Crowds Gander At New Goose By Russ Niles Antilles Seaplanes made its first appearance at Sun 'n Fun 2008 and the company says it hopes to be delivering newly-manufactured modern versions of the venerable Grumman Goose in the next year or two. The company has the type certificate for the aircraft and has been developing the manufacturing processes at its plant in Gibsonville, N.C. and the company says it's getting close to actually building aircraft. (Click through for video of Antilles talking turkey — er, "Goose" at the show.)
New Cessnas Make Show Debut By Russ Niles
Cessna 350 and Cessna 400 models made their air show debut at Sun 'n Fun last week and company officials say there's been overwhelming response to the aircraft. Cessna was the winning bidder at a bankruptcy auction for the former Columbia Aircraft late last year and began building the speedy composite singles in Cessna colors in December. The aircraft have been integrated into the company's sales and support systems and Cessna continues to hire more staff at the Bend, Ore. plant. (Click through for video of the Cessna 400 at Sun 'n Fun.)
"Convertible" LSA Offered By Russ Niles Warner Aerocraft is offering a unique concept in Light Sport Aircraft design with a three-way convertible cockpit. The Sportster can be flown single or tandem with or without a canopy. The company says it only takes five minutes to reconfigure the plane. It's powered by a Continental 0200 and has a top speed of 130 mph. It has a fabric fuselage and metal wings. (Click through for video.)
G3 SR20 Has New Wings, Refined Interior By Russ Niles
When Cirrus unveiled the G3 SR22 at last year's Sun 'n Fun, the reaction was positive and the response from customers was favorable. Lessons learned from the improvements of the flagship model were applied to the entry-level SR20 and it made its show debut at this year's Sun 'n Fun. Probably the biggest change (and biggest mystery) of the project was putting the new wing from the SR22 on the new SR20. Previous SR20s had a smaller wing than their more powerful stablemates. But when the larger wing was put on the SR20, the cruise speed actually went up by six or seven knots. (Click through to get inside the cockpit with us in a short video.)
Aerocar Flies Again — With FADEC (Really) By Russ Niles
Modern technology has come to the rescue of a persistent problem, which, had it been addressed in its time, might have made Molt Taylor's Aerocar more appealing in its day. The aircraft flew to Sun 'n Fun (it's the only flying example of five left) from its home away from home at a museum in Kissimmee, Fla. with its O-360 engine equipped with full authority digital engine control (FADEC). Owner Ed Sweeney said that through most of its life the machine suffered chronic running faults because of the geometry of its old carburetor installation. (Click through for video of Sweeney showing off the Aerocar at Sun 'n Fun.)
AVweb's Sun 'n Fun 2008 Galleries #6 of 7: Winding Down By Mariano Rosales The show's starting to wind down, but we've got two more galleries of great walkabout photos to share, so strap in for final fly-by of Sun 'n Fun 2008.
IndUs Diesel Thorpedo — 100 Knots At Three GPH By Russ Niles
The WAM diesel-powered IndUs Thorpedo LSA arrived on schedule to a packed news conference at Sun 'n Fun on Saturday and there was a cluster of people around it most of the day. With the numbers IndUS is reporting, it's no wonder. The supercharged and turbocharged three-cylinder, two-cycle inverted cylinder diesel puts out 120 hp. Spokesman Scott Severin told AVweb it pulls the low-wing along at 100 knots on three gph. While the LSA flew for the first time with the diesel only a few days ago, company spokesman Scott Severin said the engine has been extensively tested by IndUS. The engine is undergoing Light Sport certification and initial TBO is 1,000 hours but is expected to go to 3,000 hours. (Click through for video of Severin showing us around the Thorpedo.)
Mooney Type S — The Fastest Certified By Russ Niles
In an industry built on superlatives there can only be one fastest, and Mooney's recently certified Type S model now holds the crown as the fastest production single. It'll do 242 knots at 25,000 feet and it doesn't use extra power to get to those lofty numbers. "There have been a lot of subtle enhancements," Mooney Sales Director Rick Neely told AVweb at Sun 'n Fun 2008. Gap sealing, a composite front gear door and other improvements that have "slicked up the airplane" are responsible for the performance. (Click through for video of Neely and the Type S at the show.)
Cessna 350 and Cessna 400 models made their air show debut at Sun 'n Fun last week and company officials say there's been overwhelming response to the aircraft. Cessna was the winning bidder at a bankruptcy auction for the former Columbia Aircraft late last year and began building the speedy composite singles in Cessna colors in December. The aircraft have been integrated into the company's sales and support systems and Cessna continues to hire more staff at the Bend, Ore. plant. (Click through for video of the Cessna 400 at Sun 'n Fun.)
When Cirrus unveiled the G3 SR22 at last year's Sun 'n Fun, the reaction was positive and the response from customers was favorable. Lessons learned from the improvements of the flagship model were applied to the entry-level SR20 and it made its show debut at this year's Sun 'n Fun. Probably the biggest change (and biggest mystery) of the project was putting the new wing from the SR22 on the new SR20. Previous SR20s had a smaller wing than their more powerful stablemates. But when the larger wing was put on the SR20, the cruise speed actually went up by six or seven knots. (Click through to get inside the cockpit with us in a short video.)
Modern technology has come to the rescue of a persistent problem, which, had it been addressed in its time, might have made Molt Taylor's Aerocar more appealing in its day. The aircraft flew to Sun 'n Fun (it's the only flying example of five left) from its home away from home at a museum in Kissimmee, Fla. with its O-360 engine equipped with full authority digital engine control (FADEC). Owner Ed Sweeney said that through most of its life the machine suffered chronic running faults because of the geometry of its old carburetor installation. (Click through for video of Sweeney showing off the Aerocar at Sun 'n Fun.)
The WAM diesel-powered IndUs Thorpedo LSA arrived on schedule to a packed news conference at Sun 'n Fun on Saturday and there was a cluster of people around it most of the day. With the numbers IndUS is reporting, it's no wonder. The supercharged and turbocharged three-cylinder, two-cycle inverted cylinder diesel puts out 120 hp. Spokesman Scott Severin told AVweb it pulls the low-wing along at 100 knots on three gph. While the LSA flew for the first time with the diesel only a few days ago, company spokesman Scott Severin said the engine has been extensively tested by IndUS. The engine is undergoing Light Sport certification and initial TBO is 1,000 hours but is expected to go to 3,000 hours. (Click through for video of Severin showing us around the Thorpedo.)
In an industry built on superlatives there can only be one fastest, and Mooney's 
