Traffic to this website grew significantly in the last few years, starting a steep upward path in 2012 and in May this year hitting a peak of almost 75,000 Unique Visitors. First, a thank you for your regular visits! Then, a question: why is that so? It’s impossible to say why 60-70,000 people do something each month but a leading candidate reason has to be our embrace of video thanks to our partnerhip with Lightsport and Ultralight Flyer, publishing these days to YouTube under the name SportAviationMagazine.com. It seems clear … people love video! Comments we receive at airshows are now commonly related to video though we hear good things about our effort at covering all the news for Light-Sport Aircraft, light kit aircraft, and ultralights.
Recent Posts — (top left, clockwise) Sampling the AeroGlass heads-up display eyewear when visiting Levil Tech • Garmin‘s new G3X Touch • Flight Design CTLSi comparing Rotax 912ULS and 912iS plus new Dynon gear • New MVP from MVP.aero wowed the crowds at AirVenture 2014
My video partner and I create well over 100 new videos per year and I just uploaded eight new ones (images) with many, many more to follow.
Archives for August 2014
Sam Aircraft Prepares for Next Phase
Hey, buddy, wanna buy an airplane company? Thierry Zibi, proprietor of SAM Aircraft, has put his company up for sale. This decision comes only a year and a half after the first flight of the prototype Sam aircraft. I flew and reported on this tandem seating all-metal airplane. Several other reporters flew the Sam LS and reviews were favorable. Some have likened the design, which Zibi spent years developing, to a Light-Sport version of a early military fighter or trainer modeled somewhat after the Ryan STA. It was done with a style that is uncommon among aircraft designers. An attention-getting image (photo) released just before AirVenture Oshkosh 2014 shows the innards of the airplane appliquéd to the fuselage exterior. Like the logo, nose art, and other aspects of the design, the effect is one reminiscent of art deco, an art fashion of the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s.
China Continues Making Deals Involving LSA
Many Americans know that other countries can adopt ASTM standards to gain approval for Light-Sport Aircraft. One of the first to enthusiastically do so was Australia. The down-under nation also has close contacts with China, which has been buying various kinds of natural resources from Australia for years. So, when you hear an aviation company has made a deal with China, you might shrug and say, “What’s new? Everybody seems to be doing it.” You’d be partly right, but for Americans, most of the action seems to be with U.S. companies plus some from Europe. How about a company you probably never heard of making the deal? Let me introduce you to Brumby Aircraft, a twenty year old aircraft producer that embraced the LSA phenomenon and recently secured what sounds like a strong opportunity.
The Aussie company announced it signed a $50 million deal with a Chinese aviation conglomerate that will see Brumby Light-Sport Aircraft (photos) used in China for primary training.
WATTsUP at Pipistrel — eTrainer Flies
Electric aircraft continue to develop rapidly and the most visible actions are on ultralight aircraft such as Zigolo, eSpyder, or Light-Sport Aircaft (Evektor EPOS) as these are the lightest and therefore most workable candidates for electric power today. At Oshkosh we heard more about the two-seat SunFlyer in development by Bye Aerospace and those who visited the Fun Fly Zone (the place formerly known as the Ultralight Area) saw electric aircraft regularly flying as they have for several years. Now, one of the leading creators of electric airplanes is making a bigger push to offer a training-capable aircraft. As with several Pipistrel models the name is a bit unusual but WATTsUp is a two-seat electric trainer based on Pipistrel’s Alpha (video). WATTsUp took its maiden flight on August 22nd. The Slovenian company unveiled the new aircraft on August 30th at a popular recreational aircraft show south of Paris called Salon du Blois.
MGL’s Discovery-Lite Unveiled at AirVenture 2014
A lot of attention is focused on the largest companies yet innovation and new price points are often led by smaller enterprises. A case in point is MGL Avionics‘ recently announced Discovery-Lite, a seven-inch electronic flight information system. “Our all-in-one EFIS is a revolution in simplicity, but harnesses the full power of the iEFIS system,” stated MGL’s U.S. representative. MGL is also one of the first glass panel makers to promote touch screen functionality in a full size system. The company based in Torrance, California has been shipping their iEFIS Explorer 8.5-inch and Challenger 10.4-inch systems that have allowed a now more common combination of touch screen and buttons. Let’s jump to the end of their announcement. “Discovery-Lite will start shipping in the next six weeks. Projected price is under $3,000 for a complete system,” forecast MGL. Imagine that! A few years ago, glass screens — albeit larger, certified versions with multiple screens — could hit $100,000 in Type Certified airplanes and now you have essentially the same capability for less than three grand … with touch control to boot.
