News

It was going to be one of _those_ years, huh? At the pre-show press conference Sunday night at the Teledyne Continental Motors tent, the rain came down hard. Wind whipped the trees. I glanced toward homebuilt parking and wondered how good my knot-tying was.

By combining the economical Jabiru 2200A engine with the LSA-legal CH 701 airframe, Zenair has been able to produce a complete kit package for a remarkable $29,980.

Among the many interests of RANS Aircrafts Randy Schlitter is bicycle manufacturing, which he does with an uncommon philosophy of design and ergonomics.

As RANS says in its short description of N11632, one of three airplanes featured at the company's booth, it is not the shiniest or newest among the many airplanes on the field today."

Thanks to a stroke increase bumping the four-cylinder, single-overhead-cam Subaru engine's displacement to 2.6 liters, the current iteration of the Maxwell Propulsion firewall-forward package now produces 205 horsepower.

American Legend Aircraft announced a new amphibious FloatCub on Baumann floats and the Legend "Smart" Cub, which features an optional Garmin GPSMAP 696 multi-function display.

For homebuilders, the G3X is the big news. Based on the GDU 370/375 panel-mount MFDs, the G3X is a modular EFIS/engine monitor. The system starts with a 7-inch-diagonal portrait display that can be scaled up to work with two or three screens and a variety of plug-ins.

At a press conference Monday, Lycomings General Manager, Ian Walsh, proudly announced that the first Lancair piston Evolution had concluded its initial testing with the firms electronic engine controls and was at Oshkosh/AirVenture for all to see.

Two-time KITPLANES cover subject Dave Klages, builder of a Van's RV-8 and a Wag-Aero "Cub" Light Sport, was credited today at the opening ceremonies of AirVenture 2009 for his work in reordering the physical layout of the show. The show has yet to begin, but KITPLANES staff on site report that the new arrangement is an improvement.

An article in EAA AirVenture Today reported that Sonex Aircraft unveiled a single-place jet at its open house on Sunday. The design is called the Sub-Sonex.