It has to get better! According to GAMA, the organization which represents the Type Certified aircraft world, “2009 worldwide shipments of general aviation airplanes declined for a second year in a row with a total of 2,276 units delivered, a 42.6 percent decrease over the previous year’s total of 3,967 airplanes.” However, GAMA numbers include twins and turbines, which include all bizjets. *** A fairer comparison to Light-Sport compares only piston aircraft. Here GAMA says, “The piston airplane segment experienced the greatest decline at 54.5 percent. Shipments totaled 965 airplanes in 2009, compared to 2,119 unit airplanes in 2008.” *** Think about those two numbers. They compare to 234 LSA in the difficult year of 2009, down 42% from 2008’s 406-unit performance. LSA sales — as measured by aircraft N-number registrations — show the ratios between general aviation and Light-Sport. In 2009 LSA sales equated to 24% of GA piston sales; both figures are industry-wide.
Archives for February 2010
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Writing about Aircraft…
I’m not really one to blow my own horn (though you could be fooled by the frequency with which my name appears on this site). Still some visitors want to know the person behind the pilot reports, SPLOGs, videos, and our several Lists.
In my magazine writing days it was only my name that appeared in articles … that’s where the “By Dan Johnson” website name started. Now, with web resources and videos, many of you recognize me at airshows. Thanks for the kind comments often received but I’d rather you focused on the content we offer here.
For those genuinely interested, this section of the web site will tell you some things about me. We offer some news about our enterprise here but we hope our content speaks for our work.
And I’ve included a short biography for those that truly want to know more about me; I should hope this is more than enough.
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Paradise P-1 Insured By Travers
Here’s some notes from a release sent to me from Chris Regis. *** His family’s Paradise Aircraft makes the all-metal P-1 SLSA, which I’ve featured here in the past. *** Paradise started in Brazil in 1985, and has its HQ and a big new factory there, as well as the U.S. presence which Chris wrangles along with his dad, Gen. Mgr. Paolo Oliveira. *** I also did a story then about Dylan Redd, a paraplegic young man who flies a specially-modified all-hand-control P-1. *** Chris is one of the people I look forward to running into at airshows. His constant smile and genuine, sunny disposition bring a lift to the heavy workload that shooting/flying/talking/writing at the shows often is. *** Back to Paradise, which has just partnered with Travers & Associates, an aviation insurance brokerage established in 1950. *** The company covers P-1s based in the USA with favorable rates.
In Praise of Skyhawks
I was stimulated to blathering by a couple comments on my 2-part post on Santa Monica Flyer’s Charles Thomson the other day. *** Thanks always for all comments: very helpful and thought-provoking. *** Comment from Anonymous: Bad rap for the 172 in general. It’s one of the safest airplanes to fly, and it has the track record to prove it. *** I like the Piper, but let’s give it a few years in the air and then compare it to a 172. *** Sounds a little like the arrogance of youth. You might want to be careful with that while you’re in the air. Another Anonymous said…Awesome looking plane! I want to come fly it. Good luck to you!! *** Thanks to both of you. Starting off, I never meant to give the impression Charles Thomson was bad-rapping the C-172. He was justifiably critical of the Skyhawk that broke in flight and delivered him directly to the scene of a nasty crash afterward.
Nose Gear Collapse Tutorial
Here’s a fascinating example of why I love the Net and how it can affect our lives for the better. *** Surfing around for LSA tidbits to share with you, I came across an excellent YouTube video. *** The poster (mikehoverstreet) spent a fair amount of time crafting this thorough Anatomy Of An Incident discourse, including a scrolling commentary on post-crash theories as well as his ongoing uncertainty about why the accident happened. *** There are multiple benefits for us here: ** The pilot’s no-ego willingness to take responsibility in the service of greater understanding, (even though many commenters place blame on the instructor!) ** Multiple observations and postings that serve up a consensus on the actual cause. ** The value of sharing insights — both in the video itself and in the many comments, most of which were clearly posted by experienced pilots. *** My challenge to you: After you’ve seen the video, but before you read the comments posted below, study the crash and the slo-mo versions again until you have your own theory as to what happened.
New Tandem SLSA Headed to Market
Most of our tandem Special Light-Sport Aircraft — Legend Cub, Courier, SportCub, Savage, Hornet, Hawk, and SkyArrow — are recreational airplanes. Except for the last one (Italy’s smooth, composite Sky Arrow) most might also fall into the “bush” category in that they are slower-flying, fabric-covered, rugged aircraft suitable for landing on unimproved airstrips. *** A brand-new tandem, not yet officially a SLSA, is the MySky MS-1, which I call a “performance tandem.” MS-1 aims to go as fast as the category allows (120 knots) using its beefy 120-hp Jabiru 3300 powerplant. MySky’s entry also plans a deluxe interior not found in most currently-approved tandem SLSA. *** Recently I trekked to California to fly a few hours in the A-16 Sport Falcon from AviaDesign.
Santa Monica Flyers II
Wrapping (that’s moviespeak) yesterday’s item with Charles Thomson and Santa Monica Flyers, the erstwhile flight training entrepreneur happily reports a good start. “I haven’t done any marketing whatsoever; it’s all been word of mouth. People were waiting for a light sport airplane in this area.” *** Note: Photo at right is Charlie’s SportCruiser. *** That’s a scenario many LSA operations can envy. It doesn’t hurt to be smack in the middle of a huge megalopolis and general aviation mecca either. *** Thomson believes the wish to fly is universal. “Flying provides the connection between man and God. Look at angels: people with wings. It’s sad to me that someone might go through life and never fly.” *** Yet his business philosophy is anything but idealistic: He charges students less than some local schools for instructor time, but gives a greater percentage of the hourly fee to instructors. *** “I can get the best instructors that way.
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