The Zodiac CH601XL has had a rough few years. There have been six in-flight structural failures resulting in an effective grounding of the fleet and mandatory modifications to all aircraft. The FAA recently released an official report on the situation.

Fabric airplanes have a special place in most pilot's heart, even if it might make their mechanic nervous... You see there is something special about a type of construction that hearkens back to good ole Orville and Wilbur. That being said there is a certain mystery surrounding the whole process. Chemicals, special fabrics and to top it all off you've got to learn how to sew? My only experience with this process occurred when I was about 12 in one of the forum tents at EAA's Oshkosh airshow (now Airventure, but it was Oshkosh then...). I took a wing section and managed to add fabric and what seemed to be about 20lbs worth of chemicals rendering what could only be described as a wing only a home-builder could love... It's a few more years down the road and I'm happy to say that the folks at Wicks Aircraft Supply have created a kit for those looking to humiliate themselves in the privacy of their own home.

Hangar collapse from all the snow in the Northeast!! It hurts me just to look at it...

Cessna made some news recently when they delivered their first 'production' C-162 SkyCatcher to Rose Pelton, the wife of Cessna's CEO. According to Plane and Pilot Magazine, Cessna has over 1000 orders for SkyCatchers so you would think they would have firewalled the throttle on the assembly line and started cranking airplanes out as fast as they could...especially in a rough economy when the company needs all the cash it can get. Strangely, that was not the case.

As reported by the AOPA, Cessna is now delaying deliveries by 6-10 months!

Piper Aircraft made a splash at this years sport aviation expo by unveiling their foray into the LSA market. The PiperSport which looks a great deal like the Czech Sport Aircraft Super Cruiser... In fact it is the Super Cruiser (I knew I couldn't pull one over on ya'll...). I think Piper did an interesting thing, rather than research/test/market their own LSA, they purchased an already successful offering. They jumped right up next to Cessna without all the nasty press that comes from a troubled flight test regimen.

Power Flow Systems, manufacturers of the popular bolt on tuned exhaust kits, is offering a $400 rebate from now until March on their goodies. They offer mods for 12 different aircraft including Jason's favorite, the trusty C-170. I've flown a both a C-172 and a Super Cub equipped with the power flow systems and was very impressed. The additional power is certainly noticeable and the specs even boast as much as a 7 knot gain in performance.

We don't cover much of the lighter than air crowd here, but I just couldn't resist this great shot of a zeppelin being built. I'm pretty sure those ladders don't conform to OSHA standards!

via Gizmodo and David Keyes

Cessna CEO Jack Pelton's wife Rose took delivery of the first production SkyCatcher this past friday at the Yingling assembly facility. This airplane has had some rough breaks so it's nice to see if finally break through into production. Interestingly enough, Rose Pelton has always had the first production SkyCatcher promised to her, so I'm sure her husband will be glad to finally be able to hand over the keys.