Continental Aerospace Technology

When I was a kid, I was a New York Yankees baseball fan. Why? I’d never been to New York; I lived in the midwest. I loved the baseball team because they won a lot. The saying way back then was, “The American League battle isn’t to determine who wins, but which team might come […]

You’ve heard some pilot say: “That airplane is so sleek it looks fast even when sitting parked on the ramp.” This is one of those airplanes. While most light aircraft producers concentrate on either kits or fully-built, a few swing both ways. Some builders unwilling to experiment with two very distinct business models permitted others […]

Of all the airplanes earning rave reviews over the years, one model stands out above most others in the distinction of handling quality. Over and over I’ve heard from pilots of a certain, umm… maturity, and Luscombe is the brand often mentioned. After flying many airplane models, I’d be hard pressed to tell you which […]

Thank goodness for the Midwest LSA Expo. As the one and only airshow (other than some small local gatherings) since Copperstate/Buckeye back in February, Midwest 2020 was a breath of fresh air… literally for those of us who attended (quite a few did). From my view — and to some extent for all the readers […]

Although airframes may present the look and offer the performance that stimulates an aircraft purchase, engines have long driven development of new airframes. One example is how jet engines completely transformed the design of airliners. Around the world outside the U.S., aviation fuels like 100LL are not widely available. Rotax has done well in many […]

A few years ago, I visited Continental Motors in Mobile Alabama on the Gulf coast of the southern U.S. state. Here’s what I wrote about that tour. The factory was a World War II-vintage facility. I saw many new CNC machines and they were humming with activity. I also saw acres of the earlier generation […]

Continental Motors, part of China’s Avic International Holding, announced recently that they have entered a strategic partnership with Liaoning Cub Aircraft Corp to be the engine provider for the Top Cub, which the company said is the first kit aircraft built in China, for the Chinese market. The experimental Top Cub is based on the Part […]

Day One of the third running of DeLand Showcase is complete. As Videoman Dave and I scoured the show grounds looking for good stories, we spoke to a few vendors reporting that 2018 has been a good year. Our video news gathering exercise brought a pleasant discovery. Many companies are reporting a solid year of […]

From Washington State arrives a fresh, new airplane created from scratch to enter the Special LSA space. You don’t know the company but you may know the people, at least indirectly. Welcome to Vashon and their new Ranger R7! Ranger R7 is an all-metal, two-place, high-wing, single engine airplane equipped with tricycle landing gear and […]

Continental Motors powerplants are manufactured in Mobile, Alabama, which is now also home to an assembly plant for Airbus airlines. That would seem pretty stiff competition for an award for manufacturing. You know this decades-old company for their popular 100-horsepower O-200 engine that remains a common powerplant for Special Light-Sport Aircraft. After their purchase of the […]