Now that it’s winding down, we can say it definitively: 2019 had some blockbuster stories, the top ten of which we’ve recognized here. As is always the case in aviation, where nothing except the planes themselves go very fast, many of the stories are high, or low, points in long-running tales while others are encapsulations of movements that have been hinted at before and that arrived fully formed in the past year. All of them, it’s safe to say, have roots in the past along and will surely continue to affect GA, some of them for years or decades to come.
5. Pratt & Whitney Vs. GE
For years weâve been asking out loud just what was taking Pratt & Whitney so long to come up with full authority digital engine controls for its revered PT-6 lineup of turboprop engines that dominate the market. Maybe it was that market stranglehold that kept them from investing in the product, because this year the company launched FADEC models for a few popular planes, leaving us to wonder if GEâs well-publicized launch of its Catalyst FADEC engine for the Cessna Denali PC-12 competitor, nudged them in that direction. Maybe.