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• AN INSURANCE DILEMMA
• ARE NEW ELTS WORTH IT?
• RECURRENT TRAINING
• WRECK ROUNDUP
• GEAR WARNING SYSTEMS

The raw performance numbers of a Meyers 200 might resemble what you’d expect from the most modern single-engine piston speedster, even though the airplane is a product of the 1950s, and went out of production in the 1960s. But don’t turn a nose to these old gals because of their age. We’re talking cruise speeds […]

COCKPIT TABLETS:  GO BIG Good article on the tablet computer user survey in the July 2020 issue of Aviation Consumer. I bought my first iPad in the second year of its introduction (never buy the first version of anything) to run the ForeFlight app. I use full-size iPads in the cockpit and my current cockpit […]

I’d say the trip is off to a bad start when you pull the cover off the airplane and slide into the cabin only to find holes in the panel and a bunch of empty mounting racks in the radio stack. After a few seconds the sickening reality sinks in: Somebody lifted your high-priced avionics. […]

We didn’t know what to expect when Garmin invited us to its Olathe, Kansas, testing grounds to fly Autoland. But sitting shotgun in a new Piper M600 turboprop observing Garmin’s latest layer of safety backstop systems called Autonomi, there was no question Autoland would win Aviation Consumer’s prestigious Gear of the Year award.  EDITOR’S CHOICE […]

Get a taste of water flying and we pretty much guarantee you’ll consider your own seaplane. Got a runway to put it on and a hangar to stuff it into? The venerable Lake Amphibian should be on the list for shopping. Yes, there are some modern alternatives in the experimental and LSA market, including the […]

We’ve been incrementally covering the Cirrus SR-series piston in Aviation Consumer since the beginning of Cirrus time, and strapping into the 2020 flagship SR22T Cirrus’ Cliff Allen reminded me that it has been 23 years.  Today this million-dollar piston single continues to outsell any GA airplane by a wide margin, while brand loyalty and satisfaction […]

When the light sport aircraft idea first broke ground 20 years ago, the idea was a new class of airplanes bridging between so-called “fat ultralights” and standard-category airplanes whose inflated prices made them unaffordable save for the wealthy few. Two decades later, has the experiment paid off? Yes, but with some qualifications. Light sport airplanes […]

• USED COMPOSITES
• WHY ENGINES QUIT
• RENTER’S INSURANCE
• AIRCRAFT MANAGEMENT
• REGULATORY MATTERS

Until a decade ago, there wasn’t much management available for piston aircraft owners—such ”management” as existed largely consisted of relying on the local shop to give you a nudge when it was oil change or annual time.  That started to change in 2008 with the appearance of Savvy Aircraft Maintenance Management (SAMM) (www.savvyaviation.com) and has […]

There it is. Right there on the ramp in front of you. You finally pulled it off. You’ve wanted a turboprop—no, that turboprop—ever since you saw one a few days after you soloed. Now, look at yourself. You just closed on the purchase of that Cessna 425. That one, with the incredibly cool four-bladed prop […]

Whether it’s traveling or kicking around home base I get asked that a lot lately. And it’s often from longtime airplane owners tired of shelling out retirement bucks to feed an old Bonanza or Cessna 180, especially for avionics upgrades, plus buyers are still recovering from the ADS-B buy-in. Non-TSO (but STC’d) gear has lowered […]