Ownership

I recently returned from Mobile, Ala., where I spent a full week at the Teledyne Continental Motors factory going through TCM’s Aviation Technician Advanced Training Program (ATATP). I attended the course with AVweb Executive Editor Jeb Burnside (who owns a TCM-powered C33A Debonair) and my good friend Chris Wrather (who owns a TCM-powered V35 Bonanza). […]

The Malibu Mirage has the rare distinction of being in a class by itself. No other plane currently in production can claim to be a six-place cabin-class pressurized piston single. In spite of a complicated history, the aircraft ultimately lives up to its reputation as a full-capability IFR platform providing comfort and reliability in the […]

If Benjamin Braddock paid more attention to his future – and less to Mrs. Robinson- he might today hold an executive position at a young, new airplane company.All Ben, the central character in the classic film, “The Graduate,”had to do was heed that “one word” of advice he received during theopening reel of the movie: […]

Maybe it would be easier to just bury our heads in the sand and ignore the coming aviation-gasoline crisis. This is what I believe most of us in aviation are doing. I am referring to the possibility of the demise of both the aviation and auto gasoline that we currently use in our aircraft. The […]

I‘m often asked to sum up an airplane in one word. The problem is that most airplanes resist such a simple label. As a result, my responses usually trend toward “neat,” “cool” and “fast,” to “impressive,” “heavy” and “demanding” or to “slick,” “nimble” and “comfy.” Of course, these choices explain next to nothing about the […]

In many ways, watching Cirrus Design Corp. evolve into the two-model company it is today felt similar to watching a child mature from adolescence into adulthood. From its roots in the experimental community, Cirrus evolved from a niche airplane-kit maker into an advanced manufacturing firm. From serious airplanes for people with money and building ambitions, […]

Books reviewed for this article: Violation, by Howard Fried Paper; 184 pp; Kindred Spirit Press Inc.; 1999; U.S. $29.95 Flying & Learning: Basics For Every Pilot, by William “Phil” Heitman Paper; 156 pp; Dreamflyer Publications; 1997; U.S. $14.95 TRACON, by Paul McElroy Paper; 493 pp; Japphire Productions LLC, 2000; U.S. $7.50 So, You Want To […]

Diamond’s New Star, the DA40: More than a Katana AllGrown Up Is it safe? That’s generally a good question to ask before any flight in the first of anything: The newer the program, the more daring the design, the more important the question. But rolling the prototype DA40 from base to final at the Plant […]

Frankly, I think I was conned. While I’m not a GPS-junkie (explained later), my saliva glands were stimulated by the first announcement of the GPSMAP 295. Now THIS is what I’ve been expecting to see come out of today’s technology. And when I first heard Mike was getting a demo unit to evaluate and review […]

  Also see Mike Busch’s review of LightSPEED’s top-of-the-line 25XL headset.   LightSPEED just introduced a what? Did you say a passive headset? In the year 2000? Are they nuts? Well, yes, LightSPEED’s latest headset is indeed passive. And no, they’re not nuts. In fact, after having just flown my Cessna T310R across the country […]