Ownership

Rolls-Royce has started manufacturing fan blades for its UltraFan demonstrator engine in Bristol, U.K., the company announced on Tuesday. According to Rolls-Royce, the composite blades are the largest in the world with a diameter of 140 inches. The company says the UltraFan engine will offer a 25 percent reduction in fuel and emissions along with […]

McFarlane Aviation, which provides a host of replacement parts for Cessna aircraft, has released Service Bulletin SB-10, Revision A, warning that there might be “material defects” in the extruded-aluminum hinges the company sells for Cessna ailerons. These defects could lead to cracking of the hinge. McFarlane says the hinges were produced between Feb. 22, 2019, […]

Editor’s Note: Lycoming has changed its on-site program after author Paul Dye took the course in 2016. “We combined the historical classroom and hands on portions; it is now a hybrid of the two in one fast paced, weeklong class. Students will have the opportunity to talk about the parts in the classroom and handle […]

Hartzell Propeller announced on Monday that it has promoted JJ Frigge to the position of president. Frigge began work at Hartzell in 2011 as the company’s controller and has held positions including executive vice president and general manager. He will be replacing Joe Brown, who will become the company’s chairman. According to Hartzell, Frigge and […]

The U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration’s Office of Apprenticeship has approved an avionics technician apprenticeship program created by the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA). AEA’s program provides a competency-based occupational framework (CBOF) and covers “job titles and occupational pathways, related functions and performance criteria, as well as academic, workplace and personal competencies.” The […]

About eight years ago, I undertook a significant avionics upgrade. Before that my 1982 Cessna 340A was nearly original, and most of it still worked. But it was time to join the 20th Century so I undertook to replace just about everything I could. But that was eight years ago, which is a lifetime in […]

I’m bored! Admit it. You’ve made the statement loud and clear on more than one of those flights where you are following the magenta line in good weather and waiting for your destination to appear over the horizon. Sure, every once in a while, you’ll do a steep turn or wander off course a bit […]

The Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA) and ten other aviation organizations have come out in opposition of a recently introduced bill aimed at increasing FAA oversight of repair stations located outside of the United States. The Safe Aircraft Maintenance Standards Act (H.R. 5119) was introduced by U.S. House of Representatives Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman […]

Rolls-Royce has announced that it will be working on a flight demonstrator based on its hybrid M250 propulsion system. The company is developing the demonstrator in partnership with Germany-based aviation engineering company APUS and the Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU). The three-year project is being funded through the Brandenburg government’s regional program to develop research, […]

The year was 1994. At Oshkosh, a small kit airplane company whisked the wrapper off a four-place, fixed-gear composite airplane called the Cirrus SR20. Weeks of tantalizing promotion promised that the airplane, hidden in the shadows of “Hangar X,” would be nothing less than the future of aviation. A quarter century later, it’s fair to […]