Most folks following the Light-Sport Aircraft development know the Sting, refreshed for the U.S. market with the S3 model. I covered the development announcement of TL Ultralight’s new high wing. Now, welcome to the TL3000 Sirius as the newest SLSA to hit the market in a blur of new offerings seemingly triggered after the industry hit #100. *** Importer SportairUSA maneuvered their low-wing, all-carbon-fiber Sting S3 into one of the best-equipped LSA on the market. Adding a high wing gives the company new versatility to meet market interest. *** I see the potential for keen demand from GA pilots, especially those legions trained in high-wing, yoke-controlled Cessna models. Sirius’ 48-inch wide cabin is nine inches wider than a C-172 and it can haul 420 pounds of payload even when topped off with 30 gallons of fuel that can take you 800 miles (numbers will vary depending how you equip a Sirius).
Archives for September 2009
Making A Splash… in China: Ramphos Trident SLSA
A few years back I evaluated Ramphos. Now, the boat-hulled trike is our newest Special Light-Sport Aircraft amphibian — SLSA #102. Priced at less than $40,000 for the Rotax 582-powered version to something north of $50,000 for the four stroke Rotax 912 powerplant, this seaplane qualifies as a bargain. Ramphos Trident won its SLSA approval back in April 2009. *** In revealing this achievement, one of the most interesting points from U.S. partner Gil McGarity concerned a Ramphos entry to the potentially huge China market. “Just when things looked the darkest, what with spending all our money for the certifications and the recession starting with a vengeance, we were invited to China,” Gil recalled. “We struck a deal to help develop a line of weight-shift aircraft and train personnel to fly. We were given 10 young engineers trained in using the Katia CAD programs, two 747-sized hangars with state of the art paint rooms, composite labs, 5 and 7 axis CNC [machines], assembly areas and a seemingly endless stream of development funds.” To show how serious officials are about opening the gates to sport aircraft, Gil said authorities… “built a 500-meter asphalt runway for LSA craft very near us in Changsha.” He noted that very few if any recreational aviation runways exist in China.
Cheetah XLS Speeds through SLSA Approval — #101
Reaching SLSA model number 100 produced loads of media attention and a feeling of pride in reaching such a benchmark in less than five years. How do you follow that act? With SLSA #101, naturally. *** Welcome to the Cheetah from Rainbow Aircraft in South Africa, imported by Midwest Sport Aviation based in Wisconsin. While working on ASTM approval the Syvertson brothers sold a kit version. If this modestly priced SLSA is beyond your budget, the Amateur-Built kit can save $10-20,000. *** The ready-to-fly Cheetah represents one of the true bargains of the SLSA industry, priced at $52,950 for either trigear or taildragger models powered by the 85-hp Jabiru and delivered with a MGL radio, cloth-finished interior, and those cool swing-up armrests with built-in throttle on each side. Even well optioned, a fully-built SLSA Cheetah can stay under $60,000 and that’s the price some folks expected for Light-Sport Aircraft back when the rule was announced… so there you go.
LSA-Only Expos… Everyone Likes Them!
We all love the big aviation trade shows like Sun ‘n Fun and AirVenture. They offer something for everyone who flies… and that’s their problem. At such large shows you must walk extensively (or ride trams) to see all the aircraft in the Light-Sport Aircraft community. LSA Malls at these events help, but they can’t provide demo flying for purchase. *** Indeed, this latter reason is one of the most compelling for the January Sebring LSA Expo. All day, every day of the show, you can arrange for a demonstration flight, weather permitting. Notably, Sebring 2009 outdrew even AOPA’s Expo a few months earlier. *** Last year’s Fairfield, New Jersey one-day LSA Jambo produced by the Mid-Atlantic Pilots Association attracted a dozen LSA and 250 attendees. This year’s longer event drew 19 airplanes and 652 people. Of future plans, organizer David Simpson said, “Jambo will be bigger and better and will include flight reviews and demo flights throughout the day.” Jambo is tentatively slated for July 9th and 10th, 2010.
