Belite Aircraft is now offering several kit configurations of its single-seat Part 103 compliant airplane at prices starting below $8,100. These kits may also be built as a homebuilt, experimental aircraft. Subassemblies and components, many of which can be used on other types of homebuilt and ultralight aircraft, are also available so that builders can […]
Avidyne debuts Flight Envelope Protection
Avidyne Corp. has revealed that its new DFC90 and DFC100 autopilot systems will include Avidyne Autopilot Flight Envelope Protection, a safety-enhancing feature that prohibits inadvertent autopilot–induced stall and overspeed situations. The DFC90 and DFC100 also include a “Straight & Level” button that overrides all autopilot modes and levels the aircraft in both pitch and roll […]
Takeoff into fog proves deadly
This November 2007 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others. Aircraft: Mooney M20K. Location: Maine, N.Y. Injuries: 1 Fatal. Aircraft damage: Destroyed. What reportedly happened: The instrument-rated pilot had logged 1,500 hours. The accident happened […]
Alphabet groups work together to defend GA
The opening session of the AOPA Aviation Summit earlier this month featured something that GA has not seen before: The leaders of all GA’s alphabet groups on the same stage. Previous rivalries were put aside as the leaders of those groups — the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, National Business Aviation Association, General Aviation Manufacturers […]
Farnborough’s Kestrel in-flight video
Farnborough Aircraft has posted a nearly six minute video of the Kestrel single-engine turboprop in flight. The plane will look familiar as it shares design lineage with Epic Aircraft’s LT. The legal battle with Epic ended in 2006. Under new ownership since the beginning of 2009, Farnborough Aircraft is collaborating with Liberty Aerospace of Melbourne, […]
Celebrating Amelia
To tie-in to the release of the new feature film about Amelia Earhart, museums around the country are showcasing exhibits celebrating the life of the famous aviatrix. At the Museum of Flight in Seattle a temporary exhibit has gone up in the Great Gallery, a walk-through corridor with artifacts ranging from photographs and her flight […]
A star is born
Republic Airport (FRG) on Long Island in New York recently became a bustling scene of faux police cars, extras as state troopers, an army of movie technicians, a battery of lights, cameras and action for a filming of a scene from the popular ABC sitcom “Ugly Betty.” The effort is just one of a number […]
FAA issues SAIB on Zodiacs
Owners and pilots of Zodiac aircraft may want to keep them on the ground for awhile. On Nov. 7 the FAA issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) on variants of Zodiac CH601XL and CH650 airplanes because of several in-flight structural failures. In response, Zenith Aircraft Co. has developed an upgrade package to address the […]
On our side
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The House Aviation Subcommittee has a new vice chairman who is knowledgeable about aviation and from a state with a history of recognizing the importance of general aviation airports: Rep. John Boccieri (D-Ohio). From 1994 to 1998 Boccieri was in the U.S. Air Force flying C-130 Hercules aircraft. Now a major in […]