Ownership

When the FAA set aside ten million dollars to help general aviation pilots comply with the ADS-B Out 2020 mandate, few predicted that pilots would leave more than half that money on the table, but on Sept. 18 it’ll be official. Starting on Sept. 19 of last year, the FAA offered aircraft owners $500 to […]

Lilium, a start-up aviation company based in Munich, announced on Thursday they have raised $90 million in investment to develop the five-seat Lilium aircraft. The funding, which brings the total capital raised to $100 million, will enable the company to grow its staff to more than 70 and work toward a first manned flight in […]

At Reno 2013, Andy Chiavetta asked me if I would be available in the coming months to help him with a bunch of work he was hoping to finish. During the winter and spring of 2014, Andy would be delivering two Lancair Super Legacys—both clones of Darryl Greenamyer’s champion aircraft. These fire-breathing monsters would need […]

The FAA announced in December that it had revamped its airworthiness standards for general aviation airplanes, and as of Aug. 30, those new rules are now officially in effect. The FAA says the new Part 23 will enable faster installation of innovative, safety-enhancing technologies into small airplanes, while reducing costs for the aviation industry. The […]

The all-time piston single speed record was set Saturday when Steve Hinton Jr. flew Voodoo, a highly modified P-51 Mustang, at an average speed of 531.53 mph over four runs at Clarks Ranch in remote central Idaho. His fastest run was 554.69 mph. His average speed beat Lyle Shelton’s record of 528.3 mph set in […]

The Icon A5 has been, for years, a press darling. Experienced journalists fresh off assignments flying multi-million dollar jets gushed over a pre-production light sport airplanes. Seriously? Icon said I could try to answer that question for myself, but only if I really flew the airplane and understood the customer experience. “Spend four days at […]

Historical allies AOPA and the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) are now pitted against each other in an unusual battle over airport access, fuel costs and fees. AOPA, along with “seven affected pilots,” has filed a Part 13 complaint with the FAA against three Signature FBOs in Key West, Florida; Asheville, North Carolina; and Waukegan, […]

An engine upgrade for the King Air 350 by Blackhawk Modifications, based in Waco, Texas, is now certified by the FAA, the company announced this week. The upgrade package includes two factory-new Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67A engines, plus two new five-blade composite propeller assemblies and spinners from MT Propellers. Training, support and a warranty […]

If you have comments, questions or suggestions regarding the FAA’s recent Emergency Airworthiness Directive now in effect for hundreds of Lycoming engines, the FAA is ready to hear from you. The AD, which was published on Aug. 10 and officially took effect Aug. 15, went straight to Final Rule, meaning there was no prior public […]

There are only some 200,000 aircraft in the U.S.—there are more cars than that in a large town—so why any profit-oriented insurer would enter such a restricted market seems to defy logic. Yet, in the last decade, the number of aviation insurance underwriters has gone from the old, hard core of nine to 14, an […]