The Sun ‘n Fun show just wrapped up in Lakeland, Florida (home to an entire campus of Frank Lloyd Wright-designed buildings that, absent an engine failure and emergency landing on said campus, Sun ‘n Fun attendees are extremely unlikely to visit!)
What’s new?
Dynon, the market leader in glass cockpits for experimental aircraft, managed to certify a glass cockpit for basic Cessna and Piper airplanes. (Avweb) Considering that airworthy “steam gauge” examples of these airplanes can be purchased for $20,000 to $40,000, this may result in a huge reduction in the total cost to have a glass cockpit airplane. The Dynon stuff also would make a great back-up instrument for a more complex airplane.
Rotax is chugging along with a 135-horsepower engine that could turn the Icon A5 into a reasonable short-lake performer compared to the current 100 hp engine.
Avidyne has an interesting way to add synthetic vision (“the Microsoft Flight Simulator view”) to airplanes with older avionics: stuff it into the GPS.
We can hope for Oshkosh to find some real innovation in the small airplane world. For now it looks like the big dreams are all … big (e.g., a hybrid Airbus from Airbus).
Related:
- NBAA 2015 wrap-up report
- Aviation News from Oshkosh (2014)
- Oshkosh Wrap-Up (2010)
I would think that the overlap between aviation nuts and appreciators of “futuristic” architecture would be large (perhaps because I’m in both groups)
Rotax from snow mobiles to airplanes. Amazing!
@ Toucan Sam, that’s because everything, I mean EVERYTHING, including snow molecules, hence implements to madter them, is bigger, B.I.G.G.E.R (let alone better) in America.
There are several Wright buildings scattered around in Arizona where he also built his architecture school that still operates today. There is Grady Gamage Auditorium on the ASU campus.
https://www.google.com/search?q=frank+lloyd+wright+grady+gammage&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-Address&tbm=isch&imgil=BMdVwKm8gpl7IM%253A%253B_ad1js_9pOLiNM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.britannica.com%25252Ftopic%25252FArizona-State-University%25252Fimages-videos%25252FGrady-Gammage-Memorial-Auditorium-designed-by-Frank-Lloyd-Wright-1958%25252F7735&source=iu&pf=m&fir=BMdVwKm8gpl7IM%253A%252C_ad1js_9pOLiNM%252C_&usg=__9sPyxx5ph9Ra6wp82uOuQuIMmqo%3D&biw=1280&bih=607&ved=0ahUKEwjnie71wInMAhXLRiYKHaokDpQQyjcIYg&ei=miANV-fUFsuNmQGqybigCQ#imgrc=NxSV0K8-l_WbDM%3A
The architecture school itself. https://www.google.com/search?q=frank+lloyd+wright+school+of+architecture&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-SearchBox&ie=&oe=
and several houses still in use. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Frank_Lloyd_Wright_works
I have been in several of these and find them too cold (lots of bare cement) and too low ceiling for my tastes but they do look nice from the outside.
ianf: The U.S. can’t take credit for Rotax’s accomplishments. The company is Austrian (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotax ), though the ownership is now Canadian. https://www.rotax.com/en/company/about-us.html says that they have operations in Austria, Mexico, and Hong Kong.