Experimentals

Bob Barrows, who designed the Bearhawk line of experimental aircraft, suffered a landing accident on approach to Holly Ridge/Topsail Island Airport (N21) on Monday. According to reports, Barrows clipped power lines on approach and the Bearhawk LSA impacted the turf runway in a strongly nose-down attitude.

The airshow season is about fast-moving, rapidly gyrating aircraft. For some, its about witnessing a watchmakers level of finesse required to land on a dime and stop in one fuselage length. Thats the audience for the new Sod Buster STOL Competition to be launched this August at the Milaca, Minn., airport.

Last month, Superior grounded the XP-400 and XP-382 experimental-class engines after crankshaft breakages were believed to be set off by detonation. Approximately 150 engines were affected. At the time, the company asked those already flying the engine to immediately ground the aircraft and for those still in construction to return the engines.

Kitplane manufacturer Lancair is displaying the first of its Barracuda two-seaters to be built at Sun n Fun 2019. The aircraft was constructed by first-time Lancair builder Wade Marcantonio. Marcantonio, who holds a BA in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M and is a Certified Solidworks Professional, built the aircraft with the help of Lancairs Builder Assist Program.

At Sun 'n Fun this week, Levil Avionics debuted a new ADS-B In receiver to drive various tablet-based systems with no-cost weather and traffic. In addition to the dual-band receiver, the Astro Link has a built-in WAAS GPS receiver and full AHRS module for attitude information. This allows the Astro Link to provide valuable backup attitude data to connected tablets.

Last month, Superior Air Parts grounded the experimental-class XP-400 and XP-382 engines after a pair of crankshaft failures believed to be caused by detonation in these engines. Superior then undertook the process of buying these engines back from homebuilders and paying for return shipping. In this podcast, Scott Hayes, Superior's VP of sales and marketing, brings us up to speed on the return process and goes into some detail on the reasons for the grounding.

At Sun 'n Fun this week, Levil Avionics debuted a new ADS-B In receiver to drive various tablet-based systems with no-cost weather and traffic. In addition to the dual-band receiver, the Astro Link has a built-in WAAS GPS receiver and full AHRS module for attitude information. This allows the Astro Link to provide valuable backup attitude data to connected tablets.

This shot was taken on a ferry flight from KWVI to KCCR as the Liberty Aviation museum Trimotor passed over the Golden Gate Bridge. Photo by Steve Lambrick.

Dynon Avionics has announced a slight reorganization of its product line with price reductions on two models, the SkyView Classic and SkyView SE, and the discontinuation of the SkyView Touch. Dynon has also said its close to receiving approval to fit the SkyView HDX to Beech 35-series airplanes via an STC.

Last month, the Aircraft Electronics Association reported a 17.6% bump in overall avionics sales. And while a good portion of that gain was attributed to a generally stronger new-airplane market, the bulk was pegged on the looming deadline for ADS-B Out equipage.