The Italian Groppo Trail is now available in the U.S. The high-wing light-sport or amateur-built kit features tandem seating, all-metal construction, and wings that are foldable in less than five minutes by one person. Experimental Light-Sport (ELSA) and amateur-built kits are available starting at $28,250. The ready-to-fly Special Light Sport (SLSA) Trail is available for $79,900. […]
John McLain flies west
Sad news: We just found out that long-time CFI John McLain, who wrote a column for General Aviation News’ former sister paper The Southern Aviator, passed away in April after a battle with pancreatic cancer. A very nice tribute written by John Hesse was posted on the Empire Aviation website. The website also has a […]
AEA to award $1,000 toward ADS-B upgrade to five aircraft owners
To help owners of general aviation aircraft meet the FAA’s ADS-B Out mandate, the Aircraft Electronics Association will randomly award five aircraft owners with $1,000 toward an ADS-B compliant upgrade. “The FAA recently made it clear to Congress that the Jan. 1, 2020, deadline for ADS-B Out compliance is not going to change,” said Paula […]
Lockheed Martin adds inflight electronic PIREP capabilities
Lockheed Martin Flight Services has launched its 9.1 release, which includes several enhancements, including inflight electronic PIREP submission. “Inflight PIREP submission is the most recent component of our Flight Services Data Link strategy, building on the cockpit to ground communications capability we put in place for inflight Adverse Condition Alerting Service (ACAS) alerts and Surveillance-Enhanced […]
MT-Propeller receives EASA STC for PA-46
MT-Propeller has received an EASA STC for the next generation Quiet Fan Jet 5-blade scimitar composite propeller MTV-27-1-E-C-F-R(P)/CFR203-58d on the PA-46-500TP. The FAA STC also has been received, company officials said. According to officials, the propeller installation provides: Vibration damping characteristics for almost vibration free propeller operations; Bonded on nickel alloy leading edge for erosion protection of the […]
Bad bounce for Cessna
Aircraft: Cessna 182. Injuries: None. Location: Montrose, Colo. Aircraft damage: Substantial. What reportedly happened: The airplane bounced upon touchdown. Instead of initiating a go-around, the pilot continued with the landing, believing that the airplane would settle to the runway without further incident. The airplane landed hard and bounced for a second time. The pilot responded with a small […]
Celebrate ourselves
When Orville and Wilbur Wright wandered out onto the dunes of Kill Devil Hills to make their first powered flight, there were no crowds of well wishers cheering them on. Reporters were elsewhere covering stories that seemed more important than two odd ducks trying to do the impossible. Their greatest moment happened in almost complete […]
Texas search group to continue using drones despite FAA court win
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The FAA says a recent court decision regarding the use of drones has no bearing on the agency’s ability to regulate the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), but a Texas organization that brought the action plans to continue using UAS without approval from the government office. Texas EquuSearch had sued the FAA seeking to overturn […]
Pilot hearing protection focus of Wednesday webinar
A webinar will be held Wednesday, July 23, at 8 pm (Eastern Time Zone) on noise-induced hearing loss and how to prevent it. Presenting the webinar is Rick Todd, David Dunlap and Ravi the Raviator, a pilot and musician. “I meet a lot of hearing impaired musicians and pilots (more pilots in fact),” he said. “So, it […]