Splog

Airspace from ground level to 400 feet is about to get really crowded. Keep alert, fellow pilots! Am I overstating this situation? I don’t think so. You know about drones. You may not know they are presently restricted to visual line of sight. However, a line-of-sight drone won’t get your Amazon package delivered a few miles […]

The title of this article contains a lot of information. If you are a close observer of light aircraft, you may recognize B.O.T.’s Speed Cruiser but you didn’t get the rest right away, did you? Now Available? Journey? Aero Affinity? Neither did I know these references until Sun ‘n Fun 2022, but here is the […]

In a time of great spectator enthusiasm for STOL competitions, wouldn’t a VTOL be even better? If a super-short takeoff is cool, why not vertical takeoff? Of course, most of the multicopter types — flying machines sometimes called eVTOLs — take off vertically but those are different, electric flying animals. Despite waves of breathless reporting by […]

For years, one company has led the fleet of light aircraft. Regular readers of this website already know who it is: Zenith Aircraft. The company may be at the back of the alphabet but they are first in deliveries*. This particular year, however, the company based in Mexico, Missouri celebrates its 30th anniversary. Beginning in […]

Let’s return to affordable aviation after two wonderful shows full of shiny new aircraft. Turbine engines and sleek composite fuselages interest plenty of pilots but then most of us come back to reality and start looking at aircraft we can afford. Some can pay the invoice on a high-end aircraft to enjoy its capabilities. That’s […]

Our concluding report from Europe’s most interesting airshow (certainly for those interested in affordable aviation) speaks to the challenges for big event organizers in the restrictive atmosphere of Covid mandates. As recently as seven weeks before the show was to open (about as close to the show as I dared to wait to make airline […]

Sun ‘n Fun started the recreational flying season as it always does, taking place this year in the beginning of April. Aero Friedrichshafen ended the month at the end of April. These two shows make April the strongest month of the year for airshows, certainly for the affordable aviation crowd. Aviation journalist and LAMA board director […]

Over many years as an affordable aviation journalist I have learned two things. First, stick to airplanes. That’s what moves the needle for most pilots; nearly always such articles are the best-read on this website. Second, pilots love more powerful engines, especially when they display new technologies. Speedy LSA maker, JMB Aircraft has tapped into this […]

How about this? Among the loudest “buzz” at Aero Friedrichshafen 2022 was the introduction of turbine engines on Light-Sport Aircraft. At least three well-known LSA producers are experimenting with turbines. OK, I know turbines are not allowed on present-day LSA. Could that be changing as Mosaic slowly works its way through the FAA? We won’t […]

My moment of truth is fast approaching. Will I succeed or fail to predict the future? I have been repeating my forecast that FAA will announce a draft of their newest regulation, called an NPRM (Notice of Proposed Rule Making) at EAA’s big summer celebration of flight. I’m not betting the farm, though. I think […]