I always enjoy when a new airplane company arrives on the market and sets plans in motion to expand and improve their flying machine. Texas Aircraft and their Colt 100 Light-Sport Aircraft is one such company.
Lead by the energetic and ambitious Matheus Grande, Texas Aircraft is moving on several fronts. Here is some update on the Colt builder based in Hondo, Texas.
Garmin IFR Colt
“Wait,” I hear some of you exclaim! “A Light-Sport Aircraft cannot be used for flying with reference only to instruments.” Wrong!
Rather than repeat what I have already written several times, I invite you to explore this article which makes an attempt to explain the situation surrounding IFR or IMC, that is, flight in actual instrument conditions; different from filing to fly in the IFR system for training or other reasons.
Certainly, most readers will see the value in a new, modern, fuel efficient, comfortable, and marvelously-equipped Light-Sport Aircraft versus a 30-50 year-old Cessna 172 or other legacy general aviation aircraft.
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Texas Aircraft in 2020 — Logs First Customer Delivery of Colt Light-Sport Aircraft
How about this for a great way to start off the new year — a brand-new airplane? Both pilot and manufacturer are smiling and with good reason: both are winners in this transaction, as it should be.
Hondo-based Texas Aircraft Manufacturing announced today that the new Light-Sport Aircraft builder delivered its first new-generation Colt to Richard “Ricky“ Youschak, of Gainesville, Florida.
Colt has a history. While a clean-sheet design, the all-metal high-wing aircraft follows a successful design from Brazil, the Conquest 180. Built especially for the LSA market, Colt benefits from the earlier manufacturing exercise. Approximately 300 were delivered by the older Brazilian builder.
Colt gained its Special LSA approval last year. More details are available in this earlier article.
Texas Aircraft
“I cannot express how happy and proud I am of our entire team. Just a year ago, the Colt LSA was still in development, and we had just opened the doors at our facility here in Hondo, Texas,” Texas Aircraft Manufacturing’s co-founder, Matheus Grande said.
Texas Aircraft Wins FAA Acceptance as a Special Light-Sport Aircraft; Number 151 On Our List
Welcome to the newest Special Light-Sport Aircraft, the recently unveiled (at Oshkosh 2019) Texas Aircraft Manufacturing Colt 100.
The all-metal, high wing, yoke-controlled aircraft enters our popular SLSA List at Number 151, a fitting number just days after the newest aircraft sector celebrated its 15th anniversary. FAA announced the regulation creating LSA in September 2004. The industry has gained approval for an average of 10 new aircraft designs every year for more than 15 years.
On September 24th, 2019, the company based in Hondo, Texas received its Special airworthiness certificate from FAA indicating the agency has reviewed the company’s compliance with the full set of ASTM standards.
Earlier, Texas Aircraft had a grand reception detailed in this article with video.
I toured the company’s aircraft production facilities in Hondo and found them able to match other strong operations I have visited. The company has wisely hired outside talent as needed, for example, to gain their Special airworthiness certificate.
Texas Aircraft Colt 100 (0919)
Colt 100 from Texas Aircraft Manufacturing based in Hondo, Texas is a Brazilian Light-Sport Aircraft design. Based on an earlier design from the southern hemisphere country, Colt has been highly refined for the U.S. market. Colt is almost all aluminum, is powered by the Rotax 100 horsepower 912 ULS engine, and uses avionics from Dynon. In this short video, you get a full look at the new design and we go aloft. Soon — as you can tell from the cameras mounted all over Colt — you will be able to enjoy a full length Video Pilot Report but here’s a short video to whet your appetite.
Midwest LSA Expo 2019 — Day 2: Flying the Texas Aircraft Colt Light-Sport Aircraft
You know you have a great job when… you get to fly a brand new Light-Sport Aircraft on a bright, beautiful, blue sky day at a Sport Pilot-friendly airport. The job: writing this story and making a video. The task: Go fly (duh!). The airport: Mt. Vernon (KMVN), the award-winning Illinois facility that hosts the Midwest LSA Expo lead by the most customer-attentive airport manager one can imagine. What’s not to love?
