UPDATE 11/28/21 — Vickers Aircraft sent fresh images and additional comments. See ••• below. —DJ
Excitement is in the air, even as the season wraps up activity here in the USA. Remember, while winter approaches for Americans, summer is coming to New Zealand.
That might explain an information deficit of late from LSA seaplane developer, Vickers Aircraft. People have been asking questions and reports have become infrequent. Uh, oh…!
Fortunately, the quiet period appears to have a good explanation.
Received November 24th, 2021 — “Hi Dan. Sorry (for a delayed response),” wrote Paul Vickers. “We are pushing very hard for a 10 December first flight. We are structurally testing the wing today.”
Often called a “strongback,” Paul refers to the I-beam steel testing jig seen in the nearby photo. “This was custom designed and manufactured by our Wave team,” he added proudly.
••• “Wave is not just another LSA,” clarified Paul in follow-up email.
Archives for November 2021
Ending 2021 — Beginning 2022… What’s Behind and What’s Ahead?
With the DeLand Showcase 2021 ended, we have officially wrapped up the airshow season for 2021.
In retrospect, 2021 improved on surprisingly good results for 2020. Pilots are buying and flying — great! — while producers are maintaining or growing; both are good outcomes we can celebrate.
While much of America and the world were topsy turvy over the pandemic and the sweeping mandates placed on individuals and businesses, Light-Sport Aircraft fared reasonably well. Translation: sales held roughly steady despite Covid fear and talk of FAA regulation change hanging in the air.
The Sport Pilot kit market and Part 103 ultralights had nothing short of a banner year …and all that was 2020!
In 2021, the recreational flying community experienced an ongoing positive trend, but we can happily add into the mix a successful restart to the airshow calendar, lead by our friends at Sun ‘n Fun. From spring through fall, SnF was followed by AirVenture — both stronger than many expected after 2020’s enterprise-threatening cancellations.
FAA’s MOSAIC Regulation for LSA and More — Here’s the Latest End-of-2021 Update
At the season-ending DeLand Showcase 2021, I gave a keynote address on Saturday attended by airplane owners and sellers.
This is a slightly more condensed version of the talk I gave at the Midwest LSA Expo. Even if you’ve seen that video — part of this article, or seen on Dave Loveman’s YouTube channel — this one covers the material in a different way.
Since the video below is only 35 minutes, this one can get you up-to-date quicker than the other, hour-long videos I’ve done on this important topic.
Every time I post about this subject, interest has been very strong, so going over the material again is worthwhile. At the end you’ll hear questions from the audience that are the same as I hear over and again — training questions, inquiries about speed increases, and questions about whether a Sport Pilot can fly general aviation airplanes.
Ion Aircraft Takes Off — Twin-Boom Tail Tandem, Light-Sport Aircraft or Experimental
A few years back at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, I discovered a good-looking design but I did not see it each year. When I talked to developer Steve Martin, the project appeared interesting but it was not complete (at that time). The next year, I’d look for Ion Aircraft and might not find them.
Such is the nature of developing a small aircraft. Most aircraft buyers have little idea about the million and one things that must come together to create a design.
Once the aircraft has proven itself, the challenge starts anew to put a completed model into production. Usually financing becomes an obstacle to clear. I’ve faced this scenario myself — with a motorglider called Cumulus back in the 1990s — so I can confirm this is no easy task.
Nonetheless, I was pleased to receive a notice that Ion found a buyer for the project, a venture capital company at that.
Big Producer of Small Engines — Rotax Reaches a Major Production Benchmark
Two decades into the new millennia, few aviation companies can claim impressive growth. In two decades, one company that everyone now recognizes as a climber is Cirrus Design and their successful SR-series of general aviation aircraft.
Back in 1998 many pilots were doubtful about Cirrus.
I was close to the company during these years. Over and over I heard statements such as: “They’ll never complete the design.” “They’ll never get FAA to approve it (especially with that parachute on board).” “They’ll never raise the money to produce it.” “They’ll never get production to a profitable level.” “They’ll never develop beyond a single model.” Those doubters were wrong on all counts.
Only a few years earlier, in 1992, Americans got their first glimpse of the 9-series Rotax engine. At the time, many aviation mechanics dismissed it as “…just a snowmobile engine.” They also turned out to be wrong.
Starting with their lightweight, advanced-technology, liquid-cooled, 80-horsepower engine, Rotax developed a line of powerplants and went on to dominate the light aircraft aircraft market globally.
Brazil’s Montaer MC01 Rises to a Need: Hand Controls to Let All Pilots Fly
Over many years, many people have done solid work to accommodate people who are physically challenged in one way or another. That’s great! More opportunities to bring in motivated pilots is worthwhile.
Yet designers have been hampered from making such changes, partly as they are burdened by a certification system that is simply too rigid to make the effort of approval worth it for small numbers of specially-equipped aircraft.
Cars, hotel rooms, curb construction, building ramps, smartphones, and more …all accommodate persons with disabilities. That’s wonderful, however…
All those arrangements that make life easier for someone in a wheelchair must nonetheless cope with strenuous regulatory demands. Cars, hotels, and smartphones are created by vastly larger enterprises with staff to handle regulatory burdens.
In the more intimate world of recreational aviation, the industry is composed of much smaller enterprises. A lighter regulatory hand (using ASTM standards instead of full FAA certification) allows easier airframe customization for specific purposes — such as hand control fittings and linkages — and this system allows changes on a dramatically faster schedule.