An amazing thing happened as we all prepared to go to AOPA last-ever annual show in the sprawling Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Two top suppliers to the LSA sector came out with products bearing almost the same name. However, they’re quite different, fun, and well, yes … surprisingly practical. So, are you D2? Even the Star Wars robot of a similar sounding name might have desired these gizmos, neither of which were remotely possible back in the late 1970s when that movie franchise began.
Dynon’s D2 — The maker of the ubiquitous SkyView glass panels installed in so many higher end LSA has a smaller product that sells well in the GA world, where non-certified equipment cannot be mounted with FAA approval. So, just stick a D1 to the windscreen and you get a mini-Dynon panel for your older, round-gauges aircraft. Now, Dynon has introduced the D2, a second model to what they call their “Pocket Panel product line.” D2 adds WiFi connectivity to allow flight data to be sent to iPad, smartphone, and tablet aviation applications, and has a second screen with a G-Meter (photo).
Search Results for : MG 21
Not finding exactly what you expected? Try our advanced search option.
Select a manufacturer to go straight to all our content about that manufacturer.
Select an aircraft model to go straight to all our content about that model.
LSA Seaplane Companies Cluster in Central Florida
Icon Aircraft receives a high percentage of the attention paid to LSA seaplanes. They’ve worked hard on marketing and been quite successful; their Facebook page has nearly 300,000 “Likes!” Yet, as I’ve written, this is a growing subset within the LSA industry with several interesting designs already flying plus new ones to come that are really going to widen people’s eyes. However, some of that remains in the future while we have present-day success stories. If you want a seaplane you can afford and you want it soon, you have several choices, for example: Progressive Aerodyne’s SeaRey and the hot little SeaMax, both of which are SLSA approved, plus Edra Aeronautica’s Super Petrel LS, and in the world of light kits, don’t forget another longtime player, Aero Adventure. The latter Florida company recently reported news.
“Here We Come Tavares,” exclaimed a recent newsletter from Aero Adventure!
Oshkosh 2013 Elements, Part 3: Slide-Out Panel
Elements are basic components of nature. As in our first two parts, I see Oshkosh Elements as worthy ideas other than airframes or engines. One such is World Aircraft Company‘s roller-bearing pull-out drawer instrument panel. Now, if you are like me and don’t spend a lot of time around your airplane with a wrench or soldering iron in your hands, you might not see why this is important. For panels with a collection of round instruments, maybe it isn’t as fetching an idea. Yet I’m willing to guess that nearly every mechanic who reads this or hears of World’s innovation is going to say, “Yes! Why hasn’t this been done before and why aren’t all instrument panels done this way?”
Early this year, I watched while two avionics mechanics maneuvered around the instrument panel in a Flight Design CTLSi. Their task was to install ADS-B hardware to coordinate with the dual-screen Dynon SkyView that fills left and right bays of the instrument panel.
Zenith Opens Its Hangar to Big Crowds
We interrupt our series on Oshkosh Elements to highlight the upcoming Zenith Open Hangar Day. The event taking place on Saturday, September 21, 2013 is the company’s 22nd annual such event and it draws a large crowd as you can see in last year’s photo. Normally, one company opening its doors to customers and visitors is not big news but Zenith has done particularly well with their open house. For many recent years, Zenith has steadily been delivering kits at the rate of about 200 units per year, a volume most airframe makers would love to match and one that puts Zenith near the top of the list (if not the alphabet). It means the company has developed a large following and, when invited, they turn out. Given the focus on the Midwest LSA Expo at the beginning of September, one could say the Midwest will be active region for LSA and light kit enthusiasts.
Oshkosh 2013 Elements: Groundloop-Proof Tailwheel
Elements are basic components of nature. As in our first part, I see Oshkosh Elements as fascinating ideas other than airframes or engines. One such worthy idea is Beringer’s new anti-groundloop tailwheel. Before we talk about their innovation, though, let’s take a quick glance at tailwheel design popularity. Cub-like models and other taildraggers account for more than 20% of the LSA fleet today. Tricycle gear may dominate but lots of pilots believe a tailwheel aircraft is the “proper” gear for an airplane with more machismo, more bush-capability, more aerodynamic efficiency (less drag) … you name it, many pilots just love taildraggers. Tricycle gear pilots, however, not so much. The reason? Trigear landings tend to self correct regarding keeping the airplane straight on the runway. Tailwheel aircraft threaten the dreaded ground loop. Since this sounds — and can be — scary, lots of Cessna or Piper-trained pilots avoid flying taildraggers.
