General Aviation Aircraft

One year ago Rotax announced a contest to award a brand-new 912 engine to the flight school that achieved the first time between overhaul (TBO) of 2,000 hours on a Rotax 912 iS model that the engine builder had just released. Upon reaching the goal, the flight school had to prove the hours by sending […]

Forty years and counting, Piper’s predictable, perennial, perpetual Archer begins its fifth decade as one of the world’s best institutional trainers

PLANE COMPARISON FOR PIPER ARCHER TX AND CESSNA SKYHAWK S Piper Archer TX Cessna Skyhawk S Base Price: $338,200 $364,000 Avionics (Garmin): G1000 G1000 Engine: Lyc O-360 Lyc O-360 Power (hp): 180 180 Gross Weight (lbs.): 2550 2550 Empty Weight (lbs.): 1688 1641 Useful Load (lbs.): 862 909 Fuel (gals./lbs.): 48/288 53/318 Payload (lbs.): 574 […]

We’re off to the races … OK, the race track … OK, we’re off to Sebring, which happens to be alongside the Sebring International Raceway. Yep. It’s January so it’s again time for the Sebring Expo, this time number 11, the 2015 edition of the popular Florida show. I’ll be onsite for the four days, […]

On this website, we zoom around the world following Light-Sport Aircraft, from near the Arctic Circle — you know, where Santa and the wee elves are pulling some heavy overtime about now — to the warm balminess of Southern California. I know of what I write, having once lived in the snow belt and now […]

Waco YMF-5D SPECIFICATIONS Engine Make/Model: Jacobs R755-B2M Horsepower On Takeoff: 300 TBO—Hours: 1400 Fuel Type: 100/100LL Propeller: Fixed Pitch Landing Gear Type: Conv/Fixed Max T/O Weight (lbs.): 2950 Std. Empty Weight (lbs.): 1985 Useful Load—Std. (lbs.): 965 Usable Fuel—Std. (gals./lbs.): 48/288 Opt Fuel (gals./lbs.): 72/432 Payload—Full Std. Fuel (lbs.): 677 Wingspan (upper): 30 ft. Wingspan […]

These airplanes have adventure written all over them

The Waco biplane is 80 years old, but still brand new

BRM Aero‘s Bristell got off to a good start in the USA two years ago. Unfortunately, after an initial burst of positive reviews and good response from pilots, the distributor at the time stumbled. A failed association with the now-defunct Aviation Access Project undermined the efforts but that association had nothing to do with the […]

Wait! “…Exports?” I realize that might look like a typo. Did I intend to write LSA imports? Nope, exports is the correct word. Back in the early days of Light-Sport Aircraft, circa 2005-6-7, the source countries manufacturing the LSA people were buying were of a high percentage European with the Czech Republic leading the charge. […]