At this summer’s Oshkosh fly-in, I had the pleasure to meet an inspiring new pilot, Michael Combs, who briefed me on his plans to fly a Remos GX to every state in the US of A, beginning next spring. *** Good news: Michael just finished his check ride – that’s him below with his CFI, Justin Shelley of U.S. Flight Academy– and is now a happily licensed Sport Pilot. Congratulations Mike! *** The odyssey flight will serve as more than just an adventurous lark, although that would certainly be enough motivation for most of us. The intrepid fledgling pilot – and a survivor of a serious illness – will make 135 stops during the inspirational mission, dubbed “Flight For The Human Spirit”, to champion what he recently described as “…proof of human capability and of accomplishing what you are able to dream.” *** He intends to demonstrate, in dramatic fashion, that “a Sport Pilot license is a passport to unlimited adventure…a celebration of freedom.” *** Mike estimates he’ll have more than 100 flight hours under his belt by the time the 40-day trip launches.
Archives for December 2009
#101 LSA Approval Continues Record Aviation Surge
South Africa’s Rainbow Aircraft quickly stole the limelight from the Vans RV12 – the 100th LSA to achieve ASTM approval – by earning the first approval of the next hundred – SLSA # 101. *** The aircraft, dubbed Cheetah XLS, is imported and distributed by Midwest Sport Aviation of Wisconsin. *** Taking a page from the X-Air school of affordable sport aircraft, the Cheetah is listed at just under $53,000. *** You can have one in either taildragger or tricycle-gear flavor. Powerplant options abound too: Jabiru 2200, Rotax model 582 or 912S, with horsepower ranges from 65 to 100. *** Congratulations to this latest contender! *** –photos courtesy Midwest Sport Aviation
Watt’s Up!
Getting ready for Oshkosh, and my first in-person look at an exciting new electric airplane which you’ll be hearing a lot more about in the months ahead. *** The Yuneec International E430 electric-powered two seater is in Phase 2 test flight mode. *** The bird is fitted with a 54 hp electric motor that weighs only 37.5 lbs., uses six lipo (lithium polymer) batteries and is capable of 1.5 to 2 hours of flight. *** And that’s with a 400 pound payload! A 10-battery configuration should bring duration to 2.5 hours. The sleek highwinger sports a 45-foot wingspan. Could that mean motorglider cred too? It gives the LSA a 25:1 glide ratio. Handling in strong winds could be a challenge with that wing and V-tail, but we’ll have to wait and see. *** Should motorgliding be enabled in future, perhaps with a folding prop, restarts would be a breeze.
Rain Dance Works!
After enduring a goodly downpour most of the day, stalwarts were rewarded with a sunny late afternoon and fresh, cool winds. This is not typical Oshkosh Airventure weather: usually we’re melting into puddles of goo from the heat and humidity. *** Strolling through the vast Airventure “campus” I ran into Dave Graham, hardworking Gobosh principal who shared the new Garmin G3X panel he’s installed into the Gobosh 700. Such a nice panel, and with dual Garmin vertical EFIS screens right in front of the pilot, and backup steam gauges and other avionics goodies, it’s an impressive panel. *** Also noteworthy is Dave’s automobile iconic symbols on the console stack that add colorful, easy-read labeling to control switches such as carb heat, fuel cutoff and choke. *** A Zaon PCAS XRX collision avoidance system is another welcome feature on this lovely tricked out G700. *** ====================================== *** Knocking around the grounds after dark was a kick.
Pix From The Big Show
Today was a beautiful, beautiful day. I kept saying, “This can’t be Oshkosh.” *** Low humidity, balmy 70s temps, lovely breeze…oh yeah. *** Here are some noteworthy pix from the day’s events. *** First up: The Icon A5 flew a very impressive series of demo takeoffs, landings and fast taxis at the Sea Plane Base. An impressive debut performance, with a lot of attendance from folks who motored over from the main event 10 miles away. *** The Airbus A380 wowed the crowds with amazingly quiet, nimble performance turns over the runway. It still amazes me that anything so huge can fly. *** Diamond’s DA-20 has a new panel with Garmin’s G-500 EFIS display. Look for a pirep in a P&P issue soon.
CEO Makes ICONic Flight
The Icon A5 made a big splash, you should excuse the pun, at last year’s Oshkosh Airventure. The high-profile marketing campaign posits that there’s a whole generation of high-energy recreational enthusiasts looking to own their own flying motorcycle/jet ski, and they’re putting up some hefty investment capital to back up their vision. *** The company took another major step toward finding out whether that vision has legs when ICON Aircraft founder and CEO Kirk Hawkins made his first flight in the prototype on March 11, 2009, as part of the company’s user trials. The flight took place at Lake Isabella in Kern County, CA, site of 45 earlier test hops. *** “I walked into the test flight completely focused on evaluating the aircraft as a potential customer,” said Hawkins. “As an experienced pilot who’s flown everything from ultralights to fighter jets, I expected my reaction to be, ”˜Yep, it flies just like I expected.
First Day at Sebring!
—Robert Wood, chairman of the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo that puts on the event, announced at the LAMA manufacturer’s dinner tonight that the attendance for opening day was the best Thursday in the five-year event’s history. *** —Take that, bad economy!
Falling Leaves, Sting Sport Style
Wheeling along in butter-smooth air with Bill Canino in a Sting Sport S3, the gorgeous sunset world outside spins around us like a giant golden ball. Up into lazy wingovers, letting go of the stick, sliding down the long slide as the airplane builds up speed, eases itself out of the roll, smooth and quiet as a dream, and we feel that timeless joy that comes with true freedom. Then smooth easy back pressure, easing the stick over into another wingover the other way, and up and up we swing. The TruTrak EFIS shows our speed dropping like leaves on a windy day…90…80…70…60. We let the airplane have it’s moment and down the nose slides again and we start all over, the golden/orange/gray blue sky and deep shadowed earth below swinging around the big clear bubble of our canopy like your best girl in a grand waltz.
To The Economy, We Say… “Bah!
After a mad dash home, some brief reflections on Sebring 2009. *** —The show was a real shot in the arm for exhibitors who had worried the dreary economic news would sound the toll of doom. *** —Instead, enthusiastic crowds on Thursday and Friday both set attendance records for the five year event. Saturday was also well attended. Sunday, typical of previous shows, was less robust. *** —Folks brought checkbooks too: at least 15 LSA were sold at the show, but I’ll have final numbers once I’m able to poll all the exhibitors. *** —Many thanks to the tireless, smiling volunteer staff that helped run the event, and we’ll be back next year. *** Sport Aviation lives!
Rotax Lifts Time Between Overhaul to 2,000 Hours
No one doubts the leading position of Rotax engines among Light-Sport Aircraft. Of course, most European producers use the Austrian brand, but so do many U.S. builders even including Van’s Aircraft. However, despite their dominance, some GA pilots have scoffed at the brand, saying it isn’t a “real” aircraft engine partly as it didn’t match the 2,000-hour TBO (Time Between Overhaul) common to American brands like Continental or Lycoming. Well, that argument has evaporated. *** Rotax not only upped the TBO on its flagship four-stroke 912 engine, they even made it retroactive. Those following an optional Service Bulletin issued on December 14th can increase the life of the 912 they already own by performing what is essentially a detailed inspection; some older models may require some updates. (Click here for details.) The change applies to the 80-horsepower model, to the the popular 100-horsepower version and to the turbo-charged 914 model as well.
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