Also: First RV-15 Kits, Foot-Controlled Airplane, Velocitor X-1, Youngest Glider Pilot? ANN’s Chief Test Pilot, Jim Campbell, ambled down to Sebring a few days back in order to finally get his hands on Phil Lockwood’s radically upgraded RV-9A, equipped with the latest Rotax 916is. We’ll have a lot to say in the coming weeks, but Jim wanted to emphasize that this project is far more than slapping a new engine onto an already established airframe. In order to properly adapt the 160 horsepower Rotax 916is engine, the motor mount had to be extended a good deal due to the lighter weight of the power plant, a specialized cowling had to be built around it… The FAA has issued an NPRM that would bring sport pilot practical test standards (PTS) into alignment with the newly adopted regulatory requirements as specified in the MOSAIC final rule related to certification of sport pilots and operation of light-sport category aircraft, and also update the PTS to improve the certification standard materials. A 2020 model Vans RV-12 was reportedly stolen from its hangar at Auburn Municipal Airport in Auburn, Wash. on Jan. 3, 2026. The owner discovered the aircraft was missing on January 5. The plane is registered as N107TF and is described as unpainted silver (bare aluminum). It features a prominent circular sticker on the tail that reads “TEEN FLIGHT.” Approximately two minutes after takeoff, the felonious pilot manually turned off the transponder preventing air traffic control radar tracking. There have been some reports that the plane was headed East. All this — and MORE in today’s episode of Airborne!!!
