Important FAA-related message at end of this article.
Opening day at AirVenture Oshkosh 2013 and the very first announcement before exhibit spaces even opened was a press conference from Icon Aircraft. To a media-only group of perhaps 30 or 40 media personalities, CEO Kirk Hawkins began, “Is there anyone here who doesn’t know what this about?” No one responded; everyone knew what the rumor mill had begun spewing. Icon is in good company. Even premiere new product secret-keeper, Apple Inc., has trouble announcing something that no one expected. Yet a few comments from the top gun at Icon were of special interest. One other observation first: it was a media event, but if even a single FAA person was in attendance, they were under cover. No FAA shirts or badges could be spotted. Thus Icon made their announcement without any active FAA participation.
Icon received Grant of Exemption No. 10829 for a weight increase with FAA stating,”The combined features and SRA (Spin Resistant Airframe) incorporated into the Icon A5 design … are recognized by the FAA as significant safety enhancements.” FAA also referenced that the agency felt an exemption was “in the public’s interest.” Kirk Hawkins added that his engineers “put safety ahead of arbitrary weight limits” and forged ahead with enhancements to include a more crashworthy cockpit, the airframe parachute (about which they’d already talked but with which the weight increase became more possible), and of course, the wing cuffs, “a synthesis of several known ideas put together in a way that finally worked” to provide a Part 23-worthy stall resistant airframe.
Archives for July 2013
Avionics World: Changes for Your Panel
Dynon gathers little moss it appears. The SkyView builder has been upgrading software, releasing new products and now, the Woodinville, Washington company has acquired Advanced Flight Systems (AFS). Dynon said they did the acquisition, “… to use Dynon’s financial strength to keep AFS strong and vibrant in the experimental community.” It appears to be a pure financial move as the two companies will continue to operate with full autonomy, according to a Dynon FAQ series. • Another reason to buy a former “friendly competitor” is to get more deeply involved with Angle of Attack (AoA) indicators, which are causing a significant buzz. “AFS holds patents on Angle of Attack (AoA) technology and has long been a leader with AoA products,” reported Dynon. As you’ll read below, Icon is pushing the instrument and others are singing the praises of AoA, yet fighter aircraft and airliners have had the technology for years.
Preparing for AirVenture Oshkosh 2013
Recently, our good friends over at General Aviation News reported on the Bearhawk LSA. If you don’t receive GA News’ “The Pulse of Aviation,” I urge you to sign up for it right now (it’s free). Aviators are lucky to have several online news outlets — AVweb, ePilot, eBrief, and eHotline, plus some excellent news websites — but I always anticipate “The Pulse” as I’ve come to admire their speed and rely on their professional journalism. That said, in their recent article they used the phrase “Bearhawk LSA,” no doubt as that’s the way the Austin, Texas company described their model. This is a common error and is worth a short review. An aircraft is only a “LSA” if it has met all ASTM standards and been accepted by the FAA. An aircraft that meets all the parameters of an LSA (weight, speed, etc.) can be flown by someone with a Sport Pilot certificate, making it “Sport Pilot eligible,” to use a phrase coined by EAA’s Ron Wagner.
Super Duper Stroker from the S-Planes Company
The go-up-faster competition in Light-Sport aviation just got more boisterous. SportairUSA loves their S-planes and they just announced a new one: Cub-S. Why do I call them the S-planes people? How about this? They sell the Sting, Sirius, Savage, Snap, and now Cub-S with the Titan Stroker IO-340 engine producing a whopping 180 horsepower. The company is SportairUSA, U.S. distributor for aircraft manufactured by Zlin Aviation of the Czech Republic and they plan to showcase their new Cub-S at AirVenture 2013. “Look for the SportairUSA site at #295 Knapp Road, located just off of Celebration Way, between the Lycoming display and the EAA Welcome Center, said the company publicist. Here’s another company using Lycoming engines, a move we’ve increasingly seen in the last couple years, adding to Renegade, Arion Aircraft, and Tecnam.
“With its best-in-category power-to-empty weight ratio of 4.74 pounds per horsepower (7.33 pounds per horsepower even at MTOW), the Cub-S climbs at up to 2,100 fpm,” said Bill Canino of SportairUSA.
