Kitplanes

Lycoming's 10 a.m. press conference today centered on several new projects for the manufacturer. Of note for Experimental fans are two things: Fully electronic engine controls-a FADEC-that includes a knock sensor for detonation control that will be certified but launched into the Experimental market, and the Thunderbolt Signature turbonormalized version of the IO-360 engine.…

Texas Sport Aircraft Company has announced a $2500 rebate on the Texas Sport amateur-built aircraft kit, a derivative of the American Legend Cub intended for amateur aircraft builders.The Texas Sport aircraft kit comprises four major sections: fuselage, wings, tail and firewall-forward kits. To receive the $2500 rebate, customers must purchase all four. Priced individually, the four sections normally cost $39,900. With the rebate, the base price is $37,400.…

PS Engineering's Experimental-aircraft-only audio panel/intercom introduced last year, the PMA9000EX, has gained new capabilities combined with a reduced price-how often does that happen?First the economic news; at $2295, the 9000EX is $100 cheaper than when it was introduced. Second is the capability: The internal MP3 player has increased internal memory, from 512 megabytes to 1 gigabyte.…

Lancair International announced today that it has delivered the first Evolution kit to Andy Cruce of Miramar, Florida. Cruce and his wife saw the Evolution last year at Oshkosh and began contemplating the purchase. When we considered the speed, roominess, carrying capacity, BRS chute and docile flight characteristics of the Evolution, we decided the Evolution is what we need, Cruce is reported to have said.…

The FAA, in its revised Advisory Circulars that govern the licensing of Experimental/Amateur-Built aircraft, has taken an aggressive, broad-brush approach to stopping excessive commercial assistance in kitbuilt aircraft. An advisory panel was formed last year, and the initial findings were published in February, with the draft of revised rulemaking supposed to appear this spring. In fact, the draft of the new rules appeared in the middle of July, with a substantially shorter comment period than…

Builders share their experiences.

Cub Crafters introduces a Carbon Cub kit, a new study of LSAs may affect insurance rates, and AeroLEDs offers new LED anti-collision/landing lights; edited by Mary Bernard.

Chuck Berthe Our flight-test man in the field took valuable time off from his fitness routine to do an uncommonly thorough job of evaluating...

Thirty K is OK Finally, you guys are getting it. Fred Galloways $30,000 (or so) RV-9A was a refreshing story. Im tired of hearing...

AeroLEDs has announced its latest contribution to aviation lighting products. The new Pulsar was designed from a clean sheet, using advanced mechanical/electrical computer modeling and optical ray- tracing software to accurately predict the performance of the final product. The approach was a no-compromise design that was intended …