Plane & Pilot January/February 2025 (Digital)

As many of you have noticed, there have been changes here at Plane & Pilot. Former managing editor Amy Wilder has moved onto other aviation journalism roles, and I’ve come over from KITPLANES to take the lead here. And while it’s true that my aviation life has been more on the experimental side of things—I own a GlaStar and will continue to be editor in chief over at KITPLANES—I do have a strong background in GA. From 1988 to 1999, I was a staff editor at AOPA Pilot, flying a lot of different certified aircraft and writing on a wide range of topics. While I’ve focused on homebuilts lately, GA has always been with me, whispering in my ear. (There’s an absolutely pristine Piper Comanche 250 in yellow and white…

ACROSS 1 Maker of the SR-series airplanes4 M700 Fury manufacturer8 Beechcraft Model 17 _____9 Strong-willed type, according to astrology10 Operating in the air11 Founder of the company that made the Bonanza13 Fawn’s mother14 “Come again?”16 Pilotless plane18 Former19 “Pilot ____”: star on The Bachelor21 Journey from A-B22 Gained altitude25 International order of women pilots, The ____ _____ 2 words27 Occupied a pilot seat28 Label30 “Send help now”31 Alongside32 Height above ground, abbr. DOWN 1 Theoretical point at which the entire weight of the aircraft may be considered to be concentrated, abbr.2 Helicopter part3 Improvements4 Agricultural aircraft produced by Piper back in the day5 Flamboyant confidence6 Road, abbr.7 It measures sound intensity8 Observe9 Touch down11 Black ___: flight recorder12 Shack13 Falling motion15 Direction17 Determines one’s position20 A squawk code, for example21…

According to Professor Google, I have acrophobia—an acute and, as it turns out, somewhat irrational fear of height It likely started when as a very young kid when my stepdad took me onto a swinging bridge and then promptly showed me how it got that name. All I actually recall is hanging on with all my might and screaming my head off. That moment must have been a turning point in my life because I’ve been afraid of heights ever since. I don’t do ladders, steep hills or even look out of a high-rise window. Indeed, as I have often shared with friends—I don’t even like being this tall, and I’m just 5-foot-6. What if anything has that got to do with aviation? I have been asked how it is…

General aviation is driven by myriad forces. A strong or soft market overall can dramatically influence any given airplane’s success, quite apart from how it looks or performs. Pricing, too, carries an outsized influence—get the value proposition right, even at a relatively high cost, and customers will show up waving cash. Then there’s the sales and marketing footprint. Why do you think Cessna became the GA leader back in the day? It had dealers everywhere, stock on hand, and profitable leaseback opportunities. Plus, you know, the airplanes were pretty OK. Life hasn’t been that simple in the light sport sector, which has, since 2005, been sending a wide range of two-seat, modest-performance airplanes into the world. Many of them have come from beyond U.S. shores, where the temptation of much…