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.

March 8, 2016

New Avionics Solutions For King Airs
Four companies are vying to put their flat panels in this legendary (and seemingly indestructible) turboprop twin. Which glass cockpit is right for your King Air?

When a veritable parade of avionics manufacturers, including the biggest names in the business, all decide to create retrofit flat-panel avionics systems for one family of airplanes, you can guess that there’s some real opportunity there, and you’d be right. The airframe in question is the Beechcraft King Air and the companies looking to put more »
March 1, 2016

TMB 900: DAHER Builds A Nearjet
This single-engine turboprop turns in jet performance

If you’re determined to fly fast in today’s market, you have a number of options to consider.
February 29, 2016

Speed Without Mods
Why you don’t really need fancy mods to fly faster

One of the most common questions I hear from readers at shows such as Sun ‘n Fun, AirVenture and the old AOPA conventions has long been, “Why won’t my airplane perform to book specs?” The majority of folks seem to feel the manufacturers are simply exaggerating their products’ performance, in some cases, wildly so. Perhaps more »
February 19, 2016

Honda HF420 HondaJet
Pinch yourself: It’s for real.

The airplane we flew for this report was a full production-conforming HondaJet outfitted with the Garmin G3000 integrated flat-panel avionics suite with two touch-screen controllers. Features include a three-screen panel, digital color weather radar, ADS-B Out and ADS-B In (an option), standby digital multifunction primary display, dual digital flight control with envelope protection, speed control more »
February 6, 2016

2016 Mooney Acclaim Ultra

The 2016 Mooney Acclaim Ultra we flew for this report is the first Acclaim Ultra off the production line. It’s equipped with the Garmin G1000 integrated flight deck with dual redundant 10.4-inch displays, dual digital ADAHRS, ADS-B, GFC 700 flight control system and the Mid-Continent self-powered standby instrument. Price as flown: $689,000 Engine: Continental TSIO-550-G more »
February 4, 2016

Pipistrel Panthera
Can Pipistrel’s fuel-saving magic translate to a high-performance personal plane?

“Four seats, 200 knots and 1,000 nm.” These were the magic numbers CEO Ivo Boscarol set as a challenge for the collective minds of Pipistrel’s research department one morning in 2007. Faster, farther and−yes−cheaper: a huge challenge for an ultralight manufacturer. It was left to the brilliant Tine Tomazic, a young engineer who was just more »
February 1, 2016

ADS-B Buyer’s Guide 2016 Final Countdown
With the 2020 mandate looming, options abound as time grows short

While GPS navigation transformed general aviation in 1995, all eyes are now on the federal ADS-B mandate that will go into effect January 1, 2020. “ADS-B” is the acronym for Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, which is a whole new way of tracking and controlling aircraft using satellites instead of ground-based RADAR. ADS-B is a key component more »
January 14, 2016

2016 Piston Twins
Innovation and tradition coexisit

Multi-engine, piston aircraft were very much in style back in the 1970s and 1980s.
January 14, 2016

Tecnam P2010

Tecnam P2010 SPECIFICATIONS Base price: $345,000 Engine: Lycoming 180-hp IO-360-M1A Height: 8.8 ft. Length: 25.9 ft. Wingspan: 33.79 ft. Wing area: 149 sq. ft. Cabin height: 3 ft. Cabin width: 3.74 ft. PERFORMANCE Takeoff wt : 2,557 lbs. Standard empty wt: 1,565 lbs. Maximum useful load: 992 lbs. Baggage capacity: 18 cu. Ft./196 lbs. Fuel more »
January 9, 2016

New Planes On The Horizon
Can an innovative approach to regulations spark a GA renaissance?

We’re on the cusp of a major policy and regulatory shift that will accelerate the adoption of new technologies, from electric propulsion to autonomous vehicle operation, in general aviation, and likely will profoundly affect your flying experience in the future. You can see hints today of what the new approach heralds in the recent appearance more »
January 6, 2016

We Fly: Mooney Acclaim Ultra
With a second door and an entirely new interior feel, the fastest production piston single on the planet feels like a whole new plane

It was a bright early spring day in the Hill Country of central Texas—well, it wasn’t really spring, but in Texas, a nice winter day feels decidedly spring-like. Which is nice when you’re exploring unheated hangars or wide-open expanses of tarmac. In addition to being pleasantly warm, it was bright on the Mooney ramp, too, more »
January 6, 2016

CubCrafters XCub: Way Beyond Super Cub
Fast, slick and certified, CubCrafters XCub is a clean-sheet, next-gen Part 23 taildragger with an attitude and a blue-skies future

Pulling the nose up, the forward visibility still surprisingly good for a tandem taildragger, I put the needle of the airspeed indicator—yes, there’s still a needle—right at best rate of climb, 70 mph—yes, there are still miles per hour, too. Mindful that this is the clean configuration stall speed for a lot of singles, I more »
January 1, 2016

Pipistrel Panthera

The Pipistrel Panthera we flew for this report is a factory prototype outfitted with an Experimental Lycoming IO-390 four-cylinder engine of 210 hp. The to-be-certified Panthera will likely be equipped with a six-cylinder 260 hp Lycoming IO-540, so these specifications are only preliminary. SPECIFICATIONS Projected base price: $470,000 Engine:  Lycoming IO-390 Seats: 4 Horsepower: 210 more »
December 29, 2015

2016 Piston Singles
We feature the best players in piston singles for the new year

For 2015, the aircraft diesel revolution has lost some of its momentum, at least temporarily, but most of the airplanes we grew up with are still with us.
December 14, 2015

Carbon Cub EX-2

Carbon Cub EX-2 SPECIFICATIONS Engine: 180-hp Aerosport Power CC340 Airfoil: Modified USA 35(B) (same as Super Cub) Wing loading: 7.4 lbs./sq.ft. @1,320 lbs; 10.44 lbs./sq. ft. @1,865 lbs. Power loading: 7.33 lbs./hp @ 1,320 lbs; 10.26 lbs./hp @1,865 lbs. Seats: 2 Length: 23 ft. 3 in. Height: 8 ft. 4 in. Wingspan: 34 ft. 3 more »

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