Van’s RV-12 is SLSA #100; Here Come the ELSA ’12s
[UPDATE: The Krucker Cygnet won approval on July 3rd, making that weight-shift LSA #99… so Van’s RV-12 is technically the #100 LSA model to win an airworthiness certificate. It was previously reported as #99.] The top-selling kit airplane producer, Van’s Aircraft of RV-xx fame, secured an airworthiness certificate for their fully-built RV-12 Special Light-Sport Aircraft on July 21, 2009. And the next day, the company’s East Coast representative, Mitchell Lock, got an ELSA certificate for his RV-12. EAA reported that 250 RV-12s are under construction around the world. *** So, quickly, Van’s looks ready to dominate the ELSA community that has been waiting to take off. True, thousand of ELSA are flying today — many more than SLSA at present — but that’s because so many “fat ultralights” were converted to ELSA status under FAA’s now-expired grandfather period. *** Van’s reports that it will take 600-900 hours to complete an RV-12 to unpainted stage, so the rush of RVs into the LSA fleet may not be swift, but they’ll just keep coming.
Ultralight Trainers…Exemptions?…SLSA Trainers
Ah, sweet Part 103 ultralights. These lightest of powered aircraft have the least FAA regulation of any flying machine. A single piece of letter paper holds the entire rule. But how do you learn to safely fly a single seater? Oh, there’s the rub. *** Through January 31, 2010, two-seat ultralights converted to ELSA status may train pilots for hire. Then they must cease… maybe. Some feel that the nation lacks enough such trainers so Aero Sports Connection petitioned for an extension. Sounds reasonable. *** But what about companies that spent resources to win FAA approval? It sounds like those who played by the rules as FAA wished could miss their reward of taking over such training aircraft sales. The controversy has complications and you probably don’t want to read it all. *** But here’s what industry organization LAMA has to say: “In the 4.3 years since the first approval, 100 SLSA models have been approved.
LSA #100 Reached! …in Less Than Five Years
Triple digits! In five years the LSA industry has reached SLSA model #100. Actually, here’s another one that slipped by our radar. Info now shows SLSA #99 was the Krucker amphib trike named Cygnet and Van’s RV-12 was technically #100. Our SLSA List shows Special Light-Sport Aircraft in order of their approval. *** “We got our SLSA completed 3 July 2009,” wrote U.S. representative, Michael Percy, of XL Kites. This means the Cygnet he imports was approved a couple weeks earlier than the Van’s RV-12 on July 21st, which came one day after the fifth anniversary of the new rule announcement (July 20th, 2004). *** One hundred models approved in such a short time has no comparison in worldwide aviation history. In fact, reaching #100 only took 4.3 years because the first approval occurred on April 7th, 2005 …that’s two new models every single month!
SeaRey Reports Superb Oshkosh; Who Will Get #100?
We sit on the edge of hitting triple digits of Special Light-Sport Aircraft. Just before Oshkosh started, Van’s Aircraft announced their RV-12 qualified for SLSA airworthiness (which also allows the Oregon company to sell ELSA kits). People have started to ask, “Who will offer Number 100 SLSA?” One possibility is the SeaRey from Progressive Aerodyne. *** SeaRey marketing man, Darrell Lynds reported a spectacular Oshkosh event, “We sold 11 kit SeaRey aircraft (the LSX) and four SLSA versions to be called the SeaRey Sport.” That represents quite a performance, causing me to inquire what amount of money changed hands in order to call these an order. “We collected $5,000 toward a kit and $10,000 on a fully-built SLSA,” explained Darrell. I’d call that enough cash per airplane to make for genuine orders. *** I spoke with many sellers at Oshkosh who reported “very solid leads,” and “genuinely interested buyers,” but a few complained that despite these positive comments, they were not seeing the cash.