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.

July 27, 2016

Epic Completes Round-The-World Voyage
AirVenture Oshkosh is a fitting spot to complete the biggest circle, where the Epic Aircraft team landed after its extraordinary 21-day journey.

Talk about your Epic homecomings. This week, a flight of six company- and owner-flown Epic LT aircraft landed at AirVenture Oshkosh to cap off a 21-day around-the-world trip. And, yes, everything about the Epic voyage was epic. Departing from Oshkosh on July 7, the tour took participants to 21 cities in nine countries, some 16,407 more »
July 27, 2016

Embraer Launches Phenom 100 EV
A major upgrade to the light jet features new avionics and improved performance

Embraer, on Wednesday, launched a major upgrade to its Phenom 100 light jet, the 100 EV, which will be available in the first half of next year. The Embraer Phenom 100 EV is a better performer than the original Phenom 100, which was, at 390 knots, the fastest light jet not long ago, but which more »
July 27, 2016

Textron Aviation Launches Cessna T206 Turbo Stationair HD
Textron Aviation quietly released at AirVenture an update to its legendary Cessna 206 that, if anything, could make it even more legendary.

The secret to the Cessna T206 upgrade is a max weight increase of 189 pounds, which for any single-engine airplane would be good news, but for a utility plane that will regularly be operated at the edges of its envelope, it’s an even better deal. Textron earned the additional payload by proving what anyone who’s more »
July 25, 2016

New Eclipse Jet In The Works
ONE Aviation, maker of the Eclipse 550, has launched a new jet project, dubbed Project Canada, for now. Plane & Pilot spoke with CEO Alan Klapmeier to get the scoop on what this new jet would look like.

ONE Aviation has announced it’s working on a program to bring an updated version of its Eclipse 550 jet to market within the next couple of years. The new model, dubbed Project Canada, for now, will boast a greatly redesigned wing, more powerful engines, greater range and speed, and updated avionics. Cost of the new more »
July 25, 2016

Meet The Cessna Denali
Textron Aviation ended the suspense about what brand name its emerging single-engine turboprop would bear—Cessna or Beechcraft. The new plane also got a nickname in keeping with its lofty goals.

What’s in a name? Plenty, if you ask Kriya Shortt, Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing at Textron Aviation. Revealing the branding for Cessna’s single-engine turboprop at an AirVenture Oshkosh news conference this morning, Shortt said the name tells you all you need to know about the aircraft’s positioning. So, meet the Cessna Denali: “Denali more »
July 20, 2016

Quick Read: We Fly The New Piper M600
Big changes for the new PA46: What’s the verdict?

When Piper launched its update to the Meridian pressurized turboprop single, we had to wonder how it would improve upon the limitations of the popular plane. We fly the new M600 just last week and found out. Here’s the lowdown. The PA46-600TP is certified and being delivered to customers. It goes for $2.85 million nicely more »
July 17, 2016

Piper PA-46 M600 Specifications

The airplane we flew was Serial Number 3, a factory demonstrator. It was outfitted with a three-screen (12.1-inch) Garmin G3000 avionics suite with two GTC 570 touch controllers, Garmin GFC 700 autopilot, Aspen EFD multifunction standby instrument, Garmin ESP envelope protection, crew alerting system, integrated digital pressurization, Garmin 10-inch digital color weather radar and more. more »
July 14, 2016

The Airplane Factory Sling 4 Turbo Specifications
Sling 4 Turbo

Powerplant: 115 hp Rotax 914 UL Turbo Propeller: Three-blade Airmaster 72” composite Fuel capacity: 46 gal. Fuel burn: 6 gph Range @ 75% power with 45 min. reserves: 780 nm Max gross weight: 2,024 lbs. Standard empty weight: 1,036 lbs. Maximum useful load: 992 lbs. Wingspan: 32 ft. 8 in. Length: 25 ft. 3 in. more »
July 1, 2016

2016 Diamond DA62

Specifications The airplane we flew for this report is a full-production DA62 with all the bells and whistles, including TKS, built-in oxygen, Garmin G1000 with ADS-B In and Out, GFC 700 autopilot, Garmin Charts, including SafeTaxi, ESP envelope protection and more. Price as flown: $1.3 million Seats: 7 Engines: 2 Austro AE-330 turbocharged common-rail-injected with more »
May 25, 2016

We Fly It First: HondaJet Arrives!
Pinch yourself: It’s for real.

It wasn’t the worst weather for a test flight I’d ever seen, but by late afternoon, the North Carolina air was bumpy, and I’d already had a long day, which started at seven with a training session in the HondaJet sim. The bumps, I soon realized, were a great test. Anybody can fly an airplane more »
May 1, 2016

ICON Aircraft Announces One-Year Delay In Deliveries
Layoffs and production delays for controversial LSA amphibian

Signs of troubles with ICON Aircraft proved telling, as the Vacaville, California-based company announced on Wednesday that it would delay the program by about a year. ICON president Kirk Hawkins said the issues were due to “manufacturability” problems with the design. He said the delay would allow the company to solve those manufacturing issues and more »
April 19, 2016

Tomorrow’s Wings
The airfoils and flight control surfaces of the future might be very different than what we’re used to. Think engines, lots of them, and bird wings.

If you’ve been around aviation for any length of time, you know a few stories about so-called revolutionary aircraft that sounded too good to be true. Turns out, most of the time, they are. So, stop me if you’ve heard the one about the airliner that cruises at 600 mph, but lands on a 3,000-foot runway. more »
March 24, 2016

Game-Changer GE Advanced Turboprop
Why this next-generation powerplant is everything owners and pilots have been waiting for

Late last year at the NBAA Convention in Las Vegas, GE introduced its new turboprop, simply called (in GE’s current preference for brands over numerical designations) the Advanced Turboprop, and it did so with an air of understatement admirable in this age of the hype machine. Brad Mottier, the head of GE’s remarkably successful and more »
March 23, 2016

A Jet-Powered Glider?
How Glowfly does hybrid for the Jet Age

The term “hybrid” gets used a lot these days, even when it doesn’t really fit. Of course, most people hear the term and think of a car with a combination drive system: an electric motor assisted by a small gasoline engine to take up the slack and charge the batteries if need be. In aviation, more »
March 18, 2016

So You’re Thinking Of Buying An Airplane
How to look at the process in a way that cuts through the haze and gets you in a plane that’s best suited for what you really need

With many of the big decisions in life, and buying an airplane is definitely one of them, it takes a bit of discipline to make decisions that balance practicality and emotion. That’s understandable, as those kinds of decisions, from buying a house to deciding on a new job, revolve around some of our most important more »
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.

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