Splog

For some years, Rotax Aircraft Engines has invited their worldwide flock to Wels, Austria. This charming town north of Salzburg is near the home of Rotax’s headquarters in Gunskirken. On three separate visits to Rotax I was able to attend one of their Fly-in events plus a special visit just for aviation journalists. Beautiful and […]

Some pilots can hardly wait for Mosaic. It takes all kinds, of course. Many aviators want to use Sport Pilot’s no-medical aspect to fly a Cessna or Piper that they can buy inexpensively (or already own). That makes sense. These affordable aircraft are familiar and proven, even if they are products of the 1950s with […]

Tabor Coates calls his business Blue Collar Aviation. Honestly, as someone who scours the globe for affordable aircraft, any business with this name was certain to grab my attention. This isn’t simply adroit marketing. Tabor’s Maynard, Massachusetts operation is deep into affordable aviation. How affordable? Tabor’s most-expensive offering is the SkyRanger Nynja (featured in this […]

Article UPDATED 1/29/24 — See at bottom —DJ You may have experienced this but I just got sticker shock. A young pilot told me he is facing a $1,000 fee for his Private Pilot check ride. What?! I got my license so long ago I forgot how much I paid but, obviously… “A dollar doesn’t […]

You know what modern-day aviators have that is wonderful? Choice! Lots of choice. The truth is you have so many choices that this website offers perhaps its most useful function: helping you sift through the many aircraft you could fly. If you find a number of aircraft you like, how can you narrow your choices […]

Are you ready for Mosaic? Let’s be crystal clear. You have almost no time left to comment on FAA’s proposed rule. Mere days remain before the comment window closes. (Comment links at bottom) However, we won’t see Mosaic LSA for many months yet. …Or, is that wrong? In this article, we look at G750, a […]

Over many years, one of the most consistently requested aircraft is Back Yard Flyer. Even the name sounds affordable, doesn’t it? While you can’t get this one any longer, about 20 are flying and some pop up on aviation sale listings. In its day — before Valley Engineering decided to cease building and focus on […]

Ready or not, new flying machines are headed our way. Correction, they are already here and a wave of similar entries could follow (see earlier reports). The earliest market-ready arrivals qualify under FAR Part 103. I believe this website needs to report these aircraft, so with pleasure, I announce the following to be perhaps the […]

“Lisa Akoya: You’ve Never Seen Anything Like It,” trumpeted the lead image. Ten-year-on translation: “You’ve never seen it.” Inspired design, cutting edge ideas, elegant sleekness, and unique features set the French LSA seaplane apart and may inspire successive designs but Lisa’s Akoya never made it to market. No wonder,” exclaimed some! More than a decade […]

Simple, light, and affordable is not a throwaway line. Each word is pivotal. Like many of you, I have enjoyed the advancing development of the LSA space, leading to Mosaic LSA in about 15 months. Additional operational capabilities plus features like autopilot, synthetic vision, and powerful, compact engines… all these can build a very exciting […]