The Ovation 3 is the fastest normally aspirated production single ever—period
Say what you will about American cars, but America builds some of the best civilian airplanes in the world. In the lower rungs of general aviation, especially trainers through four-seat retractables, American flying machines have virtually no equal. Take, for instance, the Mooney M20R Ovation 3. The current M20R is a third-generation Mooney, the beneficiary of a half century of development. Designer Al Mooney inarguably got it right the first time out of the box back in the 1950s when he created his four-seat M20. While today’s airplane is light-years ahead of its ancestor in performance, comfort, systems, aerodynamics and electronics, you can still see the heritage of design—the arrogant, vertical tail; short, rubber doughnut gear; and tall baggage compartment.
Though it may not be the airplane Luke Skywalker would fly, the basic four-seat Mooney has aged at least as well as Christie Brinkley (who, more than coincidentally, is the same age) while nearly doubling climb rate and adding almost 100 knots to cruise speed.
In fact, Mooneys have consistently enjoyed speed disproportionate to their horsepower. The type has been among the world’s fastest and most efficient personal airplanes since its inception. Today, the Mooney Acclaim S is the acknowledged leader in the turbocharged class, notching near-turboprop speeds on a measly 280 hp.
Similarly, the Ovation 3 is the quickest normally aspirated single—quite simply (or not so simply) the fastest production airplane above the planet without a blower under the bonnet. The Ovation 3 features essentially the same 310 hp Continental engine used on the Cessna Corvalis 350 and the Cirrus SR22-G3. (The only significant differences are associated with repositioning some items to accommodate the Mooney’s retractable nosewheel.) Read More...
Back in the ’80s, when I was working on the ABC TV show Wide World of Flying, I flew up to Washington State to interview Ken Wheeler, designer of the Wheeler Express homebuilt, and fly his innovative airplane. In those days (1987?), the Wheeler Express was that rare machine: a four-seat homebuilt. 
Throttling up the Rotax 912 ULS and easing back on the stick, the SportStar climbs creamy smooth, with pitch pressures light as whipped butter. The super-sensitive electric trim button on top of the stick makes adjusting pitch quick and easy.
There’s a saying, “A plane usually flies like it looks.” I put that to the test on Embraer’s latest release, the Phenom 100. My first impressions of the Brazilian-made machine? It looks big, really big. It looks fast and sporty, with its sleek nose design and relatively short wings. It looks like a real-deal corporate jet, beyond a VLJ.
The particular aircraft I evaluated was equipped with the optional premium passenger door, which includes stainless-steel supports that hold the door at the proper height, once deployed. The premium door also adds LED lighting to brighten up the airstair for those late-night entries. What’s more striking is how well balanced the door is when you need to close it. It literally takes just your index finger to push up on the handrail and lift the door to the closed position—very impressive engineering.
Thick mist billows in its wake like vaporized oil from a smoke system as the Niagara River tumbles over its namesake escarpment in a breathtaking aqueous Lomcevak. I catch occasional glimpses of the famed falls’ plume as we mimic its thunderous mayhem a few miles and an ever-oscillating number of thousands of feet of altitude to the south. This must be what it’s like going over the falls in a barrel—if the barrel had a radial engine and a big prop and pulled a lot of positive and negative G’s. We’re rolling and tumbling in a 1994 Sukhoi Su-29, the two-place trainer from the celebrated line of Russian aerobatic aircraft. Rick Volker (
He’s taking it easy on me. These are sportsman- and intermediate-level maneuvers, inducing relatively light and brief G-loads. But Volker’s control is precise and authoritative, and the Sukhoi’s immediate response to quick control inputs borders on violent. In between the maneuvers, he’s yanking us around to get in position for a photo ship. My gyros are getting scrambled pretty good, and by the time Volker turns the plane over to me after half an hour of flying, I can barely manage a Dutch roll before I’m too queasy to continue. We head back to Niagara Falls International (KIAG). I’ll get another shot tomorrow.
When I was a college student about XX years ago, one of the coolest cars on the planet was the Jaguar XKE. I had a rich classmate whose parents bought him one of the first ones available, and Jack quickly became the envy of every guy on campus—and the target of every coed.
There’s a joyful aspect to flying any low-wing LSA that you just don’t get with a high-winger: the unrestricted panoramic view from the horizon upward. I’ve unabashedly gushed about it before, and going up with SportairUSA’s Bill Canino in the new Sting S3 gives me another chance, so here goes.
