The E2C (Experimental to Certified) wave of activity continues to change the value of older airplanes, and this week’s announcement by Garmin that it had earned FAA approval for its GFC 500 autopilot in a “wide range of” Cessna 172 and 182s is accelerating that trend. The new autopilot is a digital model that features more »

Last summer at AirVenture, Vulcanair promised that its 4-seat, all-metal single—the V1.0—would be certified in the U.S. by the end of the year. Though it was down to the wire, FAA approval officially came through on December 20, 2017. The Vulcanair V1.0 has been operating in Europe since receiving EASA certification in 2013. The plane more »

GE made the first test run of its remarkably inventively named Advanced Turboprop engine last week, and it was a success. The mainstream public imagines that manufacturers will be able to print entire engines—flip a switch, to go lunch, and when you come back, there’s an engine—but the truth is, if anything, more remarkable than more »

In spite of the fact that women have been flying for nearly as long as there have been airplanes to fly, the number of active female pilots remains around six percent of the pilot community. And it’s not just the flying jobs—other aviation-oriented careers show similarly uneven numbers. The recently proposed Promoting Women in the Aviation more »

There were so many huge and unexpected aviation stories in 2017 that it’s hard to believe it all happened in 12 short months. Here’s a rundown of the headlines that changed our flying world. 1. Hurricanes: A pair of Category 5 hurricanes hit the U.S. mainland and GA was there to help. Read more about Harvey more »

One of the first LSAs to hit the market 10 years ago and one of the most popular ever, is the Flight Design CS-series of two-seat high wing sport planes. Tom Peghiny, president of Flight Design USA, told Plane & Pilot that the complicated chain of events that began two years ago with Flight Design more »

Garmin has introduced the GDL-82 ADS-B Out product that could wind up being the answer to many an airplane owner’s need to meet the 2020 ADS-B mandate. The GDL-82, Garmin says, is a small UAT transceiver that sells for $1,795 and comes with the WAAS antenna and install kit. Garmin hasn’t shared any details, but more »

The massive Stratolaunch, which first rolled out of its specially-designed hangar at the Mojave Air & Space Port last June, has taken another significant step toward being the largest thing ever to fly. Though it never left the ground, the 238-foot-long airplane took its inaugural trip down the runway last weekend for its first taxi more »

The world is getting faster and more vertical. Literally. The trend was on full display on Monday when Bell Helicopter made the first flight of its remarkable V-280 Valor. According to Bell, the new aircraft provides “unmatched agility, speed, range and payload capabilities at an affordable cost.” We’re skeptical about the “affordable” part, though aircraft more »

After a brief hiatus, during which the first confirmed reports of drone/aircraft collisions came in, the registration requirement for non-commercially flown small (0.55 – 55 pound) drones is back. Recreational drone registration was first required towards the end of 2015. It was then struck down last May by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the more »

The autonomous future is here, people. Recently Boeing’s Aurora Flight Sciences conducted a series of autonomous flights of a UH-1 Huey outfitted with autonomous systems. The idea is to be able to use helicopter for resupply or cargo missions without having to put a human pilot in harm’s way in the process, and Aurora said more »

The NTSB final report on the September 21 collision between an Army UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter and a DJI Phantom 4 small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS/drone) is something of a cautionary tale regarding what not to do when flying a UAS. For the basic facts, the collision occurred near Hoffman Island, New York, at around more »

What’s the best birthday present a pilot can get? Most of us would agree that time in the air is pretty high up on the list. For British inventor and aviator Dr. John C. Taylor—who has been flying for 65 years—David Fabry, CEO of Daher’s TBM U.K. distributor, Flying Smart, arranged something particularly special along more »

This past week Dassault announced that it was officially putting the 5X out of its misery, pulling the plug and calling it a day on the $45 million Gulfstream competitor. There’s no one in the industry, however, who doesn’t suspect that Dassault has Plan B not only hatched but well on its way. The 5X more »

How much FBOs can and should charge for services—like fuel and ramp use—has been a matter of concern to the general aviation community for quite some time. So much so that last August, AOPA took the data it had gathered from pilots and filed a Part 13 complaint regarding fees charged by FBOs located at more »

The FAA is once again reminding people decorating for the holidays to be mindful of the risks outdoor laser light displays can pose for aviation. If poorly aimed, the popular displays have the potential to disrupt flights—and possibly injure pilots—passing overhead. According to the FAA, “Each holiday season for the past several years, [it] has more »

Swiss airplane manufacturer Pilatus has earned FAA and EASA type certification for its PC24 twinjet, and the model is set to disrupt the light jet segment mightily. The new aircraft is unlike any jet currently being built, and its closest analogs might be specialty jets once built for military use, but even then the PC24 more »