Ownership

Owners of nearly 19,000 Piper PA-28s can now perform their own required AD inspections on fuel tank selector placards, the FAA announced this week. The new ADsupersedes an earlier directive issued last January that required inspection of the fuel tank selector cover by a qualified mechanic to verify the left and right tank selector placards […]

(This article originally appeared in the April 2016 issue ofKitplanesmagazine. Ed.)This month our ongoing introduction to engine technology begins an examination of the lubrication system by considering the stuff it pumps: oil. Lubrication is a background concern to the average pilot, but it is a must-have because without it, metal-to-metal wear soon reduces any engine […]

If speed, load-hauling and range represent the trifecta of motorized flight, many would argue you’ll find that sweet spot in wing-in-ground-effect technology, which has been kicking around for almost half a century. The Soviets tried it with their eight-engine Black Sea behemoths. Variations on the Alexander Lippisch-designed reverse delta single-engine skimmers have been spotted in […]

NASA has awarded a $247 million contract to Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works to build a piloted quiet supersonic technology demonstrator, with first flight planned for summer 2021, officials announced at a news conference on Tuesday. The testing is intended to be the first step toward changing international regulations that prohibit supersonic flight over land, and […]

Siemens brought its prototype electric aircraft to the U.S. this week for the first time, showcasing the airplane at the company’s Innovation Day in Chicago. “Electric propulsion is one of the transformative technologies that will help the industry meet the goals of reduced fuel, emissions and noise,” said Teri Hamlin, vice president of electric propulsion […]

At the Aircraft Electronics Association show in Las Vegas, Aspen announced a new low-priced EFI, the E5. It’s based on the company’s Evolution series PFD, but it’s non-certified and can be paired with TruTrak’s new non-certified autopilot. view on YouTube

Genesys Aerosystems says its new S-TEC 3100 autopilot will earn STCs for numerous aircraft in early April. In this exclusive podcast recorded at the 2018 Aircraft Electronics Association convention in Las Vegas, Genesys’ Jamie Luster, director of sales and marketing at the company to talk about the product originally announced at AirVenture in Oshkosh last […]

CubCrafters is now offering factory-installed floats for its Part 23-certified XCub two-seater, the company announced this week. Wipline 2100 floats, manufactured by Wipaire, are available in both amphibious and seaplane versions. Float operations were “a design objective from the outset,” said Randy Lervold, president of CubCrafters. Lervold said he has trained with the floats on […]

Anyone who transcends beyond casual skepticism understands that to be truly blackhearted is to know that cynicism is the smoke that curls up from burned dreams. Personally, I’ve embraced it, with a list of failings and character flaws so numerous that I need an Excel spreadsheet just to list them. But one thing I am […]