News

The massive Sherpa homebuilt, which has seen more than its fair share of delays, is flying again behind a new K650 Honeywell turbine, last seen as the Garrett TPE331, producing 740 shaft horsepower. While Sherpa Aircraft has used both the Walter turboprop and the massive IO-720 Lycoming (making 400 hp), the new aircraft, upgraded from the Sherpas original five seats to eight, makes good use of the new power. Its called the K 650 T.

Aircraft Spruce & Specialty Co., a leading supplier of 
Experimental and certificated aircraft parts since 1965, has acquired 
SkySports International. Located in Linden, Michigan, SkySports was founded in 
1979 by Marshall MacFarlane. SkySports produces its own line of single and 
dual fuel systems and fuel probes, and also carries a complete line of 
products such as instruments, radios, GPS, strobes, Comtronics 
helmet/intercom systems, Winter instruments, and hardware for the 
ultralight market.

Vans Aircraft has just announced that it has lowered the price of the RV-6/6A fuselage kits by $1000. The discount applies to both standard and quickbuild kits. This is a limited time offer, applied only to orders or deposits received by May 4. After that, the fuselage kits will revert to their pre-sale 2009 prices.

Fisher Flying Products is bringing back into production two popular kits from its extensive product line, the Dakota Hawk and the FP-202 Koala.

For all those homebuilders working on ways to mount Garmins new GPSMAP 696 directly to the instrument panel, hold up. Garmin has beat you to it. Introduced at this year's Sebring Light Sport show are the GDU 370 and GDU 375, functional equivalents of the 696 but packed in a front-mount case intended to be positioned directly in the instrument panel.

In the world of Special Light Sport Aircraft, three powerplant families dominate: Rotax's 912, Jabiru's 2200 and 3300, and Continental's evergreen O-200. KITPLANES editor in chief Marc Cook, unable to avoid the steely gaze of AvWeb's omnipresent video gear, offers a comparison of the three most popular LSA engine.

Builder Larry Markey's Texas Sport Cub becomes the first of the company's SLSA-based Experimental/Amateur-Built example to fly.

Van's Aircraft announced that the 6000th RV has been completed and flown.

Although the first round of public comments on the proposed changes to FAA guidance on Experimental/Amateur-Built aircraft was due to the FAA by September 30, 2008, the agency announced in the October 31 Federal Register that it is extending the deadline to December 15, 2008. According to the agency, the draft documents might not have been available on the FAA web site for several days during the previous comment period. At issue are dramatic changes…

Garmin International has announced the GPSMAP 695 and 696, a new series of portable aviation navigation units. The GPSMAP 696 includes the features of the popular GPSMAP 496 plus new capability including airways, electronic charts and expanded weather on a screen that is three times the size of the 496's. …