Nearly 100 years after the first flight over the Alps, Sunseeker II set a new record last week, becoming the first solar plane to do the same thing as it crossed from Switzerland to Italy. The 150-mile trip took about five hours and the plane climbed as high as 14,000 feet, GreenMuze reported. Sunseeker II has a small electric motor powered by lithium polymer batteries and solar panels embedded in the wings and horizontal stabilizers. The 8 horsepower motor lets the Sunseeker II cruise at 40 mph. The flight on April 14 had American pilot Eric Raymond flying between towering clouds at one point as it snowed in clear air. This was one of the first legs of Sunseeker II’s summer tour across Europe. It will now travel down the length of Italy to Mt. Etna.

A Chicago-area company has a new product for pilots who would rather not deal with courtesy cars when they visit other airports. The MotoPOD can hold up to 250 pounds and fits a modified Yamaha XT225 or 25 cubic feet of cargo, Motorcycle USA reported. The pod attaches to the plane’s belly using four anchor points, and can be raised and lowered with a winch system built into the pod. Right now the pod is only available for the Vans RV-10, though MotoPOD says it plans to offer versions for the Cirrus SR22 and the Cessna 182. The fiberglass pod alone costs $8,000; buying it with the motorcycle raises the cost to about $18,000. The pod will not fit many less expensive motorcycles, which are also well above the weight limit.

Diamond Aircraft says it will be able to start shipping DA42 TwinStars with new Austro engines almost immediately now that it has gotten a type certificate from the European Aviation Safety Agency for the new combination. The company spent more than $60 million to bring the 170 horsepower Austro AE300 engine to market after Thielert, the previous engine supplier, went bankrupt last year, Diamond said in a news release. In addition to more powerful engines with more time allowed between overhauls, the DA42s the company will start shipping include Garmin’s GFC700 autopilot and the ability to upgrade to synthetic vision on the G1000 panel. FAA certification for the Austro-equipped TwinStar is likely to come soon. That’s good news for Thielert-powered TwinStar owners who have been unable to get parts for their engines since that company failed. Diamond says it will soon announce an engine upgrade program for existing owners, though it has not yet said how much it will cost.

A $61.4-million testing regime has paid off for Diamond Aircraft’s engine partner, Austro Engine, which last week gained European certification for the Austro AE 300 turbo-diesel engine. The engines are an option on the Diamond DA42 TwinStar, which would otherwise be equipped with Lycoming piston powerplants, the company said in a news release. The Austro engines will also be available as an option on the single-engine DA40 and DA50 models. And Diamond plans to offer a retrofit plan for owners of older TwinStars equipped with Thielert diesel engines. Thielert went bankrupt last year, leaving future support of those engines uncertain. The Austro AE 300 engine is rated at 170 horsepower, significantly more than the older Tielerts. And while Thielert engines had to have their gearboxes replaced every 300 hours, the Austro engines have a gearbox life of 2,400 hours.

Garmin is rolling out a new “building-block” panel system for experimental and light-sport planes based on the GPSMap 696, which was released earlier this year. The GDU 370 and GDU 375, which have the same large screen and button layout as the GPSMap 696, will eventually be able to connect to a variety of other cockpit instruments and act as primary flight displays and multifunction displays, Garmin said in a news release. The displays alone will start at $3,300 without satellite weather; that option adds $700 to the price. A kit that includes attitude and heading sensors, a temperature probe and other sensors would cost an extra $10,000. Garmin is calling the complete package the G3X, and while it won’t be certified, pilots will be able to use it in lieu of standard cockpit instruments for both visual and instrument flight rules operations.

Flight-simmers feeling constrained by the limited flying area and four aircraft choices in the first version of X-Plane for the Apple iPhone can now branch out with two new $5 versions. X-Plane Airliner lets you fly a Boeing 747, 777, 787 or Airbus A380 above a 7,200-square-mile swath of Southern California with access to 98 airports and dozens of navigational aids. One screen simulates a two-panel glass cockpit, letting pilots work on cross-country flying in instrument conditions and practice approaches into dozens of airports. A separate helicopter version takes you over and in the Grand Canyon in a Robinson R-22, Bell 206, Army Blackhawk or Sea King search and rescue chopper. A slider on the left controls the collective and the simulation handles tail rotor anti-torque automatically. The original version, still $10, now features a standard six-pack of instruments, as well as radios to fly ILS approaches into three airports. Laminar Research says it has more updates in the works, including new planes for the original version, improved graphics and more airports.

Navigation company Garmin International has released a new series of portable aviation devices. The GPSMAP 696 contains all of the features from the older 496 model but adds a slew of new ones, the company said in a news release. The device has a 7-inch screen that displays electronic charts and approach plates, in addition to XM satellite weather like its predecessors. New weather features include plots of lightning strikes, inflight weather reports from other pilots and forecasted icing conditions. A new joystick and soft keys make it easier to view airport, weather and airspace information. But all of that comes with a hefty price tag: $3,595. The GPSMAP 696 will be unveiled at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Expo November 6 through 8 in San Jose, California.

There’s a new contender in the realm of online flight planning applications. FlightAware, the flight tracking Web site, launched a beta version of its flight planning system this week, which looks for the most efficient routes and altitudes, even estimating the cost of a trip. The system compares your flight plan with current winds aloft and other flight plans to calculate the best possible routes. Once you select the route of flight and altitude, you can file an instrument flight plan from within the site and download all of the departure and approach plates you’ll need. The tool automatically highlights routes that take the least amount of time, use the least fuel and cost the least. Expenses take into account not just fuel for the trip, but the plane’s dry operating costs as well. The tool currently covers just the continental United States, though FlightAware says it plans to expand the service to Alaska, Hawaii, Canada and the Caribbean. Once you select a route, the program also displays the current METARs and TAFs at your departure and arrival airports.