Ownership

The FAA Wednesday evening proposed an emergency airworthiness directive requiring owners of Lycoming engines to inspect and potentially replace off-spec connecting rod small-end bushings in Lycoming engines overhauled during the 2015 to 2016 time period. The AD codifies the procedures found in Lycoming’s Mandatory Service Bulletin SB 632 released last month. Although Lycoming says at […]

The Williams International FJ44-4A-QPM engine, which has been chosen by Pilatus to power its new PC-24 jet, is now type-certified by both the FAA and EASA, Williams announced on Monday. Production deliveries have already begun. Williams says the new engine features an anti-ice and noise-suppressing inlet, an integral pre-cooler to condition engine bleed air and […]

As the FAA’s technical testing of unleaded avgas replacements grinds on, owners and manufacturers are still wondering what the approved fuels will look like and whether they will be true drop-ins. At a briefing last month at AirVenture, three members of the FAA Piston Aviation Fuel Initiative offered an overview that warned that the clean […]

When I plopped my weary butt into a chair for Continental’s presser at AirVenture last month, what’s the first thing I see on the show-and-tell stand? A couple of Lycoming roller tappets and an angle-valve cylinder. Uh-oh, I thought, really bad timing for Lycoming. And it relates directly to what’s going on with the current […]

I heard a comment the other day from a researcher at one of the big flight academies: “Cessna competes with Cessna, not with Piper or Diamond.” He was directly referring to the $400,000-plus price tag for the new Skyhawks that still constitute the mainstay of the training fleet. Consider that stratospheric number against a good […]

The magnetos we’ve been relying on to fire our aircraft’s spark plugs may be the trailing edge of technology, yet if cared for appropriately, they are remarkably reliable. It’s the cared for part of the equation that matters—because they do require regular maintenance, otherwise some failure modes can mean engine stoppage or even catastrophic engine […]

Sales of avionics for business and general aviation airplanes were up 2.7% in the first six months of 2017 over the same period last year, according to the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA), but not because people are buying more airplanes. “Forward-fit” sales—those avionics systems intended for new aircraft—were down a remarkable 17.3%. The loss of […]

When you’ve been flying an individual homebuilt airplane as long as we have (22 years, to be exact), you encounter a lot of opportunities for improving on your product. Occasionally these “improvements” come because of malfunctioning equipment. That’s certainly happened to me. Yet every now and then, you just want a little change. Either way, […]

Lycoming says it’s not ruling out labor charge allowances for engine shops and customers affected by the mandatory rod bushing service bulletin announced earlier this month. In this podcast recorded at AirVenture on Friday, Lycoming general manager Michael Kraft told AVweb that shops need to first do the inspections, then contact Lycoming about support. As […]

Lycoming says it’s not ruling out labor charge allowances for engine shops and customers affected by the mandatory rod bushing service bulletin announced earlier this month. In this podcast recorded at AirVenture on Friday, Lycoming general manager Michael Kraft told AVweb that shops need to first do the inspections, then contact Lycoming about support. Duration: […]