April 11, 2019

The Vulcanair Is The Not So ‘New’ Kid In Town

The Vulcanair V1.0 isn’t a very familiar plane to most pilots. Vulcanair and Ameravia plan to change that.

We’d lucked out. It was a gorgeous winter afternoon in Sebring, Florida, a comic book periwinkle sky, just an insinuation of wind, and, I imagined, the kind of visibility from up higher that would allow one to make out Vero Beach on the Atlantic coast and then, upon turning, spy Sarasota on the Gulf Coast more »

April 10, 2019

We Fly The Cirrus Vision Jet Generation 2

A couple of big improvements make the latest single-engine jet from Cirrus a whole new experience.

On the ramp in the mist, the Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet, which many still call the “Cirrus Jet,” is a figure of some mystery. When I posted a photo on my Facebook page of the plane viewed from the rear, its distinctive V-tail prominent, a friend asked if it was a “Bugatti.” Now, the Bugatti, more »

April 5, 2019

The Angel Mechanics At Sun ‘n Fun

Volunteer mechanics aid aviators in distress.

If you fly long enough, you’re eventually going to have an airplane break when you’re far from home. When you scale up the factor to the level of the Sun ‘n Fun Fly-in, statistically there will be a lot of airplanes needing the loving touch of a mechanic’s hand before they can fly back home. more »

April 5, 2019

Stick Around For Sun ‘n Fun’s Saturday Night Airshow

The fly-in and expo's night airshows have become must-watch events.

A Saturday admission armband for Sun n’ Fun packs a two-for-one punch: Instead of heading for the exits and jamming the roads when the last performer lands in the afternoon airshow, it’s worth sticking around for dinner on the grounds and waiting for the sun to set. Pilots speak of night flight in hushed tones. more »

April 4, 2019

Blue Angels Arrive At Sun ‘n Fun Via….The Porta Potty Arrival?

The premier Navy demonstration team is set to rock and roll in Lakeland.

The U.S. Navy Blue Angels arrived at the Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In Thursday in spectacular fashion. The demonstration team’s arrival on a show site is a performance in and of itself, as the team circles the field from a number of angles while they set their timing marks. The full formation circled the field from more »

April 4, 2019

Lauderback Surpasses 10,000 Hours In P-51 Mustang At Sun ‘n Fun

Owner of Stallion 51 passes a big milestone.

There are many milestone numbers an aviator may log in the course of their career. Flying through the first 10-hour block of aircraft rental seems like a big commitment at the time. Hitting 100 hours so the insurance companies quit hanging up when you call. Going through four digits at the thousand-hour mark. Professional pilots more »

April 2, 2019

Sling LA-LAL Flight Goes The Distance, But Runs Out Of Daylight

A Sling TSi lands at Sun 'n Fun after a nonstop VFR flight from Southern California

When Wayne Toddun and Jean d’Assonville checked in with SoCal departure for flight following in the predawn hours, the controllers likely thought they were being played in an elaborate, if one day early, April Fool’s prank. Was the Sling TSi on their radar scope really requesting VFR flight following nonstop from Compton, California to Lakeland, more »

March 27, 2019

PHOTOS: A Closer Look At What Just Might Be The World’s Coolest Plane

Mike Patey's Draco might be the coolest airplane in the world.

What do you get when you put a turbine engine on one of the most versatile of all bush planes? A pretty epic race-winning STOL aircraft, and this year’s winner of the 2018 High Sierra STOL Drag competition. Brainchild of self-taught engineer and successful entrepreneur Mike Patey, Draco is the ultimate backcountry airplane. With its more »

March 13, 2019

Draco: The Coolest Airplane In The World?

Mike Patey built this heavily modded turboprop taildragger to show the world what STOL really means. How he created the ultimate fixed-wing helicopter.

February 28, 2019

Who Knew A Crop Duster Could Do This!

Where the Fire Boss is needed most, there are no runways. So how does this highly-modified crop duster, capable of delivering 800 gallons of water to remote wildfires, secure its H20 cargo? Here’s the scoop: The Fire Boss, a revamped Air Tractor AT-802, stores its water load in about 15 seconds by skimming the surface more »

January 22, 2019

We Fly The Cirrus Vision Jet Generation 2

A couple of big improvements make the latest single-engine jet from Cirrus a whole new experience.

Several upgrades to the Cirrus Vision Jet Generation 2 make the latest single-engine jet a whole new experience.

December 19, 2018

Premier Turbo Dakota

A highly regarded Florida shop takes 40-year-old Pipers and turns them into dream planes. Here's how it makes the magic happen.

When Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based Premier Aircraft Sales introduced its Premier Edition Piper Dakota in late 2017, the company was understandably curious to see how the market would respond. In theory, there would be great interest. The idea was compelling: By taking low-time PA-28-235 airframes and performing an extensive restoration, Premier could offer buyers an airplane more »

December 10, 2018

4 Ways To Avoid A Nightmare Annual

Lessons one pilot learned the hard way, hopefully so you won't have to.

It’s probably not all that often that an airplane owner brings their plane in for an annual inspection and leaves with a smile. However, for seven years I was lucky enough to have that experience. During that time, I lived in Delaware, and the shop I used for my annual was located a short flight more »

November 26, 2018

Maule MX-7-180: Barebones With Big Tires For Big Fun

Here's why those legendary taildraggers from Georgia keep flying out of factory doors.

In an iconic piece of aviation advertising, Belford D. Maule, universally known as B.D., used to tail his demonstrator ship deep into his Moultrie, Georgia, hangar. In a blast of noise and a cloud of dust, he shot out the front door with the nose angling sharply to the sky, the giant “MAULE” letters on more »

October 24, 2018