We recover and he turns the airplane over to me. Already completely comfy in the airplane a couple minutes after takeoff, impressed by how nominal takeoff and cruise were, I find the S3 solid and tight, like a new car fresh off the showroom. Control pressures are light and responsive. Feedback is constant and true: You always know where you are with the bird. Smooth or snappy turns are effortless without requiring muscular input.
4:19 a.m. That’s what the clock read as I stared at it for the fifth time in an hour. I was trying to sleep and it just wasn’t working. The hours dragged by in my tiny motel room in Afton, Wyo., across the two-lane highway from the Aviat factory where they build Pitts and Husky aircraft. Outside my window, I saw little snowflakes floating off the roof every now and then, dislodged by early risers running to their freezing cars to get the engines warmed up. The rest of the country was well into the lush unfolding of spring, but Afton hadn’t received the memo yet and was still clenched in the fists of a relentless winter. Through gauze-thin curtains, I could see the brilliantly clear Wyoming night.
Thirty years ago, in what turned out to be a career mistake, I abandoned objective journalism and essentially sold out (for a pile of money, a big expense account and a twin-engine company airplane) to edit a group of corporate magazines for a major aircraft manufacturer. Nothing wrong with its products; nothing wrong with corporate magazines—just not the right decision for me.
The Premier was introduced in 2001 as a competitor for Cessna’s very successful Citation CJ series (at the time, the CJ1 and CJ2 models; since then, joined by the CJ3). From the beginning, Beech’s concept was to create the most comfortable single-pilot-certified airplane in its class. 
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Gobosh’s Dave Graham had promised me that this was an LSA with a difference. I had my doubts, not because of any inherent mistrust of LSA, but because, well, all of the type are limited to the same parameters.
Aesthetically, the two airplanes look similar, though the 700 features a mackerel scoop beneath the cowling, while the 800 utilizes a smaller scoop with characteristic LoPresti-style cooling vents on either side of the prop. The 800 also has a considerably longer wing. 
Indeed, it was no big surprise in 1994, when Congress passed the General Aviation Revitalization Act imposing an 18-year statute of repose, that Cessna announced it would resume production of the Skyhawk, Skylane and Stationair. Though everyone assumed Cessna would resume production of the 172 and 182, the 206 was an even more logical candidate, especially overseas where its heavy-hauling utility talents are more important. 
Naples, Italy, April 18, 1986: Today, I’m first in line for takeoff from Naples toward our initial destination of Nice, France. It has taken all morning to assure that the paperwork is up to Italian standards, but we’re finally ready, or so I hope. For this trip, I’m leader dog of a small band of not-so-intrepid aviators who are, allegedly, experienced in ferrying little airplanes across big oceans. 
The P68 is a reasonably talented six-place twin, possessed of surprising STOL characteristics, a comfortable cabin and easy handling, but it has fixed gear and a pair of 200 hp Lycoming engines, worth perhaps 150 knots’ cruise on a good day. Headed west, into the wind, even in summer, there are few good days. 
Flying an unfamiliar LSA is a bit like a first date. Your friends have talked her up. She has a pretty smile, but will you get along? Does she Tweet or use Facebook, keep an old-fashioned diary, or both? Most important: Will she have a thing against flight review pilots?
The Breezer II (
The proliferation of LSA since the FAA announced the first approval at Sun ’n Fun 2005 has been little short of amazing. LSA Editor at Large Jim Lawrence suggests that there now are more than 100 different LSA models.
The Skycatcher was intended to confront that problem head-on. Accordingly, the base price has been set at $112,250, and Cessna calculates a typically equipped plane will go out the door at $130,364. At only 40% of the Skyhawk’s cost and half the operating expense, it’s hard to imagine a new Skycatcher renting for as much as a 172. 
I want one. And if you’re thinking about stepping up to your first jet in the next few years, you will, too, once you fly it. The Diamond D-Jet, which Diamond Aircraft is developing as its flagship product, represents what’s likely to be the first Part 23, FAA-certified, single-engine, turbofan-powered jet in aviation history—the first to market in a segment coveted by many companies. 
I’ve had my eye on the D-Jet since Diamond announced the program three years ago, and I wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to fly it. So when Diamond President Peter Maurer asked, “Do you mind wearing a flight suit, helmet, oxygen mask and parachute?” I responded, “Sign me up!” without hesitation.
Designed for aspiring warbird pilots who lack the funds for a P-51 Mustang, the Bear 360 has a price tag roughly equivalent to that of a new Cessna 172. Unlike that airplane, however, the Bear probably will attract a crowd wherever it lands.
“We’re not an engineering team, but we have a lot of practical experience, and we applied that over time to create the Lightning,” reported Krotje. The team did, however, hire outside engineering services to technically validate its concepts.
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