This year Wallaby Ranch proprietor Malcolm Jones conveniently scheduled the 11th annual Wills Wing Demo Days event about a week before Sun ‘n Fun. In remarks Saturday night to a jammed-full tent, Wills Wing hang glider company president Rob Kells declared, “This is the largest gathering of hang glider pilots on the planet!” The large crowd was an active group, too. Rob also announced 676 tows had been made (launching hang gliders) during four-plus days of excellent flying conditions. *** Demo Days is a marketing concept where Wills Wing sends out an over-sized trailer loaded with new hang gliders, dozens of them in various models. Qualified enthusiasts from far and near demo flew them for free. California-based Wills Wing, one of the world’s top producers, makes their biggest eastern outing at Wallaby. A fleet of tugs, southern hospitality, a safety-first attitude, and great winter weather makes Wallaby the choice location.
Archives for March 2008
2008 LSA Sales Reflect a Stalling U.S. Economy
The U.S. economy is hardly crashing, but while slipping backwards in late 2007 and early 2008, it has been on a bumpy plateau. This unevenness causes trouble for many businesses. Even giant coffee seller, Starbucks, is rejiggering their business model to adjust for folks balking at $4 coffee while their stock portfolio lurches up and down. Light-Sport Aircraft sales also reflect that lack of consumer confidence. *** Figures for the first two months of 2008 show slightly more than 40 aircraft registrations per month. In 2007, the industry averaged 47 aircraft registrations per month. Of course, this 15% decrease also comes while many northern states have endured awful winter flying weather, partially explaining why sales are off the beat. Despite a cloudy overcast some bright spots emerge. *** CZAW‘s SportCruiser led the pack with more than 17% growth during January and February. AMD is close behind with 14% growth, and CubCrafters continues their climb with 7.5% growth.
Rotax 503 Launch…then, Silence is Golden
Some of you know the Pipistrel line. Americans have seen two of their models: the Sinus and Virus (yep, those awkward, even distasteful names…except representatives prefer to say SEEN-us and VEER-us). Fortunately Taurus is easier on the American tongue, thanks to Ford and its auto model by the same name. *** I discovered Taurus is also easy on the ears as I went for a two-hour soaring flight from Wallaby Ranch with my hang gliding friend, David Ledford. His side-by-side Taurus — roomy for a soaring machine — glides beyond 40:1 and manages a sink rate barely more than 100 fpm. Those numbers translate into plenty of soaring power as we proved on a day with modest convective lift. *** Taurus is a self-launched sailplane, rather than a motorglider like Urban Air’s Lambada or Pipistrel’s own Sinus. To get aloft, we were powered by a Rotax 503 two-stroke engine that fits neatly into a cavity aft of the cockpit.
Renewed Breezer II SLSA Ready for Delivery
They are lining up, literally, at Sportsplanes.com’s Plant City, Florida airport (PCM) assembly station. Michael Zidziunas — everyone calls him “Mike Z” — assembled three of the new Breezer II SLSA and arranged for DAR inspection. Mike Z is a well-known flight instructor and licensed mechanic working in the LSA arena. *** Last fall, at the AOPA Expo, Josh Foss of Sportsplanes.com unveiled the new Breezer II. The all-metal low wing was introduced more than a year earlier but disputes over the design rights and manufacturing put a halt to shipments. Since then, German designer Ralf Magnussen found a new investor, Dirk Ketelsen, a builder of windmills for electric power generation. They established a new 17,000 square foot plant near Husum, Germany (west of Hamburg at the North Sea coastline) where Josh reports they can build more than 100 aircraft a year.
Florida Aviation Expo Hosts Major LSA Mall
The LSA Mall concept is developing with good success. Last weekend this was proved at a regional airshow by the presence of 23 Light-Sport Aircraft filling a designated area. Coincidentally, LSA outnumbered all other airplane types. *** The Florida Aviation Expo near Punta Gorda at the Charlotte County Airport (PGD) was organized by EAA Chapter 565 led by Carlos Gray. The number of aircraft grew significantly from 2007. As with other smaller venues, the crowds weren’t as big as Sun ‘n Fun or AirVenture but the interest was highly focused. *** Next…coming up in only three weeks, the LSA Mall at Sun ‘n Fun will be hosted by LAMA, the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association. In a terrific location — immediately inside the main entry gate — the Sun ‘n Fun LSA Mall will feature 20 of the top selling Light-Sport Aircraft from all over the country.
High Priced Light-Sport Aircraft; What’s Going On?
Lots of folks are wondering about, or complaining about, the seemingly high prices of Light-Sport Aircraft. Recently a prior editor-in-chief of EAA publications, Scott Spangler, wrote a blog on JetWhine. Scott focused on expensive avionics as one reason LSA cost so much. While a factual observation, I believe the price increase is more complex. *** First, LSA suppliers install equipment like autopilots because buyers ask for them. A large chunk of all LSA are sold to “retiring” GA pilots used to such equipment in their Cessna or Bonanza. Simpler LSA are available; most suppliers have one. But customers are buying the loaded-panel jobs. *** Let’s look closer at those rising prices. Five years ago, in the pre-dawn of SP/LSA, a CT was selling for $60,000. Today it’s $125,000. By far the largest piece of that doubling is the euro’s soaring value compared to the dollar. Were the currencies at parity, that $125,000 would be $80,000.
Ultralights Seek SLSA Approval; May Sell ELSA Kits
Taking a kit aircraft company to full ASTM approval is a very big decision for small companies. Simply assuring you have documents to support a declaration is, by itself, a major task. Then comes a decision about fully building or going the Experimental LSA kit route. A company must first fully build and certify at least one Special LSA, but once done, they can elect to provide a kit only…or to factory build and supply kits. Small shops could fully build 20-30 SLSA and supply additional ELSA kits and parts to make a healthy business. *** We may finally see such entries. Recently I wrote an updated pilot report on the T-Bird I from Indy Aircraft. Boss Bret Kivell said Indy is working on approval. As an ELSA, the single seater could be HKS (four-stroke) powered, which would make it one sweet sport aircraft. Likewise development is underway at Paul Mather’s M-Squared Aircraft where his Sport 1000 could gain SLSA approval later this year.
Two Lovely Low Wings — Gobosh 700 & 800
Out of the blue in 2007. Now, they have two in 2008…SLSA models, that is. Gobosh is the interestingly named company (it’s a tech industry thing) that burst on the AirVenture Oshkosh scene with the Gobosh 700S, a rebadged upgrade of the Aero AT-3 from Poland. Just six months later at the Sebring LSA Expo 2008, Gobosh introduced the super sleek 800XP from the Czech Republic’s Aveko, builder of the speedy retractable VL-3 on which 800XP is based. Relying on their experience with the Symphony and other business ventures partners Dave Graham and Tim Baldwin (inset photo, left) are rapidly expanding their presence in light-sport aviation. *** Their two planes are an interesting contrast. Gobosh promotes the metal 700S as a “luxury sport aircraft,” though it seems well aimed at flight schools. The composite 800XP is the high performance model, “which had to be slowed down for LSA rules,” said Dave.