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.
Tuesday, March 1, 2005 Piper’s First Retractable Single
There are a few airplanes that deserve better than they got. The Comanche 250 is one of them.
 The Comanche was conceived in the late ’50s when Piper and the rest of the industry was playing catch-up with the premier four-seat retractable, the Beech Bonanza. Piper’s Comanche was introduced as both a 180-hp and a 250-hp model, sporting four- and six-cylinder versions of the same engine. The former was planned to compete with Mooney’s wood-wing and tail Mark 20A, the latter with Beech’s successful V-tail, along with the dark horse Bellanca 260 and Meyers 200. |
Tuesday, February 1, 2005 Seneca In The Fifth Generation
Long on fuel economy and lean on sticker price, New Piper’s twin carries a big bunch of admirers
 Old home week, I reminisced, as I sat in the left front seat of the 2005 Seneca V. Well, perhaps not exactly. The panel of the new Seneca V has about as much resemblance to my old company airplane’s as does a new Ford Thunderbird’s to a Model T’s. |
Tuesday, February 1, 2005 Origin Of The Skyhawk
The straight-tailed C-172 marks the birth of the world’s most popular general-aviation airplane
 Can it really be almost 50 years since Cessna introduced the first C-172? In a word, yes. Next year, the Wichita, Kan., company will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the C-172’s introduction, and the rest, as no one should ever say again, is history. |
Saturday, January 1, 2005 Aviation’s Top Websites
 In slightly more than a decade, the World Wide Web has gone from being a mere novelty to one of the most important tools available. Now, with a click of the mouse, pilots can access live weather, plan flights with previously unheard-of flexibilities, check fuel prices, find aircraft values, search databases, take virtual tours of museums and study volumes of hard-to-access aviation product information. In the proceeding pages, Plane & Pilot has assembled the best online sites for pilots who are searching for excellent resources on the Internet. |
Saturday, January 1, 2005 Cessna's All-New Stationair
Adding Garmin glass to the newest line of C-206s has reinvented the aircraft’s workhorse capabilities
 Utility airplanes must answer to a different kind of owner. Unlike most personal-transportation machines that are dedicated to recreation or fun, utility models are most often working airplanes that must pay for themselves. |
Saturday, January 1, 2005 The Ultimate V-Tail
This Bonanza has the most famous silhouette in the sky
 Pilots don’t agree on much. We argue about virtually everything: Continental versus Lycoming; high wing versus low wing; fixed gear or retractable; the relative merits of turbocharging; and a hundred other things. While we rarely agree, there are a few universal truths: Airspeed is life; you can never have enough power; and the V-tail Bonanza is one of the most beautiful airplanes ever designed. |
Wednesday, December 1, 2004 Cirrus SR22-G2
The Klapmeiers’ vision enters the second generationDouglas Colby, Photography by James Lawrence
 For those of you who haven’t heard, Cessna was just recently dethroned as one of the top-selling general-aviation companies in the world. For the first two quarters of this year, the total number of Cessna Skyhawks and Skylanes was bested by Cirrus Design’s combination of SR20 as well as SR22 sales. In fact, the vast majority of Cirrus’ sales came from its showpiece, the new SR22-G2. |
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Wednesday, December 1, 2004 Geronimo!
For many light-twin owners, Piper’s Apache is about as good as it getsBill Cox, Photography By James Lawrence
 Let’s just say that you own a flight school in a huge and major market and you feel a need for a new multi-engine trainer. If you’re completely determined to buy new, you have only one choice, really, for a dedicated twin trainer, the Piper Seminole. (The diesel-powered Austrian Diamond Twin Star isn’t expected to be available until later this month.) |
Monday, November 1, 2004 The Archer Goes Glass
New Piper’s amazingly popular PA-28 series now comes with the Avidyne FlightMax EntegraBill Cox, Photography by James Lawrence
 For most pilots, the quintessential Cherokee always has been the Archer. Yes, there’s still the Warrior, and there were the 140, 150, 160 and Cadet before that, but the Archer always has represented perhaps the most generic of the Cherokees. Just as the Cub was the signature general-aviation single of the ’30s and ’40s, and the flawed but beautiful V-tailed Bonanza dominated the ’50s and ’60s, the Piper Cherokee has become one of the most recognizable aviation icons of the ’70, ’80s and ’90s, hardly the fastest or the most comfortable, not the most efficient to buy or operate, but an outstanding combination of talents nevertheless. |
Monday, November 1, 2004 Money-Saving Maintenance
A forum of experienced A&P mechanics and IAs pass along tips to preserve the value and airworthiness of airplanes in the most cost-effective way
 Those pilots who have ever found themselves paying huge chunks of money on maintenance bills know that they can get quite expensive. What most people don’t realize, however, is that there are other simpler and less expensive ways to save on aircraft maintenance bills—and it all starts with the aircraft owners and operators themselves. |
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