New Aircraft

In the early 2000s Cirrus learned that equipping an airplane with a parachute and gee-whiz avionics doesnt necessarily make it safe. As was proven more recently, favorable accident stats come from focused training. But as one Cirrus sales pro put it, its the Wild West when it comes to the market of used SR20s and SR22s because some buyers either get the wrong training or in some cases, no transition training at all. A get-in-and-go approach doesnt work we’ll in a Cirrus.

Not surprisingly, when youre about to fly an airplane with more than enough torque and P-factor to roll you inverted in a heartbeat, malicious stall behavior and the ability to blow through the 250-KIAS-under-10,000-foot speed limit and laugh, the FAA and insurers are going to have something to say about it.

The Grumman Cheetah and bigger-engined Tiger may be overlooked by some buyers searching the crowded under-$50K used airplane market. In fact, among entry-level Cessna and Piper models, the AA-5A Cheetah could very we’ll be a used market leader. With a sporty slide-back canopy, snappy handling and reasonable cruise speed for its fuel-sipping 150-HP powerplant, a Cheetah works for training, traveling and for tooling around the local area. On the other hand, the 180-HP AA-5B Tiger might be the better of the two cats when more climb performance and load-hauling is needed.

Warbird ownership: Its not for the faint of heart, but there’s nothing like it, according to warbird owner and airshow pilot Stan Musick. While it takes cubic money to acquire and operate big-time warbirds-WWII fighter, bombers and transports and post-war jets-the path toward owning and safely operating an airplane in the major league of general aviation is the same for those armed with bags of money or simply determination: Youve got to spend quality time in the minor leagues first.

As for whole-airplane parachutes, Ive given quite a bit of instruction in a Flight Design CT LSA and once found the sky ahead filled with seagulls and wondered if I would shortly need to pull the red handle, but Im ambivalent about it when Im flying the Diamond. For me, the cost of servicing the CAPS in the Cirrus was one of the negatives in buying a used one.

The Gold Wing in the main photo was shot at Honda Aircraft Companys massive headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina. Its the first thing you see when entering the main lobby, and presumably its there as an important reminder of Hondas heritage. In 1946, Soichiro Honda established the Honda Technical Research Institute to develop machine tools and engines. In 2017, the brand name is delivering an ultramodern jet. For motorheads and curious consumers alike, the Honda timeline of milestones is an interesting read.

With some new flagship piston singles flirting with the $1 million mark, its logical that qualified buyers are eyeballing the entry-level turboprop single market. That could give Texas-based Evolution Aircraft (previously Lancair, before it was sold last summer) more opportunity to sell its Evolution Turboprop experimental airplane kits. If you think the average new Cirrus, Cessna TTx or Mooney owner doesnt have time to build an airplane, you may be right. But building an Evolution isn’t like building a typical homebuilt in the garage.

Is there a value proposition in an airplane that cruises two-thirds as fast as a near million-dollar Cirrus, uses only one-quarter the fuel and costs one-fifth as much? The Bristell LSA, an Eastern European import were examining here, certainly tests the notion. Like the Tecnam Astore we reviewed in the January 2017 issue, the Bristell NG5 stretches the slow-simple-cheap ethos of the light sport airplane to the breaking point. Given its sophisticated avionics, high cruising speed and attention to interior and baggage space, the Bristell is clearly conceived as a high-end traveling machine, not a bump-around-the-pattern flivver.

Touring either Lycomings factory in Williamsport or Continentals in Mobile is like a stroll through time. Cheek by jowl with ancient hand-operated machine tools are modern CNC machining centers that would be at home in a Ford or GM plant. In late March, Continental revealed that its ready to scrap the old stuff for good.

Back in the day-as in 1939-the Ercoupe was designed to be exceptionally safe by making it resistant to stalls and spins. But the airplane racked up a number of firsts, including being the first successful production GA airplane that had a nosewheel, plus a fully cowled engine. This contributed to more speed than most of its counterparts had. Better yet, an Ercoupe can handle a crosswind of twice the velocity that can be dealt with by almost any other airplane.

If youve been waiting for a cheaper FAA-approved retrofit autopilot you might not have to wait much longer. In fact, you can even have your shop begin the installation. This past April, both TruTrak Flight Systems and Trio Avionics came to Sun n Fun with STC approvals on the installation hardware and wiring harnesses for experimental autopilots.

As this is being written the stock market is in record territory, aircraft insurance rates are at record lows, the Fed has just started to raise interest rates out of the basement, the economy is at full employment and the incoming administration is promising to cut taxes while spending massive amounts on economic stimulus. Is this a great time to finance an airplane or what?