Ownership

A couple of months ago, aviation journalists were getting calls from a Japanese survey company with some questions about the aircraft engine market. Over the course of an hour, they asked about market demand, certification requirements and what buyers might expect of a new aircraft engine. The marketeers described themselves as working for a company […]

The problem of jump-starting your plane is you have no idea of the condition of the battery once it starts, and it will be at least 90 minutes cruise or possibly not at all before the battery has any true backup value. A strong case can be made that you are operating an un-airworthy airplane, […]

According to GAMA statistics, there are 611,000 active pilots in the United States and only 223,000 registered general aviation aircraft. Even allowing for air taxi airplanes, clubs and partnerships, this means that lots of us are flying airplanes that we don’t own. Some of us rent from local flight schools, some borrow from friends. Few […]

Textron Aviation has confirmed that all its U.S. sales are being handled by factory representatives. That would appear to be the end of the extensive dealer network that sold Cessna aircraft for decades. Nikki Riemen, Textron’s media and public relations manager for the piston and defense division, said the company is “focused on developing and […]

In a market rich with tablet and smartphone navigation apps, Garmin has announced a new, purpose-built portable GPS navigator, the aera 660. It’s the company’s first dedicated aviation portable since the aera 796 appeared in 2011. Following the trend in smartphones, the aera 660 has a 5-inch capacitive touchscreen and more interface capability than any […]

The staff at Aviation Consumer magazine is conducting an avionics equipment and brand satisfaction survey. They want to know about your experience with recent major avionics upgrades, including ADS-B equipment. The results will appear in an upcoming issue of Aviation Consumer magazine. Click here to take the survey.

Virgin Galactic will roll out a replacement SpaceShipTwo suborbital space plane on Friday and while it will look the same as the one that crashed in 2014 there are some important internal differences. According to the Verge, the company says the new vehicle has more automation and failsafe systems designed to prevent the kind of […]

The Hypstair hybrid-electric powertrain ran for the first time this month, launching a test series for the project led by Slovenian aircraft maker Pipistrel. Hypstair, which has been making the rounds at European aviation events, features 200 kilowatts of takeoff power and 150 kilowatts of continuous power suitable for a light GA aircraft. It can […]

I spent a good portion of January conducting interviews and research for a major print piece on electric aircraft to appear in the March issue of Aviation Consumer. My impression is that there’s as much going on in this field beneath the surface as there are known projects. Expect to learn more in 2016. Last […]

In rural Holden, Missouri, roughly 50 miles southeast of Kansas City, is a 10-acre island of recreational aviation in a vast ocean of corn and soybeans. The pole barns adjacent to its 1000-foot grass strip look like those on neighboring farms, until you look inside. The hulking gray lathe, milling machine, and drill press don’t […]