General Aviation Aircraft
Explore the world of general aviation aircraft with our reviews. Written from a pilot's perspective, these reviews provide fantastic insight into what these general aviation planes are really like.
Monday, October 1, 2007 $500 Per Month?
You can own an airplane on a budget
 I’ve always believed that everyone can own an airplane. Indeed, I’ve noticed that many of the people who are now jetting around in Gulfstreams or Challengers got started in Champs, Cubs, Stinsons, Cessna 150s, Cherokee 140s or similar entry-level airplanes. |
Monday, October 1, 2007 Ovation3: Reaching For 200
Mooney’s new Ovation3 pushes the cruise-speed battle closer to 200 knots—without a turbochargerBill Cox, Photography By James Lawrence
 On the face of it, retractable gear seems almost an ideal solution to the problem of making an airplane fly faster. The whole idea is to reduce drag and increase cruise; cleaning up the underwing accomplishes that mission, though with varying levels of success. |
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Monday, October 1, 2007 Bad Girl
Flying Patty Wagstaff’s “girly” Extra 300SKeoki Gray, Photography By James Lawrence
 There I sat as the consequence of a misunderstanding, watching the ground drop away at a satisfyingly rapid rate. I anticipated a high nose attitude, but still underestimated and had to keep pulling back on the stick—even while setting the throttle and prop to “25 squared” out of concern for the noise-sensitive airport neighbors. I tried to hold 90 knots and reached the end of the 5,000-foot-long runway passing through 1,100 AGL. And the plane wasn’t even trying! |
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Monday, October 1, 2007 CZAW SportCruiser: Top-Of-The-Line LSA
Bill Cox, Photography by James Lawrence
 Since the official advent of LSAs at Sun ’n Fun 2005, the type has taken off beyond the wildest dreams of its developers. It seems there’s some kind of LSA on virtually every airport ramp these days. In view of the type’s popularity, LSA designers have looked for ways to push right up against the allowable limits of certification. The type is limited to 600 kg (1,320 pounds) gross weight, can’t carry more than two folks and can’t exceed a cruise speed of 120 knots. |
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Saturday, September 1, 2007 25 Great Aviation Websites
Flying the Internet is shifting from a flight of fancy to an icon of information
 Anyone looking to find the facet of flying that has grown the most over the past decade will discover that it’s the part of aviation on the Internet. What began as a mere curiosity some years ago is now a well-established component in most pilots’ lives. Never before have we been able to find so much information about the passion we share. |
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Saturday, September 1, 2007 Blackhawk King Air 200XP: “Simply Good Business”
The Blackhawk conversion allows you to fly one of the world’s most popular turboprops farther, faster and less expensively than ever beforeBill Cox, Photography by James Lawrence
 Turboprops have always occupied a unique niche in the world’s corporate aviation market. The type represents a middle ground in both price and performance between piston twins and pure jets, offering 2,000+ fpm climb and 50 to 75 knots’ more cruise speed than pistons, plus six-to-10-seat capability and the talent to fly well above most of the planet’s nastiest weather. |
Saturday, September 1, 2007 10 Sexiest Airplanes
…in the eye of the beholder
 Okay, we freely admit it: What started as a simple exercise, to select the 10 sexiest airplanes in the world, has turned out to be one of the most difficult and divisive projects in which we’ve ever been involved. Part of that was to be expected. After all, when you put “est” at the end of a word (e.g., strongest, tallest, funniest, etc.), you just know it’s going to generate controversy. |
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Saturday, September 1, 2007 de Havilland Beaver
Sixty years in the sky de Havilland BeaverMichael Vivion, Photography By Jessica Ambats
 You first notice the sound as a low rumble in the distance. It grows louder, and the throaty rumble increases to a roar as the big floatplane swings into the wind for landing. On this remote northern lake where you’ve been stranded by weather for days, this is the sound of salvation. A hardworking Pratt and Whitney radial engine, firmly attached to arguably the best bush plane ever built, is on its way to pick up and deliver you to the land of hot showers and warm beds. Indeed, as I was told by a well-known pilot in Kodiak, Alaska, when I began flying a Beaver, “You won’t find a better airplane for flying in marginal weather in the bush.” |
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Wednesday, August 1, 2007 Buying Your First New Airplane
It feels great. It looks sexy. You catch yourself daydreaming about it in boring meetings. People come up and look at it wherever you go.
 A brand-spanking-new airplane. There are few thrills and accomplishments as satisfying and special as buying a factory-new airplane. To the new owner, a new bird is the epitome of symphonic beauty and brilliant engineering; a powerful engine and supple, luxurious leather interior combined with the latest in navigation and communication technology, which, in many cases, outpaces commercial airliners. And it’s all yours.
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Wednesday, August 1, 2007 District of Columbia
A turbocharged manifestation of desireJeff Berlin, Photography By Jessica Ambats
 When you fly different-make and -model airplanes, it can be hard to keep them straight in your radio calls. I’ve called a TBM, flying at FL280, a Cirrus. I’ve called a Diamond Star a Cessna, and I’ve called a Warrior a Husky. Usually, I catch myself immediately and correct my call, but there are times in life when calling something, or someone, by the wrong name can be hazardous to one’s health. A radio call generally isn’t one of them. That’s why I’ve decided to call any airplane I’m pilot-testing, “Baby.” So last week, when I was just getting my feet wet with a 12-hour-old Columbia 400, after botching a few radio calls, the airplane thence became Baby N452BS, and that’s no bravo sierra.
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