Are you interested in light aircraft? “Check.” Interested in cool looking flying machines? “Check.” Enjoy following the latest trends in flying? “Check.” Interested in autonomous (pilotless) flying? “Umm… Not sure?” Interested in an Autonomous Airbus Air Taxi? “Hmm… no, not really?” Interesting in getting your Eight-Engine Rating? “Ah, No!” However you answered and whatever you think, the world of aviation appears to be changing.
When a company like airliner giant Airbus goes after media coverage with its E-Fan and ups the ante with Vahana, some may begin to feel the ground move under their feet like a California earthquake. Imagine a fleet of pilotless vehicles ready to swoop in to pick up passengers and deliver them to doctor appointments or a visit to grandma’s house. Aviation appears to be headed in some very new directions.
On ByDanJohnson.com, I have followed other flying car or drone developments. See this article or here’s another for a couple examples.
Archives for October 2016
Avionics (Instruments) for Big and Little Guys
I guess I’m still old fashioned. I still call those things in front of the pilot “instruments,” although the preferred term for a panelful of them shifted to “avionics.” At least most people and I have stopped using “gauges.” Choose the term that works for you, but mail order giant Aircraft Spruce just sent offerings to builders, whether at home or in a factory. “Spruce,” as many abbreviate the Southern California-based company, serves a broad range of aircraft markets.
For big or small aircraft, people seem to like Belite Electronics (sibling to Belite Aircraft most recently of Skydock fame). A former tech entrepreneur, James Wiebe designs airplanes certainly appears at home with electronics. He’s developed a wide range of very light, very low energy use, very accurate instruments.
“Come to Aircraft Spruce for your favorite Belite products,” said Aircraft Spruce reps. Visit the company’s web page for Belite Radiant instruments.
Sightseeing by Ultralight… in North Korea
The stories we hear about North Korea are usually bad. OK, I’ve rarely heard anything good so I guess the news is just about all bad. However, we hear about North Korea from mainstream media and government officials, neither of whom seem interested in good news about this reclusive Communist state. On whole, it seems probable things are pretty lousy in such a closed and controlled nation but now and again, something trickles out to show less evil.
This story was featured in Toronto, Canada’s TheStar.com and was written by Eric Talmadge of the Associated Press. At the end of his article Eric wrote, “Officials say the ultralight aircraft used for the flights were made in North Korea.” If so, I’d say they are a knock-off of a Chinese aircraft that I have examined.
A China airplane looking very similar has been seen at AirVenture 2015 though I’m guessing few visitors paid it much attention as it was far from the sleek, beautiful light aircraft commonly seen at the big show.
An Excellent Bargain in a Composite LSA
The lines are separating a bit. Once we had a flock of LSA priced closer to one another than today. While some are put off by splashy marketing from companies offering LSA priced north of $200,000, your choices do include fixed wing aircraft for $50-80,000 and alternative (weight shift, gyro, and powered parachutes) LSA for even less.
However, if you want an all-composite design with a digital panel, your choices of lower-cost models is, admittedly, more restricted. It costs money to make things with more exotic materials and with fancier equipment. The great news in late 2016 is customers are getting more choices in “reasonably” priced airplanes (shown in quotes as reasonable is a term that varies from person to person).
The new model in this article will be at the DeLand Sport Aviation Showcase coming up in just over two weeks. I hope you’re planning to attend.
Matthew Mayhem … First All-Mexican Light-Sport
First a personal tale and then something completely different…
In the last week, I encountered something brand new to me, although old as the ocean. I refer to Hurricane Matthew, which swept through my home area of Daytona Beach late last week. You haven’t seen anything new on this website for a few days because, well… I was a little busy. Along with everyone else in this area, we spent days preparing for a Category 4 storm (identified as packing wind speeds of 135-156 miles an hour, enough to tear buildings apart). Everything outside was brought indoors. Sandbags were loaded and positioned because a 15 foot storm surge was predicted along with torrential rains. Because my dwelling — at the Spruce Creek Fly-in, an airport community (7FL6) — sits only 22 feet above sea level, such a storm surge took on epic damage possibilities.
Fortunately, the winds capped at 91 mph at the nearby Daytona Beach airport (KDAB).
A Lightning Bolt You Can Catch: LS1
Over and over I’ve heard about the cost of Light-Sport Aircraft. Indeed, some are approaching $200,000 and at least four have smashed through that barrier (CubCrafters, Icon, Terra Fugia, and Lisa). Now, I’ll grant you $200K+ for a two seater is fairly breathtaking. But…
In each case above and for those many others in the $125-175,000 range, we’re talking about real money. Balancing that, all LSA in the $125K and up price range are impressive aircraft with more bells and whistles than most GA airplanes (and even some airliners!). They are hand-built works of art using carbon fiber; digital cockpits; wide, luxurious cockpits with amazing visibility; and emergency airframe parachutes. They are marvels with autopilot, synthetic vision, gas-sipping (and very modern) engines, and so much more.
Virtually every LSA — no matter how impressively equipped — still remains at half to one third or even less of the cost of even the most affordable Part 23 general aviation airplanes.