Ownership

At Sun ‘n Fun, after I’d interviewed the soon-to-depart Mooney CEO Vivek Saxena, I found myself fairly perplexed about his comment on seeking the “next-generation piston aircraft.” As he was telling me about that, of course, Diamond was busily introducing it 5000 miles away at Aero. (Reason number 237 why I should have gone to […]

When proposals for a custom paint job on my second-generation Cirrus came in as high as $25,000—with up to 10 weeks of down time—I considered stepping up to a newer model. But my investment in numerous upgrades and my comfort with the aircraft in a variety of missions and weather convinced me to keep my […]

Lilium Aviation, of Munich, says it has flown a prototype of its all-electric VTOL tilt-engine aircraft that the company says will fly 160 knots in horizontal thrust configuration with a range of 180 miles. A video provided by the company of the first flight shows the aircraft, with what looks like a spacious automotive-style cabin, […]

Uber has attracted dozens of speakers from the aviation industry, government and technology sectors to a large summit on “urban air transportation” in Dallas this week. The Uber Elevate Summit kicks off Tuesday and features speeches and panel discussions on the promise and problems of having fleets of electric VTOL aircraft buzzing around major cities. […]

Continental Motors is working with the FAA to dispel what they see as confusion and unnecessary concern about a mandatory service bulletin (MSB) issued by Continental Motors in early 2017 for a camshaft gear found mostly in older IO-520 and IO-550 engines. Several GA groups, including AOPA, the American Bonanza Society, COPA, Twin Cessna Flyer […]

In the last few editions of Wind Tunnel, we looked at how changes to the surface of an airplane’s skin can affect the aerodynamic performance of the airplane. We have seen that judicious use of tape to seal and smooth the skin can significantly reduce drag, and that ice, even in relatively small amounts, can […]

Metro Skyways said on Monday they plan to develop a four-passenger, hydrogen-powered, autonomous VTOL flying car, the CityHawk. The vehicle will initially use jet fuel, but eventually will be converted to liquid hydrogen and then to compressed hydrogen, the company said. Development is expected to take about five years. The company plans to use a […]

At Sun ‘n Fun 2017 in Lakeland, Florida, Maule Air was showing updated versions of its M-series aircraft, including the M4-180V S2, which is equipped with a 180-HP Lycoming O-360 engine, has Maule’s signature cargo doors and is priced just shy of $200,000. In this video, Aviation Consumer editor Larry Anglisano took a look at […]

After first demoing the concept in 2015, Innovation Solutions and Support (IS&S) announced they’re one step closer to bringing an autothrottle to the single-engine turbine PC-12. IS&S says the FAA has granted the Supplemental Type Certificate for their integrated PC-12 flight deck and that new avionics package includes compatibility with the IS&S autothrottle system. The […]

Austro’s 180-HP diesel and Jet-A burning AE330 has received EASA approval to extend time between overhaul to 1,800 hours based on the engine’s operating history. Jurgen Heinrich, Managing Director of Austro Engine and Diamond Aircraft Austria, said, “Austro Engine products have proven their outstanding capabilities in versatile operation profiles all over the globe, generating countless […]