aircraft - search results

It's increasingly difficult to find shops that permit owner-assisted annuals and other supervised maintenance-by-owner. That's a pity, but the reasons for it are understandable.

Tires don't get the respect they deserve. Most folks just say that they are "round, black, and dirty." The reality of the situation is quite different.

The face of flight training is changing, at least in some circles. A relatively recent and little-known EAA exemption is allowing the owners of experimental aircraft to rent their flying machines legally for the first time. A few intrepid flight instructors have taken up the challenge and are expanding their list of services to include flight training in these unique machines. Jamie Beckett relates the story of one of the pioneers who is renting an experimental airplane for fun and profit.

The Grumman Tiger owner culture is as unique as the airplane. To say these folks are enthusiastic about these airplanes is to understate the case. Most owners will energetically attest to the Grummans sports car-like handling, healthy climb and slide-back canopy that slides back for open-air flight. Theres arguably lots of appeal to these little cruisers. Non-Grumman enthusiasts just wont understand. Some call them silly little airplanes. The population of Tiger airplanes is an aged batch-born in 1975, so owners were enthusiastic when the airplane went back into production in 2000 as Tiger Aircraft, LLC. It was a rejuvenated remake with some later copies sporting G1000 glass cockpits.

There has long been a raging debate about which is the best way to protect the windows and interior of an unhangared aircraft: exterior aircraft covers or internal sun shields. We decided to ask a real expert - Ron Kensey of Kennon Aircraft Covers in Sheridan, Wyoming - whose company makes both.

Remember the good-old days when the choices of products to clean your airplane were few? Today it seems we are overwhelmed with choices to the point of bewilderment, but AVweb has some suggestions to keep a healthy shine on your steed.

Bearhawk Aircraft announced today receipt of the first FAA authorization for transition training in a four-place Bearhawk amateur-built airplane. Bearhawk builder, owner and certified flight instructor (CFI), Jared Yates of Hickory, North Carolina has received a Letter of Deviation Authority (LODA) from the FAA allowing him to provide flight instruction in his four-place Bearhawk. The LODA allows builders and owners of Bearhawk aircraft to hone their pilot skills through a structured transition training program.

AVweb reader Greg Amy refurbished the interior of his Grumman Tiger with automotive cloth and vinyl materials, but subsequently became concerned about whether those materials were legal for use in his aircraft. His research led him through a veritable morass of conflicting and contradictory guidance from FARs, Advisory Circulars, FAA-Designated Engineering Representatives, FAA-approved testing labs, and a National Resource Specialist from FAA Headquarters. Greg's ordeal in trying to get a straight answer to a simple certification question helps explain both why the FAA employs so many lawyers, and why so many pilots are drawn to homebuilt aircraft.

Stratospheric new aircraft prices have opened new markets for capable, older airframes. The trend appears to be gaining traction as more shops and businesses cater to brining older airframes up to new standards with modern avionics, fresh interiors and paint.

Most of my articles for Aviation Safety focus on managing the risk of flying piston-powered general aviation aircraft, with examples of good and poor risk management....