Ownership

We’ve been owning and flying airplanes long enough to know for certain that the sport has many things going for it. But let’s be real—membership also comes with some downsides. This includes rising insurance premiums, ever-changing fuel prices, monthly database updates and, of course, maintenance and upgrades. While we encourage owners to perform as many […]

The FAA has approved an additional 611 certified piston aircraft engines to run on GAMI’s G100UL high octane unleaded avgas in an FAA-approved model list that was posted on Thursday. With the announcement, about 70 percent of existing engines in service are now able to use the fuel, which received FAA approval itself in July. […]

NASA has chosen Pratt & Whitney to develop advanced high pressure turbine technologies for single-aisle commercial transport aircraft as part of the agency’s Hybrid Thermally Efficient Core (HyTEC) project. HyTEC, which is part of NASA’s Sustainable Flight National Partnership, is looking to “enable breakthrough innovations and help accomplish the aviation industry’s … goals to significantly […]

Safran Helicopter Engines has opened an assembly line for the Arriel 2E engine at its facility in Grand Prairie, Texas. Previously produced only in France, the engine powers the Airbus H145 and UH-72B Lakota helicopters. The Arriel 2E variant was certified in December 2012 and entered service in August 2014. “Assembling this variant in Texas […]

Rolls-Royce has successfully completed a test flight of its Trent 1000 engine using 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The flight, which used the company’s 747 flying test bed aircraft, lasted three hours and 54 minutes. According to Rolls-Royce, initial results from the test “confirm there were no engineering issues.” “We believe in air travel […]

Avfuel Corporation announced the launch of a book and claim program for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at the 2021 NBAA convention on Tuesday. The program is designed to allow customers to buy and receive credit for a full load delivery of SAF regardless of where they are in relation to where the fuel is delivered. […]

Blackhawk Aerospace announced at the 2021 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) that it is working on an engine upgrade program for some Pilatus PC-12s. Once the supplemental type certificate (STC) has been approved, the XP67P Engine+ Upgrade program will replace the stock Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67B engine found on legacy PC-12s with […]

GE Aviation announced that the new Catalyst turboprop engine successfully completed its first flight on Thursday. The flight, which took off and landed at Germany’s Berlin Airport, lasted 1 hour and 40 minutes and used a Beechcraft King Air Flying Test Bed. According to GE, its 16 Catalyst test engines have accumulated more than 2,600 […]

My next-door hangar neighbor, GlaStar builder and KITPLANES® web manager, Omar Filipovic, had already cast his steely gaze upon the Titan IO-340 hanging from my GlaStar’s nose. A few days before “the event,” I had mechanic friend Will Steenrod pop over to provide another set of eyes. His expertise involves cars and motorcycles—as a factory-trained wrench for […]

Piper Aircraft is partnering with aircraft maintenance training school International AeroTech Academy on a joint program designed to establish an airframe and powerplant mechanic pipeline for Piper’s manufacturing facility in Vero Beach, Florida. The program will allow students to interview with Piper before beginning their training at International AeroTech. Successful interview candidates will receive a […]