Bob Jones submitted this photo and note: “N617RV was completed by seven owners with help from friends in August of 2023. The project took about three years. The aircraft is equipped a Lycoming IO-360 engine, two Advanced Flight 6600 displays, an Avidyne 440, an AV-30 backup instrument with magnetometer, and is certified for IFR flight. In the photo, the plane is just back from paint.”
homebuilt aircraft
Gross weight increase approved for Sonex and Waiex
Following a series of engineering studies and flight tests, Sonex and Waiex owners may designate a maximum gross weight of 1,220 pound for aircraft with 100 hp or more. This represents a 70-pound increase vs. the previous 1,150 pound limit and is applicable to both A-Model (Legacy) and B-Model aircraft, according to officials with Sonex Aircraft.
EAA updates Flight Test Manual
“The EAA Flight Test Manual provides the guidance and data collection process to bring simplicity to a flight test program,” EAA officials said. “It allows pilots to have a full understanding of an aircraft’s performance, characteristics, and limitations. It is also designed to be a handy reference that accompanies the aircraft for future flights.”
Seattle high school wins Aviation Design Challenge
A team from Raisbeck Aviation High School in Tukwila, Washington, is the winner of the 2024 General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) Aviation Design Challenge.
Dream Take Flight
Building her airplane was a total labor of love, says Lisa Turner, who adds: “I knew I loved aviation when I got started, but building that plane was also a process I fell in love with.”
Problems with fuel pump contributes to homebuilt’s crash
A total loss of engine power due to intermittent operation of both the engine-driven fuel pump and the electric boost pump. Contributing was the pilot’s delay in rejecting the takeoff, after the initial loss of engine power, which resulted in a collision with terrain.
Progress at Van’s Aircraft
Bankruptcy is tough. I’m glad to see Van’s is making progress.
New video updates what’s going on with Van’s Aircraft
In a video posted to YouTube April 12, 2024, Clyde Hamstreet, whose firm, Hamstreet & Associates, works with companies in distress, gave an update on the reorganization of Van’s Aircraft during it bankruptcy.
Picture of the Day: Cockpit panel in the setting sun
John Schmidt submitted this photo and note: “Pietenpol builder/pilot Greg Cardinal noticed the sun coming through his hangar windows at just the right time to illuminate the wood instrument panel of his airplane and caught this view. The panel, fabricated with the help of Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame inductee Dale Johnson, was purposely cut for the wood grain symmetry, and finished with a minimum of instruments.”