General Aviation Aircraft

Garmin has a new smaller version of their very impressive G3X Touch. I examined this at Sun ‘n Fun when it was debuted in the 10-inch screen and came away highly impressed after two reviews on videos. For a billion-dollar company Garmin remains passionately inventive and surprisingly nimble. They keep the heat on now introducing […]

Summer’s big show is over and most aviation business folks are back home having that love/hate affair with email that piled up while we worked the event. On whole, the success story is strong. Airplanes sold, crowds were good, accidents were few, and the weather was not smoking hot like it has been in years […]

Piper’s flagship, the Meridian, simplifies the turboprop transition

Piper PA-46 Meridian Price (std. equip.): $2,219,850 Engine Make/Model: Pratt & Whitney PT6A-42A Horsepower On Takeoff: 500 TBO (hrs.): 3600 Fuel Type: Jet A Propeller: Hartzell 4-Blade, CS Max. Takeoff Weight (lbs.): 5092 Equipped Weight, std. (lbs.): 3436 Useful Load, std. (lbs.): 1698 Usable Fuel, std. (gals./lbs.): 170/1139 Payload, full std. fuel (lbs.): 562 Wingspan […]

A few little known thoughts. Ever heard of the Cessna 620? Why T-tails? A Seneca Tri-Motor?

It’s summertime and the flying is easy … especially when it’s on the water. That’s fine for everybody who is already qualified. What if you’re new to seaplanes (or LSA in general)? How could you obtain instruction if you want to buy a new Searey? Training is optimal when done in a very similar airplane […]

The list of aviation companies involved in one way or another with China is getting so long I won’t try to show them all here. Big companies like Cirrus Design or Continental are included. So are LSA manufacturers of various brands. Some business are setting up dealerships (Quicksilver, others). Others have arranged Chinese partners to […]

Zenith produces a high-performance version of its popular STOL LSA

Zenith CH 750 Cruzer Engine: UL350iS Horsepower: 130 Max Gross Weight (lbs.): 1320 Empty Weight (lbs.): 780 Useful Load (lbs.): 540 Fuel Cap (gals.): 24 Payload (lbs.): 396 Wing Landing (lbs./sq. ft.): 9.3 Power Landing (lbs./hp): 10.15 Load Limits (Gs): +6/-3 Cabin Width (in.): 42 Cabin Height (in.): 50 PERFORMANCE Cruise Speed (mph): 118 Stall […]

Airplane-brand-specific fly-in events can be fun and informative. If the folks at Just Aircraft are involved and if they show off their amazing SuperSTOL, a company fly-in takes on a new level of excitement. Those of you who have stopped by their airshow display to speak to the people from Just Aircraft know the Walhalla, […]