Table of contents for September 2025 in Plane & Pilot

After making a move all the way across the country from Georgia to Montana, I found myself in a bit of a predicament—an airplane predicament at that. Over the course of 10 years of GA flying back home, I was able to establish aviation roots that grew deep down into the red Georgia clay. I had a huge support system of pilots, mentors, and airplanes at my disposal thanks to the generosity of a few key individuals. But when I picked up those roots, I found they wouldn’t grow overnight in Montana’s rocky, mountainous terrain. Without that key support system, I lost all of the airplanes I had the opportunity to fly—basically overnight. While I knew this was bound to happen, it still was a bit shocking when I arrived…

We rolled into the gate at William P. Hobby Airport (KHOU) in Houston a few hours late. I was frazzled. The day began with a round trip to Columbia, South Carolina, where a solid shaft of rain parked on the airport as we were being vectored to the approach. The long runway was out of service. The only runway remaining with a precision approach had a 5-knot tailwind, which was legal, but the wet runway, combined with a modest length, added a couple of variables that we didn’t want to tangle with. The GPS approach into the wind needed one and three-quarters miles of visibility. Tower was reporting a half mile. So, we took a vector to hold. “Hey, it looks good over this way,” approach offered, and sent us…

Merriam-Webster defines a virtuous cycle as a “chain of events in which one desirable occurrence leads to another.”. In summer 2020, the world was introduced to an unusual looking airplane that sported long, thin, high-aspect-ratio wings, a 12-cylinder diesel engine complete with a five-bladed pusher propeller, and a rotund fuselage that could pass for an elongated egg. This glistening white vehicle with its silky-smooth skin is the Otto Celera 500L. Unlike many new aircraft concepts introduced to the public before ever turning a wheel, the Celera 500L had already flown 31 test flights out of the former George Air Force Base in Southern California. During its public introduction, inventor William Otto explained that the Celera 500L utilized laminar flow in its long, thin wing as well as its egg-shaped fuselage…

What weighs 945 pounds, is a little over 20 feet long, stands just under 8 feet tall, has room for two, and costs about $600 a pound? That would be a new Guimbal Cabri G2 helicopter. The little helicopter was brought to market in 2008 after gaining regulatory approval after decades of development beginning in the 1980s. According to Sarah Brazel, manager of North American operations for the U.S. Guimbal distributor, Precision Aviation Group, when former Eurocopter engineer Bruno Guimbal went about engineering and designing the personal helicopter, he wanted to make sure that it was the safest, easiest-to-fly-and-maintain helicopter, providing long-term value to the private owner, or the helicopter flight school operator. By most accounts, Guimbal has succeeded at that goal—one he started cultivating during his years working at…

The aviation world stands on the precipice of a transformative change with the finalization of MOSAIC (Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification. After more than a decade of collaborative work between the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), FAA, and numerous industry stakeholders, MOSAIC has become a reality. The rule was officially announced by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in July, marking a generational shift from the original sport pilot and light sport aircraft (LSA) rules established nearly 20 years ago. This isn’t just a minor regulatory adjustment. It represents a comprehensive overhaul that will dramatically expand access to aviation while reshaping the aircraft marketplace for years to come. In just 90 days, approximately three-quarters of the general aviation (GA) fleet will become accessible to sport pilots and…

IT MAY COME as a shock to Plane & PilotÕs younger readers to learn that “in-cockpit weather” has actually been available for a very long time. However, it wasn’t displayed on fancy flat screens. It was broadcast aurally from ground sources. Requiring only a pair of headphones and perhaps a sharp pencil with which to copy it, one listened and learned. It probably wasn’t long after people started carrying radios around in aircraft that someone on the ground reported the weather to a curious pilot. And then aviators started asking if the station operator could read them the weather reports from places up ahead, so they could plan accordingly. That sure beat pounding blindly through a snowstorm in a U.S. Mail biplane and going down to take a look firsthand.…

In 1910, a woman’s place was thought to be in the home. Sure, there were other careers like teaching or clerical work, but nothing so daring as driving a car or flying a plane. That is, unless your name was Blanche Stuart Scott. Not content to stay to be a home-maker, Scott would become a terror on the roads and the first American woman to fly a plane. Born in Rochester, New York, in 1885, Scott far preferred the great outdoors to sewing or any other “appropriate” women’s interests. Her mother, desperate to transform Scott into a proper lady, sent her to finishing school. It didn’t stick, with Scott characterizing herself as a “screwball.” Scott learned to drive at the age of 13. The Rochester City Council wasn’t impressed with…

LIGHT SPORT AIRCRAFT (LSAs) arrived on the aviation scene in 2004. One brand took off impressively and has led the fleet in delivered aircraft ever since.. Globally, Flight Design has shipped nearly 2,000 aircraft over those 21 years. Most of these were the ground-breaking CT series with its distinctive “egg-shaped” fuselage that proved to be highly aerodynamic. In every way, CT outperformed Cessna’s 152, to which it was often compared. Indeed, a CT is 10 inches wider inside than a Cessna 172, though it is limited to two seats. After a fantastic run in the LSA market, the German company debuted its all-new F2 model at Europe’s popular AERO Friedrichshafen show in 2019. It later entered production after winning approvals in several countries. ❱❱ [F2] represents a significant leap in…