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Archives for December 2023
News Wrap — A60 Junkers Takes Maiden Flight, Icon Launches Higher, Rotax Record Year
As the end of the year approaches and as excitement builds for 2024, I have some news items of interest to the light aircraft community.
Right before Christmas, read about the maiden flight of Junkers side-by-side A60, a year-end recap provided by Icon Aircraft, and year highlights from leading engine producer Rotax Aircraft Engines. Let’s get started…
Junkers A60 Flies!
Earlier this year, Junkers garnered lots of attention with their highly distinctive A50 Junior, an LSA with tandem seating and a look you won’t forget. Not everyone loves tandem, though, so here comes A6o, the side-by-side sibling of Junior.
We saw Junkers Aircraft‘s’ A50 Junior at Sun ‘n Fun 2023, where it made a splashy debut and flew for the first time in front of American pilots off the grass strip in Paradise City (the airshow within an airshow at Sun ‘n Fun). While most who examined it closely admired the detailed workmanship that went into it, not everyone desires tandem seating.
AVI’s Affordable, Foldable, Composite Part 103 Ultralight Aircraft Gets a Fresh New Look
Aeromarine LSA’s Chip Erwin is one but certainly not the only busy fellow in the modern Part 103 aircraft space. AVI’s Radu Berceanu is another a man on the move. Chip works in metal. Radu works in composite. You know Chip better (he’s adept at PR) but you probably know Radu’s designs. Readers have responded enthusiastically to articles and videos about Swan.
In an earlier article I promised a video look. Now that the flying season is easing into the holidays, I have more time to spend editing videos. What takes a few minutes to shoot takes hours to edit but I’m pleased to let you hear from Radu himself. His English is quite good and you get a lot of views of the new & improved Swan, now called Swan LE.
Fresh Swan Retake
The article from April this year had additional detail for Swan LE and mentions Dracula, the subject of a future video and article.
“…and a Darkness Descended…” Solar Eclipse Spectacular for Pilots at Mt. Vernon (KMVN)
You know Mt. Vernon, or you should. For 15 years, I’ve reported from, recorded videos at, and given talks at the Midwest LSA Expo, which is held at the Mt. Vernon, Illinois municipal airport, about an hour’s drive east of St. Louis.
Normally at Mt. Vernon, “It’s all about the airplanes!” It will again be so come September 5-7, 2024 — more on that below.
However, in April 2024, here comes something different and special for pilots at Mt. Vernon.
Going Dark
Out went the Message — “Calling all Midwest LSA Expo Attendees, AirVenture Cup/Air Race Classic Racers, KR/Ercoupe/Fly-Baby Builders/Flyers, Bonnie Aviator Club Members, CAA Members, and all Area Aviators!”
What?! Is KMVN manager Chris Collins simply asking very early for pilots to attend September’s LSA Expo. Nope! The announcement continued…
Mother Nature will provide an airshow at KMVN not to be seen again until 2044!
“Join us at KMVN at approximately 2:00 pm on Monday, April 8, 2024 to experience a 4-minute solar eclipse.
Humble Triangle — Innovative Glider Control Mechanism Has a Nearly Unknown History
When Wilbur and Orville set out to fly their first airplane 120 years ago, aeronautical knowledge was rare and precious. Pioneers like Lilienthal preceded the Wright Brothers but the Ohio bike shop owners still had to figure out almost everything. They did so without funding, university degrees, or government help. Today, nearly every aviator celebrates their December 1903 achievement.
Aviation is a many-varied activity, though, and not all aircraft followed the same development path. Especially after World War II and the arrival of kit-built aircraft, American aviators began exploring in many directions.
Around the time NASA was pushing hard to land on the moon, a growing group of enthusiasts were jumping off mountains in pursuit of flight. Hang gliding soared into sky in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Enthusiasts grew to more than 100,000 active hang glider pilots globally, flying in nearly every country on Earth, perhaps as the most affordable of all aircraft.
News Wrap — Lift Offers Part 103 Hexa for Work; Aero Asia Success Points to 30th Anniversary Event
As I recently wrote about Aerial Work for Mosaic LSA, perhaps it’s fitting to write about Part 103 vehicles doing commercial work.
But isn’t flying for hire prohibited in Part 103? Yes, it is.
However, “public use” aircraft do not have to meet FAA aircraft certification regulations nor operating limitations. “Public use” can include activities like police, fire, rescue, border patrol, and similar typically government functions whether provided by federal, state, or local agencies. In short, government departments at all levels get special privileges.
This means little to pilots unless you are one flying for a government agency. For the producers, however, this can mean potentially lucrative sales. In the case of Part 103 multicopter producers it may represent a means of market entry.
In this article I reference an aircraft covered before called Hexa (earlier article, with more aircraft detail), designed and built by Lift Aircraft in Austin, Texas.
Elephants and Gyroplanes… What on Earth Could They Have in Common? Freedom!
One of the brightest stars in the Mosaic regulatory constellation is allowing LSA to do “aerial work.” In today’s LSA, the only compensated activities Americans can perform are flight instruction and limited towing operations. Any more is prohibited by SP/LSA regulations. Why is this important?
Since 2014, LAMA has explained that light aircraft could be used productively for many work missions, although the Association was careful to stress that it was not advocating for passenger or cargo hauling. Many other aerial working activities were demonstrated to FAA. Agency rule writers agreed and the opportunity is coming with Mosaic.
Admittedly, the community does not yet have all the information needed on what pilot credentials will be required to use Mosaic LSA for aerial work, but as the agency weighs comments and discusses this internally, we hope Flight Standards (which manages such things) will remain as reasonable as the Aircraft Certification group.
In this article I am pleased to observe one credible use of an LSA to do some serious aerial work.