Weight Increase for Icon … Yes or No?
Fact #1: EAA ArVenture Oshkosh is coming in mere days. Fact #2: In the world of politics (and for that matter in corporate communications), you announce good news to big crowds or at the beginning of the week and you bury bad news on a Friday afternoon when maybe no one is listening hoping they’ll forget before a new week begins. So, if FAA may finally respond to Icon Aircraft‘s request for a 250-pound weight increase for their A5 LSA seaplane, Oshkosh would be a great place for FAA to announce it. The million-dollar question: Will FAA do this? And, what would it mean if the agency did announce it? My journalist friend, Al Marsh, over at AOPA just published a blog on this subject titled, “Why Icon will get its LSA weight exemption.” If you have any problem finding Al’s article go to AOPA’s blog website and click the “Reporting Points” heading, then scroll down as needed.
Electric Skyway — Flying GreenWing’s eSpyder
I was a little nervous, I admit. Oh, I wasn’t worried about flying the eSpyder as an airplane. Many years ago I logged plenty of hours in a Flightstar single place ultralight and this was essentially the same airplane. Except it wasn’t identical; this one was powered by an electric motor and it’s funny how that changes everything. Like most of you, I only have experience with gasoline engines (though I have logged many hours of soaring time with no engine whatsoever). So, I have the usual set of knowledge and reflexes about fuel consumption, engine noise, power settings, climb rates … and the sounds of all these things. It’s all different on an electric airplane. Much as I had awaited this opportunity, I found myself apprehensive about the new experience. I’ve had three two-stroke engines go silent on me and I simply didn’t know exactly what to expect from an electric motor.
Tecnam Acquires Snap; Partners with SportairUSA
Snap! Crackle! Pop! It’s not just for breakfast anymore. Among the vast array of light aircraft I am only aware of a few other single seat models … Here’s a U.S. example (video) and here’s some European single seaters. None of these has yet gone through the process to become Special LSA but that might be changing now that Italian giant Tecnam acquired a, well … snappy little bird with a catchy name. Tecnam already has the broadest number of models in the LSA space but just to be sure of keeping this title, the company recently announced their new low wing Astore and now they follow with Snap.
Americans have seen Snap before, but Tecnam gives it much more market presence. Snap is a single seat, low wing, fixed landing gear aircraft with a high power-to-weight ratio and the capability to perform aerobatics with low operating costs.
Dragonfly 912 Becomes Newest SLSA #132
You might not be in the market for a super slow flying aircraft like Dragonfly that stalls at less than 20 mph. You might not care that Ed Pittman took the lead winning Special LSA approval on behalf of Australian businessman and hang gliding pioneer Bill Moyes and American Dragonfly designer Bobby Bailey. However, as a longtime hang gliding enthusiast, I can attest on behalf of many who enjoy soaring flight in hang gliders that Dragonfly is a critically important aircraft. The unusual aircraft was purpose designed to tow a hang glider aloft so it can be released — commonly at 2,000-2,500 feet and often right in a column of thermal lift — to allow it to achieve soaring flight without the benefit of a mountain from which to launch. One of the most successful aerotug airparks, called Wallaby Ranch, is located a few miles south of Disney World in Florida.
Still Expanding LSA Seaplane Development
“Isn’t it just a niche market?,” asked a reader in a recent email. The query came after he read about a flurry of new seaplanes and the writer wondered if it could be worth all the investment pouring in to these projects. Development progress in this particular sector-within-a-sector (LSA seaplanes) seems to be far outdistancing development in other parts of the aviation world. So, are efforts to develop increasingly sophisticated LSA seaplanes economically justifiable? It’s a worthy question. Another answer: “Well, why not?” An amphibious LSA seaplane can land on water or land, could fly as fast or nearly as fast as a land plane. They can look cleaner with gear that disappears. They already have another 110 pounds to work with (though admittedly much of that is needed simply to achieve an amphib seaplane and even that is not enough for all manufacturers). If you want an LSA, why not one that’s more versatile?