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 11, 2017

Mods: A Used Plane Reborn
Our ’64 182 needed new belts. How we did it and how much it cost.

This article is the first in a series about bringing a good used airplane up to more modern standards. Our test subject is a 1964 Cessna 182G with a beautiful airframe, passable but old interior, avionics in dire need of updating and the original engine that has good compression and relatively low time since an more »
July 6, 2017

2018 Turbodiesel Cessna 172 JT-A
Specifications
Cessna JT-A

The plane we flew for this report was the first factory production model and was outfitted with the standard Garmin G1000 NXi avionics suite. Optional equipment included the Garmin FlightStream connected cockpit solution and SurfaceWatch and factory air conditioning. Base Price: $438,000  Price as tested: approx. $465,000 Main Construction: Metal Engine: Continental CD-155 Horsepower: 155 more »
July 6, 2017

2017 Piper Archer DX
Specifications
Piper Archer DX

Base Price: $412,645 Main Construction: Metal Engine/HP: Continental CD-155/155 hp Propeller: MT, 3-blade, composite, constant speed, 71” diameter Avionics: Garmin G1000 Top Cruise Speed: 123 kts Stall, Landing Configuration: 49 kts Max Range: 848 nm (45-minute reserve) Max Takeoff Weight: 2,550 lbs. Payload (full fuel): 488 lbs. Useful Load: 794 lbs. Takeoff/Landing Distance: 1,673 ft./1,400 more »
June 28, 2017

Step-By-Step ADS-B Rebate Guide With Photos
It’s not too late. Here’s how you do it

The FAA approved a program last September to encourage private aircraft owners to install ADS-B Out equipment as soon as possible by providing a monetary incentive. Unfortunately, the program is only authorized to last for one year, and the last date to register for a rebate is September 18, 2017. This program will send you more »
June 27, 2017

Owner-Assisted Annuals
This airplane owner wanted to help with his plane’s annual. Here’s how he did it.

Two words that will strike fear into any general aviation aircraft owner are “annual inspection.” Face it, most of us fly airplanes from the golden age of general aviation, so your airplane is probably at least 30 years old. My airplane is getting ready to celebrate 47 candles. Since it comes around every year, and more »
June 20, 2017

Beechcraft Bonanza G36
Evolved and refined, the 2017 Bonanza has Garmin’s latest panel and so much more

Six seats. Big doors. Club seating. Retractable gear. Substantial feel. Metal construction. Those are the bullet points for the Beech G36 Bonanza, but if you stopped there, you’d be missing the point entirely. People who fly one of Beechcraft’s planes, from Bonanza to King Air, know this already. This is the 70th anniversary of the more »
June 20, 2017

2017 Beechcraft Bonanza G36
Specifications
Beechcraft Bonanza G36 on the ramp

The airplane we flew for this report was an early model production Bonanza G36 outfitted with the Garmin G1000 NXi flat-panel avionics suite with redundant dual-color displays, Garmin GFC 700 integrated autopilot, dual ADAHRS, standard ADS-B In and Out, enhanced digital HSI, Vertical Situation Display, Visual Approach capability, Surface Watch ground operations utility, SiriusXM Weather more »
May 26, 2017

We Fly The Cirrus Jet: Five Surprising Takeaways

You’ll be reading a lot about the Cirrus Jet (officially, the SF50 Vision Jet) in the weeks and months to come, but nowhere except in Plane & Pilot will you read the real story behind the story. Look for our coverage of this remarkable little jet in our upcoming August issue. And for now, a quick more »
May 23, 2017

Used Cessna 182 Skylanes
Still in production 60 years after its introduction, the Cessna Skylane remains one of the most popular used airplanes. Here's what to look for in a vintage 182, from 1956 to 2016.