The specific task in this case: Fly the Texas Aircraft Manufacturing Colt 100, now in the final stages of gaining its Special Airworthiness certificate as a Special Light-Sport Aircraft. See our earlier article.
The day could not have been more lovely and the air has never been smoother. The only thing I needed to make the experience a complete success was pleasant cabin mate as we went aloft to check out the Colt.
Texas Aircraft Manufacturing
Texas Aircraft, from the Lone Star state, offers a bright new entry: Colt 100, a descendant from an established Brazilian light aircraft. Colt is a handsome, clean-sheet design built of aluminum with a steel safety cell structure, performing strongly with its Rotax 912 engine, and showing a well-equipped, modern, deluxe interior that any pilot can love.
Texas Aircraft Unveils All-New Colt 100 Light-Sport Aircraft
In late February, Texas Aircraft invited me to an unveiling ceremony. As it’s always wonderful to witness the arrival of a new aircraft and sense the excitement and enthusiasm of its developers, I jumped at the opportunity.
Now that they’ve taken off the wraps, I am pleased to offer readers a first close look at the Colt 100.
Known as Texas Aircraft Manufacturing, the company hosted an event to inaugurate its new development and production facility at South Texas Regional Airport in Hondo, Texas.
Our hosts were Texas Aircraft Manufacturing CEO Matheus Grande and company partners Caio Jordão, Diego Jordão, Carlos Barros and Samantha Almeida.
In his opening remarks Grande said, “Thank you very much for being a part of this special, historic moment. It is our honor to have all of you with us. Today, we are here to celebrate the first important step of this company and we are so very proud to present our new facility to you.”
“Soon we will be launching our new Light-Sport Aircraft into the world market, and we invite all of you to join us at EAA Oshkosh AirVenture in July 2019 for that official introduction,” Grande said.
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.
“Affordable” Aviation and One Company’s Effort to Help Pilots Own a New Aircraft
As regular readers know, I promote ByDanJohnson.com as the home of “affordable aviation.” I even own the domain name AffordableAviation.com.
Yet “affordable” is one of those very personal words. What each of us can afford — or chooses to afford — is different than almost everyone else.
Therefore, an especially wide range of choices is good. I have written a lot about very inexpensive aircraft (see many in this series of articles) and you can find lots more from $8,000 to $180,000.
Yesterday, a premium supplier of Light-Sport Aircraft made their new entry more affordable.
Lower-Priced Colt
Texas Aircraft Manufacturing announced they are now offering an entry-level Colt Special LSA with a single Garmin G3X Touch flight display at a much-reduced price. The company’s first offering listed for $167,000.
“As we come out from under Covid-induced flight training restrictions, operators of several flight schools have come to us asking for an affordably-priced, all-metal, Garmin-equipped training aircraft,” CEO, Matheus Grande, stated.
Canada’s Chinook — Relocated to Texas and Upgraded; Now, “Made in the USA”
Then…
In the 1990s, a pair of Canadian aircraft dominated the light aviation market in America’s neighbor to the north. The two planes are known to many Americans: Beaver and Chinook.
Thanks to a rescue by second owner ASAP many years ago, both continued to be manufactured in Canada’s West.
Long-departed Birdman Enterprises did a fine job of originating the Chinook. When ASAP took over, Canadians and ultralight enthusiasts in many places celebrated ongoing support of this aircraft. Hundreds of Chinooks were built.
That is now rather distant history. Bringing Chinook not only into the present day but also into the USA is the Aeroplane Manufactory.
…and Now
For several years, ASAP sold the Chinook Plus 2, tagging the two-seater model with the “Plus” suffix after ASAP’s team improved and refined the aircraft following their acquisition.
In more modern times, after purchasing the Chinook design rights and inventory in 2013 (five semi loads’ worth!), Aeroplane Manufactory brought the north-of-the-border design way down south to the Houston, Texas area.
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