INSURANCE ROUNDTABLE I read the insurance roundtable article in the November 2020 Aviation Consumer and thought I would weigh in. It’s not all doom and gloom. We upgraded from an A36 Bonanza to a B58 Baron last year to accommodate a growing family. Due to a desire to maintain higher instrument proficiency, over the past […]
If you’re in the market for a used STOL (short takeoff and landing) taildragger, a Maule M-series model should certainly be on the short list of machines to consider. For years, tailwheel Maules have offered an impressive balance of utility and performance. On wheels, floats and skis, you can do a lot with a Maule—especially […]
It’s not surprising that Decathlons and Citabrias rank high on the list of fun airplanes to own, and it’s not uncommon for them to be second or third airplanes parked next to the family traveler. That also means these two-place aerobats can be easy to own. And if you have a burning desire to add […]
One of the paradoxes of general aviation is trying to make sense of hangar availability. Even though overall flying seems to be down, trying to find a hangar at many airports is an exercise in getting on waiting lists or going through never-ending procedures for approval to build a hangar. At others, hangars stand empty […]
If you gauge an aircraft manufacturer’s success by fleet size, I’d say that Flight Design has done pretty well, with over 2000 CT LSA models flying worldwide. And soon the German-based company will add to those numbers with its new F2. Even in an uncertain market, at first blush the F2 caters to a variety […]
Maybe it’s a combination of getting older and reading lots of NTSB reports, but lately I find myself advocating more flight instruction. In so many words that’s what I said after making a couple of landings in the new Flight Design F2 LSA for the video that chases the flight trial article in this issue. […]
There’s a reason why Mooney’s entry-level speedster has such a loyal following. And you don’t have to be a loyalist to appreciate the 201/M20J’s high points. It has a familiar Lycoming IO-360 engine mated to a sleek airframe that has timeless good looks and ramp appeal Plus, you buy a Mooney for speed, and for […]
With insurance premiums skyrocketing—especially for pilots of complex, retractable-gear airplanes—the last thing you need is a gear-up landing because you were distracted. Aftermarket audio and visual alert systems can help, while some can even monitor the status of cabin and baggage doors and other systems. While there are retrofit systems that focus entirely on monitoring […]
No matter how many times we hit the delete key, 2020 is still here. With Abby Normal the new normal, a lot of pilots have been flying infrequently at best, with many unable to do any aviating at all. Our readers are nothing if not perceptive—they know that a pilot who isn’t flying regularly can […]
Let’s go to the dark side. You sell the family Bonanza for a used Lancair, and within the first year of ownership get it into some ice, lose control and join the NTSB reports as a double fatal. The wreck shocked and rattled our airport community a number of years ago, and you can bet […]
GEAR OF THE YEAR In your annual Gear of the Year article, which appeared in the July 2020 issue of Aviation Consumer, you gave an endorsement to the Sporty’s PJ2 as the Best Portable Radio. I purchased this radio in January, 2020, but found it unsatisfactory and returned it to Sporty’s. While it appeared to […]
