Ownership

No one was injured when a rare Second World War-era Lysander made an off-airport landing near Hamilton, Ontario, on Saturday. The aircraft was on a local sightseeing flight. Only the 64-year-old pilot and a 61-year-old British woman were on board when the engine failed. The aircraft, one of 42 warbirds operated by the Canadian Warplane […]

I’ve covered this budding electric aviation thing just enough to understand this: The idea that an electric motor has so few moving parts that all you do is keep feeding it power and it will run smoothly forever is just wrong. The minimal parts count is right, but the simplicity isn’t. But it’s nice to […]

Powered by a Rotax 914 turbocharged engine, the Stemme S10VT and the in-development S12 represent the latest in touring motorglider technology. With a 50:1 glide ratio, 18,000-foot service ceiling and day and night VFR capability, the aircraft can be used for competition and long-distance travel. Aviation Consumer magazine editor Larry Anglisano took a closer look […]

Perhaps because many of the new airplane introductions these days are in the LSA segment and Cub-type airplanes remain popular, I find myself flying a lot of these aircraft. And before I slither into one for the demo, someone will remark, “Well, you’re a Cub guy, so it’ll be familiar.” There are two things wrong […]

The first Ovation Ultra completed its first flight on Saturday, Mooney announced this week. Chief test pilot Mike Miles flew for about an hour after launching from Kerrville, Texas. The four-seat retractable-gear airplane is a fully FAA-conforming aircraft and will be the first FAA-certified copy of the design, the company said. Miles said performance and […]

Many moons ago, as a Boy Scout in Montana, we told a story around the campfire about how to catch a raccoon: you’d anchor a clear bottle to the ground and put some crumpled tin foil inside. A passing raccoon (there’s always a raccoon passing by) would be transfixed by the glint of the foil […]

Cub Crafters, well known for its high-performance Carbon Cub LSA, has rolled up a new Part 23 airplane called the XCub. Based on the Carbon Cub, which is itself an offshoot of Piper’s original Super Cub, the new aircraft is lighter and faster than previous entrants in the utility market and the company is calling […]

At one time in this country, government problem-solving consisted of throwing money at whatever obstacle seemed to be impeding progress. Sometimes it even worked. Of late, the philosophy has shifted to cutting taxes, driving deficits and acute budgetary paralysis. I’m not sure where the FAA’s decision—apparently—to help fund installation of ADS-B systems fits, exactly. As […]

In their older years, my parents were cheapskates. When I visited them in their Southern Texas retirement community, they always were delighted to share their favorite places, those with senior discounts, dollar-breakfast specials and cheap all-you-can-eat buffets. The same proved true when buying unleaded: I thought it odd they would drive six miles round-trip to […]

If there was any surprise in Wednesday’s announcement about production delays for the Icon A5, it’s that the company was so forthright in admitting what many have suspected for months. There’s a reason Icon isn’t delivering and for a company that has been obsessive about its image and marketing with a close-to-the-vest press policy, it […]