…With All The Latest Stuff…

Sun ‘n Fun is traditionally when the industry trots out its new and in-the-works models, gizmos and gadgets, knowing that pilots who have been cooped up all winter can’t wait to get out and fly — and buy. This week, Lancair will make the most of the spotlight, hosting a public ceremony to accept the FAA’s certification of its quick new turbocharged “fastest certified piston-engine aircraft,” the Columbia 400. Liberty Aerospace will show off its newly certified XL2 two-seater. Adam Aircraft’s A500 twin-engine piston aircraft and the new Adam Aircraft A700 personal jet will both make an appearance. OMF plans to offer an update on the progress of its new aircraft in development — the Jet-A/diesel-powered Symphony 135D and the four-place Symphony 250. The intrepid CarterCopter folks will be there, and they say their prototype is flying again, “better than ever,” after its restoration and upgrade following a hard gear-up landing last year. Mistral Engines will display their Piper Turbo Arrow III test aircraft, fresh from its first flight with the new G-230TS-B1A rotary engine. Mistral’s liquid-cooled, 230-bhp, turbo-supercharged intercooled engine first flew last Sunday at Daytona Beach. Diamond Aircraft issued an update on the progress of its DA42 Twin Star this week, but we’ll have to wait till later this summer at Oshkosh for its North American debut. The company says the airplane is already in production at its Austrian facility, with European certification expected in May and the FAA expected to follow by the end of this year. Diamond will be showing its new Diamond Star DA40-FP at Sun ‘n Fun, a fixed-pitch version of its DA40-180 Diamond Star, adapted to meet the needs of high-utilization operators, with lower acquisition and operating costs. Certification is expected late this year, Diamond said.