Flying

hondajet elite s

The Honda Aircraft Company announced on May 26 the new Elite S model, with a 200-pound payload increase, upgraded avionics capabilities and new color schemes. In a virtual launch, Honda Aircraft Company president and CEO Michimasa Fujino called the model “the next iteration of the HondaJet to expand operational capability. As a result of the innovation, design and engineering on the new Elite S, we are once again setting a new standard in business aviation.” The payload improvement stems from an increased maximum takeoff weight of 200 pounds. Fujino noted that a single pilot with 5 passengers would fly 120 nm farther or could choose to take an additional passenger with the new allowance. Upgrades to flight deck include improvements to the “pilot-machine interface,” according to Fujino, with new features in the…

adventure

“We swung over the hills and over the town and back again, and I saw how a man can be master of a craft, and how a craft can be master of an element. I saw the alchemy of perspective reduce my world, and all my other life, to grains in a cup… And I learned to wander. I learned what every dreaming child needs to know—that no horizon is so far that you cannot get above it or beyond it.”—Beryl Markham, West with the Night Traditionally, there’s been an element to a pilot’s personality that turns upon adventure. Whether it expresses itself in the desire to seek, test or master depends further upon the person—but many pilots still list a type of adventurousness as a reason why they fly. To see…

throttles forward on this muscular mount

As I stood on the Textron Aviation ramp in Wichita, Kansas, for my first look at the company’s new turboprop flagship, the King Air 360, I slipped back in time to a different era and form of transportation: cars (muscle cars as they called them). My pal Lennie had just bought a brand-new, fire-engine-red Chevrolet Chevelle and, to my amazement, spent his first weekend with it stripping off many of the stock parts, mostly the ones no one could see. He changed out the wheels, lowered the front end, added a growly exhaust, and yanked the automatic transmission in favor of a four-speed stick. The 1960s marketplace offered a plethora of options to add horsepower and torque, while owners maintained the stock look of the original machine as much as possible.…

approachable aircraft cessna 17 a ticket to adventure

Most pilots are introduced to tailwheel flying in small, two-place types such as the Piper Cub, Aeronca Champ and Cessna 140—airplanes that are perfectly suited to initial training and short pleasure flights. But as they build experience, more than a few pilots begin to recognize the limitations of these bantamweights and begin searching for an airplane that offers the satisfaction and fun of a taildragger with the flexibility and utility to unlock a wider variety of flying adventures. Lately, more and more are arriving at the conclusion that the Cessna 170 provides an optimal blend of qualities. Here, we explore what the 170 is like to own and what those owners enjoy most about it. DESIGN In 1948, World War II had come to an end, soldiers had returned home to the…

a very good year

In 1971, Goodyear blimp America touched down on the grounds of the EAA airshow in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The show that year brought in 600 airplanes and an estimated 31,653 aircraft movements. For 2021, one of the more than 10,000 aircraft expected to fly in to the EAA AirVenture will be another one of Goodyear’s iconic blimps—Wingfoot Three—to mark the 50th anniversary of that first visit. “Christened in 2018, Wingfoot Three is the newest Goodyear blimp,” the company says. “It’s completing a nearly decadelong transition of Goodyear’s world-famous fleet to high-tech semirigid airships.” At 246 feet long, Wingfoot Three will be one of the largest aircraft on the field, a full 54 feet longer than America. We all look forward to seeing this—and so many new and historic aircraft alike—at the…

maintenance masters

It wasn’t a hung start, exactly, but it wasn’t a normal start either. The N2 spun up smartly and fuel flow was normal. The engine began to accelerate, but then it hesitated. The interstage turbine temperature, which had been rising normally, had a sinking spell. Before I could think to do anything about shutting off the fuel, the engine began to accelerate again and started normally. The facts at hand were not encouraging. The starter generators had just been recently overhauled. These Williams FJ44-1A jet engines are expensive. (When I bought the airplane, the broker said,” You are buying two engines and a maintenance program; they throw in the seats and pressurization essentially for free.”) No question, guidance was required. “Better call Hector” was my first and only instinct. You don’t…