It seems like the Skylane is everyone’s friend. It’s certainly one of mine. The Cessna 182 was the first honest four-seater I flew after earning my license, and I loved it. If you’re like me, you’re probably among the thousands of Skylane enthusiasts. That’s not surprising, as the Skylane exemplifies the primary qualities that have more »
May 17, 2017

The New Economics Of Flying
New technology is bringing older airplanes back to life and into the reach of a lot more pilots

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote my first check to my finance company for my not-so-new Cessna 182. The airplane, a 1964 G-model, is exactly the kind of plane that’s today benefiting from a revolution in aircraft electronics, with the FAA enthusiastically working to bring new avionics into the cockpits of light, relatively inexpensive planes, more »
April 18, 2017

Cessna 182 Skylane NXi: We Fly It First
How the world’s most popular utility plane is better than ever

I won’t make any bones about it. We were getting our butts kicked as we climbed out on what seemed as though it should be an ideal early spring afternoon. The conditions were CAVU, dry air and severe clear blue skies cradling the green and rolling Hill Country of Central Texas as we headed slightly more »
March 20, 2017

We Fly NXi: Garmin G1000 Reborn
It might look the same, but it’s better in a hundred ways

There’s a new G1000 in town, G1000 NXi. And while the name might imply a minor upgrade to the legendary flat-panel system, nothing could be further from the truth. NXi is a new ballgame. Since its introduction a decade ago in the Cessna Citation Mustang and Skyhawk, Garmin’s seminal flat-panel avionics suite has become the more »
March 15, 2017

Sport Cruiser Rises
The airplane that briefly became the Piper Sport becomes itself again. Five reasons why that’s a very good thing.

Introduced just over a decade ago, the Czech Sport Aircraft Sport Cruiser is one of the most popular Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) on the market. With more than 600 operating worldwide and more than 300 in the United States alone, the two-seater continues to impress pilots and to get better. I’d heard good things about more »
February 28, 2017

Hybrid Aircraft?
The first hybrid propulsion experiments have already taken flight, and capabilities are scaling up rapidly

My father’s dreams of flight were powered by avgas. Lots and lots of it. For his generation, big, radial Wright Cyclone engines and Rolls-Royce Merlin V-12s were the ticket skyward—transforming about 100 gallons an hour into 300 knots or more of speed and an instantly recognizable percussion that those in any nearby zip codes would more »
February 15, 2017

Hamilton aEro: New Era In Flight
Will battery-powered planes democratize aerobatics? Sure looks like it.

Raron, Switzerland: This little Alpine village, also the final resting place of the celebrated poet Rainer Maria Rilke, is tucked away in the Canton of Valais. Here, you can almost hear him polishing his lines: “To write a single verse, you must first see many towns, people and things; you need to know the animals, more »
February 8, 2017

Plane & Pilot 2017 Buyer’s Guide: Light Sport Aircraft
From amphibians to trainers, there's an LSA for everyone.

Since the debut of the Light Sport category more than a decade ago, the segment has grown into one that has proven its promise of opening up manufacturing to many, many more companies by the common-sense easing of certification standards for light and modest-performing models. The real surprise to many has been the incredible variety more »
February 8, 2017

2017 Rans S20LS Raven
Specifications

Base Price: $119,000 (factory-built fly-away) Seats: 2 Main Construction: Tubular frame with fabric/metal Engine/Hp: Rotax 912 ULS/100 hp Propeller: Warp Drive, 2-blade, ground adjustable, 70” diameter Avionics: Non-integrated VFR analog, Garmin aera 660 GPS Top Cruise Speed: 97 kts Stall, Landing Configuration: 28 kts Maximum Range: 506 nm Maximum Takeoff Weight: 1,320 lbs. Payload: 424 lbs. (full more »
February 8, 2017

2017 Bristell NG 5 LSA
Specifications

Base Price: $130,000 Seats: 2 Main Construction: Metal Engine/ Hp: Rotax 912 ULS/100 hp Propeller: FITI Eco, 3-blade, in-flight adjustable, 62” diameter Avionics: Garmin G3X Touch Top Cruise Speed: 120 kts Stall, Landing Configuration: 31 kts Maximum Range: 700 nm Maximum Takeoff Weight: 1,323 lbs. Payload: 403 lbs. (full fuel) Useful Load: 617 lbs. Takeoff/Landing Distance (No Obstacle): more »

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