BRP-Powertrain (Rotax Aircraft Engines)

➡️ Update 11/3/20 — A new video interview with Flight Design USA importer Tom Peghiny appears at the bottom of this article. —DJ In the beginning — as Light-Sport Aircraft entered the skies for the first time — German producer Flight Design brought the CTSW to American pilots. It was embraced enthusiastically and the U.S. […]

After thousands of articles, I’ve have heard over and over about two common ingredients sought by pilots who visit this website: Affordability and Availability. Once you make a decision about what to buy, you want to be able to get it quickly and you want it to fit your budget. The first requirement is understandable. […]

If you flew better than 9,000 hours solely to give trike instruction, you would tend to develop ideas about how an aircraft can better fit the type of flying lessons you want to give. That’s exactly what Wild Sky owner Denny Reed reports. Denny has an enviable position to some. Imagine any fixed wing instructor […]

Although a mirror reflection of the greater global economy, many pilots are stunned that airshow after airshow has fallen to the virus. It seems like two or three years ago when, back in February 2020, Videoman Dave and I covered the Copperstate/Buckeye show west of Phoenix. Here’s another sure sign of virus-induced time distortion. This […]

You can call modern gyroplanes “wanna-be” helicopters if you want but that might miss a few important points. First, a gyroplane can be flown by a Sport Pilot. Other than Part 103 ultralight version, a helicopter requires a higher certificate and that means a medical, at least BasicMed. LAMA believes gyroplanes will be included in FAA’s […]

If you pay any attention to LSA seaplanes, you should already know about Aventura. Certainly, pilots seeking a recreational waterbird that won’t ruin their budget likely already know the company, Aero Adventure. This Florida producer has seaplane kit aircraft that can get airborne for less than $60,000. Yes, you read that right and that figure […]

In our strongest month ever, April 2020, our biggest story was about the Swedish Blackwing “Speed Monster.” Pilots almost universally admire a beautiful and fast aircraft. Blackwing won hearts …and perhaps some orders for the Scanadanavian manufacturer. Blackwing edged out Risen with its record flight, prompting a representative of Porto Aviation Group to provide a deeper […]

In the last couple months as we’ve all been struggling under the lockdowns happening across the country (and around the world), some of our best-read articles have been about going fast using the most powerful engines. What pilot doesn’t want more power? Or speed? The trouble with more power allowing more speed is that old […]

The need for speed is hard wired into humans, it seems. Even those of us who enjoy flying slow also love the idea of eating up the miles in some fast cruiser. A flight that turns a three-hour driving ordeal into a 25-minute aerial jaunt becomes a bragging right for any pilot. Other than the pure […]

Five years back at my favorite airshow in Europe — Aero Friedrichshafen — I could not pass the supersleek blue and black low wing from Sweden, my father’s ancestral home. A stunner, it caught my eye and that of everyone else such that taking pictures of it without people surrounding it was difficult. During this […]