Experimental fans continue to make the Mojave Experimental Fly-In an anticipated event on the west coast. Even with minimal publicity and in the face of sometimes blustery north winds, the Experimental Fly-In drew an impressively large crowd today. Almost all attending were fly-in participants eager to eyeball interesting airplanes and meet the people behind them – and with everything from Pietenpols to the Virgin Galactic mothership on the ramp, we doubt anyone was disappointed.
Besides the huge Virgin Galactic presence, other highlights included the RV-14a demonstrator open for cockpit tours plus the first operating IE2 Lycoming IO-540 engine in Lancair’s Evolution demonstrator. A talk in the Mojave Air & Spaceport conference room by Van’s Aircraft representatives centered on the RV-14a development was also a great opportunity to get details and insight on all things Van’s as well.
As usual the single-day event made short work of a Saturday, and as always we’ve got the April event on our calendar for next year.
The latest RV prompted quite a buzz. So what exactly is different about this roomy two-seater—and how does it fly? Taking off from the Van’s factory in Oregon, Paul Dye samples the new design.
Lycoming makes a push into the Light Sport Aircraft market with its new O-233 engine. Though similar in appearance to the venerable O-235, it’s an entirely new design poised to take on some heavy competition. By Marc Cook.