Details and New Video about MVP’s Show Hit
Using the line “Your Passport to the Planet” MVP.aero (yes, that’s the company name … well, with an “Inc.” on the end), this Minnesota company made a great big splash at AirVenture 2014. Not literally in the sense of a splash into the water but from a marketing standpoint, the MVPers created a tsunami of interest in their LSA seaplane entry that buoyed activity among all Light-Sport Aircraft at the show. MVP innovation showed well in aircraft features (described below) and in PR savvy, calling the “Most Versatile Plane” a “triphibian.” As the company is being created near Cirrus Design HQ in Duluth, Minnesota, it may not surprise you that MVP manages takeoff and landing on pavement or turf, water, and snow. The team also brought the term “origami deck” to airplanes with the occupied area convertible in various ways with panels that “fold” into different purposes. In all, MVP represents a batch of fresh thinking that forms a potent statement about how the LSA sector breeds disruptive designs far faster than hide-bound Part 23 Type Certified aircraft that seem to need an act of congress to change a bolt.
World Aircraft’s New/Old Open Cockpit LSA
As we scoured the sprawling acreage of AirVenture 2014 for aircraft we had not seen before, one flying machine confused my eye. Surveyor looked approximately like a Lockwood Drifter or maybe a single engine version of Drifter’s big brother, the twin engine AirCam. Since I like both Drifter and AirCam a great deal, taking that view of Surveyor is a form of high compliment. My video partner and I spoke to World Aircraft director Eric Giles and shot a video that will soon be available. Surveyor has no relationship to Drifter or AirCam but it does have a long heritage. The designer of all World Aircraft models — Spirit, Vision, Surveyor, and low-wing Freedom in development — is Max Tedesco, a talented engineer from Columbia. Many years ago, he created the open cockpit Surveyor and ten aircraft were sold to Cuba to provide aerial sightseeing for that island’s tourists.
Affordable Bearhawk LSA Quick-Build Kit at Oshkosh
Are you lusting after a Cub lookalike but can’t afford the steep price tags these popular flying machines carry? How about something much more affordable? A taildragger called Bearhawk has picked up accolades from AirVenture judges and owners appear very loyal. Sometimes those of us close to factory built Light-Sport Aircraft tend to forget about the homebuilt community. However, more pilots exercising the privileges of Sport Pilot are flying kit-built airplanes than ready-to-fly models, a trend that is likely to continue because a kit represents a lower cost option and one where the owner can more easily do all repair work. Let me clarify, though. Bearhawk is Sport Pilot eligible (using a term my longtime EAA friend, Ron Wagner, coined); it is technically not a Light-Sport. Bearhawk LSA made its debut at AirVenture two years ago as a prototype constructed by its designer, Bob Barrows. Recently a customer flew the first completed kit.
Van’s Aircraft Authorizes US Aviation of Texas
Van’s Aircraft has been creating highly successful designs for decades; more than 8,750 RV kits have been completed and are flying. Over 20,000 kits have been sold, cementing this Oregon company as the most successful kit aircraft company in history. In the last couple years, Van’s has enlisted Synergy Air to fully build and deliver their RV-12 Light-Sport Entry. Before the ready-to-fly project began Van’s had delivered more than 250 kit versions; the fleet of both kit and factory built RV-12s keeps growing. When that happens, many buyers — especially those who elected to purchase a factory-built ’12 — need quality places to obtain services for their airplane. Recently a Texas aviation powerhouse, US Aviation and their US Sport Planes division, was approved as a Factory Authorized service center for the RV-12. Company executive Scott Severen, a longtime recreational aircraft enthusiast and businessman, has been very successful at securing similar approvals from many of the top LSA manufacturers.
Sonex Roars, Purrs, & Glides; Factory-Built Van’s
Two key members of AKIA stopped by the LSA Mall at the new & improved Paradise City last week. AKIA? The Aircraft Kit Industry Association is a new group formed in July last year seeking cooperation between kit aircraft builders. Leaders include Van’s Aircraft and Sonex. Both have been making Light-Sport models, or what more correctly might be called “Sport Pilot eligible” or “Light-Sport-compliant aircraft.” Experimental Amateur Built (EAB) aircraft are technically not LSA even if they meet all parameters. Sonex and Van’s are upstanding producers of very popular aircraft and they have their eyes clearly on the light aircraft sector that is showing great resilience in a perpetually sluggish economy. Each company has too much info to fully cover here but a birds-eye view may encourage you to seek more.
Sonex Aircraft is based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, right across the field from EAA’s headquarters. The company is so active on so many fronts that I will only provide a general view.