Several other reporters covered Beringer‘s press conference and reported on the company’s tailwheel offering but none fully explained it, in my opinion.
Freakish Oshkosh Weather Continues!
Yes, Airventure fans, it’s been fair, mild, low humidity, refreshing, beautiful weather…all descriptors none of us is used to using in the same sentence with the words Oshkosh and summer. *** It’s been a delight not to drop with exhaustion at the end of a long day slogging around the miles of paths and thousands of exhibits, planes and aviation sundry. *** Here’s some more cool stuff from my travels across the great cement/grass/asphalt immensity known simply as “Oshkosh.”
The Big O Photo Jam
In the wee and foot-throbbing hours after wandering the highways and byways of the vast Oshkosh Airventure showgrounds all day, here’s a taste of some of the cool things encountered so far from my abbreviated visit – my 32nd year in attendance since 1981…and every year brings new wonders and old friends: threads of gold and silver. *** *** ***
Icon Gets Its Weight Exemption
Important FAA-related message at end of this article.
Opening day at AirVenture Oshkosh 2013 and the very first announcement before exhibit spaces even opened was a press conference from Icon Aircraft. To a media-only group of perhaps 30 or 40 media personalities, CEO Kirk Hawkins began, “Is there anyone here who doesn’t know what this about?” No one responded; everyone knew what the rumor mill had begun spewing. Icon is in good company. Even premiere new product secret-keeper, Apple Inc., has trouble announcing something that no one expected. Yet a few comments from the top gun at Icon were of special interest. One other observation first: it was a media event, but if even a single FAA person was in attendance, they were under cover. No FAA shirts or badges could be spotted. Thus Icon made their announcement without any active FAA participation.
Icon received Grant of Exemption No. 10829 for a weight increase with FAA stating,”The combined features and SRA (Spin Resistant Airframe) incorporated into the Icon A5 design … are recognized by the FAA as significant safety enhancements.” FAA also referenced that the agency felt an exemption was “in the public’s interest.” Kirk Hawkins added that his engineers “put safety ahead of arbitrary weight limits” and forged ahead with enhancements to include a more crashworthy cockpit, the airframe parachute (about which they’d already talked but with which the weight increase became more possible), and of course, the wing cuffs, “a synthesis of several known ideas put together in a way that finally worked” to provide a Part 23-worthy stall resistant airframe.
Fantasy in Paris — Electric Twin & More
“How ya gonna keep ‘em down on the farm … after they’ve seen Paree?” That’s a timely reprise of an old show tune to bring our attention to the Paris Air Show, which is sending out some ripples in the “What’s New” Dept. Chances look better every year that electric flight will be a major player in how we take the air. And for those of you who think that’s just a bunch of hot air, you could be right, too! Read on.
Jason Paur who writes for Wired magazine gets to do all the fun stuff I just get to fantasize about … specifically, electric flight. He’s at Le Bourget Field in Paris and filed this report on an exciting new electric prototype that fits nicely into the Light Sport Aircraft specification. Here are some highlights and you can read the rest first hand at the link above.
Summer’s Coming; Cool It, Fellow Pilots!
Across the northern U.S. states and across much of Europe it was a lousy, cold, snowy winter. It seemed everyone I spoke to at Aero in Friedrichshafen, Germany complained about the crappy winter and their laments mirrored those from America’s northlands. However, the weather appears to be going directly from winter to summer. It was warm in Slovenia when we visited Pipistrel and it’s now getting hot across much of the USA. That’s great, perhaps, as it foretells an active flying season. However, as the weather warms, it can get mighty hot in the cockpit and not only because you’re on short final on a gusty day in a responsive LSA.
US Aviation previewed their integration of the AMT FlyCool air conditioning system in the Flight Design CTLS at Sun ‘n Fun 2013. The Dallas-area, Texas company partnered with FlyCool to develop an installation for the Flight Design CTLS.
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 59
- 60
- 61
- 62
- 63
- …
- 94
- Next Page »