For Its Fifth Anniversary, ByDanJohnson.com Releases PlaneFinder 2.0 … Another Free Service
WORLD WIDE WEB / July 1, 2009 – ByDanJohnson.com is pleased to announce the return of PlaneFinder, now relaunched as version 2.0. PlaneFinder 2.0 helps pilots or prospective pilots interested in Light-Sport Aircraft (LSA) to determine which LSA is the best one for them. It may also be fun for current experts to see how planes compare. PlaneFinder uses 24 criteria to make these determinations although it not necessary to reflect your preference in all 24 categories for the system to help. Perhaps the best news: It’s completely free! PlaneFinder 2.0Since their arrival on the aviation scene in 2004 (with first approvals in 2005), almost 100 models of fully-built Special Light-Sport Aircraft have been brought to market. These models come from 70 manufacturers, about two thirds of which originate outside the United States. Many have unfamiliar brand names and the sheer number of these models can make it challenging even for veterans.
Archives for May 2011
Electric Race Update: CAFE-Bound!
Picking up my electric aircraft coverage again with an email from Phoenix Air USA kingpin Jim Lee with the latest updates on the PhoEnix electric motorglider NASA/CAFE race entry, which just came out of the paint shop and has all its pretty parts put together…and a beautimous bird she is indeed.”We put the PhoEnix together,” Jim tells me, “my last day in Czech so we could finally see what it looks like. Man am I excited now! I can’t believe that I will be the one to fly such an amazing ship.” Color me green with envy. *** Jim’s deep and broad soaring background should stand him in good stead tweaking every last ounce of performance from the gorgeous, one-off soaring bird. *** He’s also got a few more details on his Phoenix blog. Here are some highlights: *** Conceived for the NASA CAFE Green Flight Challenge… “A race that offers big bucks for the winner ($1.65 million total), but with a bar set so high that it is unlikely that anyone will win it.
Flight Design 4-Seater Heading To Market
Although this isn’t an LSA story per se, it comes out of Flight Design, the top-notch, top-selling LSA company in America, so I thought you’d be interested to know the company debuted its C4 4-seater at Aero last month and just came out today with some pricing and delivery numbers along with some specs. *** Perhaps the most interesting number to me is the $250,000 “target” price for the American market, along with a €220.000 price for Europe and the rest of the world outside the U.S. *** When’s the last time we saw a new, state-of-the-art 4-seat airplane at a price close to that? *** Also noteworthy is the minimal disparity between the overseas and U.S. prices, reflecting the company’s desire to minimize (yea verily, to almost negate!) the currently soaring euro/dollar exchange rate imbalance. *** Some interesting details about the all-carbon fiber composite airplane: • Engine choice: two engine options to best suit fuel availability and cost in the owner’s region: either a traditional aviation engine that can run on auto fuel, or a turbo diesel engine that burns Jet A fuel.