one of those. It comes from Steve Wilbers, shop supervisor at Jefferson City Flying Service in Jefferson City, Missouri. Attached are before and after pictures […]

A blogger in the San Francisco Bay area who published patent drawings on Wednesday that show designs for a battery-powered “personal aircraft” with vertical takeoff and landing capabilities, has now updated the story with a photo. The patents were filed by Zee.Aero, a somewhat mysterious company based in Mountain View. Caleb Garling, writing for the […]

A research team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has developed a simple technology that could help to prevent icing on aircraft wings, the university announced on Wednesday. The team experimented with ridged surfaces to see if they could reduce the time it takes for a water droplet to hit a surface and then recoil. […]

Every certified glass panel airplane needs backup flight instruments. Aircraft manufacturers and some glass cockpit owners are making the switch from traditional, round-gauge mechanical backups in favor of all-in-one backup EFIS systems. The way we see it, if the primary flight data fails, you might only need backup attitude data to help you keep the […]

Responding to the growing demand for ADS-B-capable equipment, BendixKing is rolling out a new Mode-S transponder called the KT-74. AVweb got a tour of it at AirVenture last July. view on YouTube

In a public submission, the NTSB has told the FAA it does not understand the foreseeable safety benefit of the FAAs proposed action regarding specific parts of the agencys NPRM on ECi cylinder assemblies. As written, the FAAs NRPM would require thousands of aircraft owners to inspect or replace certain ECi engine cylinders. In its […]

Wind tunnel testing conducted earlier this month at Moffett Field, Calif., has shown promising results for active flow control technology and its potential for reducing the size of vertical tail structures for a whole family of aircraft. NASA, in partnership with Boeing, equipped a full-scale Boeing 757 vertical fin with active flow control technology that […]