Usually, aviation journalists attending airshows seek the latest and greatest in aircraft. We love to find aircraft our readers have never seen and I’ve reported some of those in recent days.
Today, however, I’m going to step back in time to an aircraft model series I have not covered in years.
Titan Aircraft has become well known for their take on the ever-popular P-51 Mustang. In Titan’s case this resulted in the 75%-scale T-51 Mustang. You can read my different-than-usual report on that aircraft in this article.
Yet the longtime Ohio producer also continues to make their dashing Tornado in four varieties. One of those, the SS or Super Stretch model is my focus.
Titan Tornado SS
“Super Stretch”
Tornado started out as a single place aircraft back in the early days of FAA’s Part 103 regulation. That rule came out in fall of 1982 and a few years later, Titan got in the game with their 1+1 Tornado.
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Titan Aircraft — T-51 Mustang
Everybody loves the P-51 Mustang and not just pilots, but seemingly anyone who likes airplanes. However, affording one or being qualified to fly one limits any interactive fun with a Mustang to a very limited number of people. Titan Aircraft owner John Williams was another Mustang lover but he did something about it, creating the T-51, a very realistic kit that many can afford. We spoke at length with John about his favorite creation. We think you might enjoy it as well.
Titan Aircraft — Tornado
The Tornado is one of a line of small-looking, hot-handling, tandem-seated light aircraft including one model that can still meet Part 103 for ultralight vehicles. Short spans of an all-metal wing and a racy fighter-aircraft look to the cabin area add to the appeal of the four Tornado models. We speak with developer and longtime company boss John Williams who tells about construction and much more.
Titan Aircraft – Tornado II
In the last year, the Titan company scored a huge media success by having its Tornado appear on the popular TV show Northern Exposure. On the show, pilot character, Maggie, builds and flies the Tornado and the entire episode deals with the aircraft intimately. Titan boss John Williams was hired to provide technical consultation and the show gave a welcome boost to ultralight aviation.
How they chose this airplane over another is no mystery to anyone who’s flown the dashing design. The Tornado is available in a single and two seat model, each of which flies beautifully. One glance confirms an image of speed and snappy handling but these qualities don’t come with a penalty. Both aircraft can also slow down well, and exhibit forgiving takeoff and landing characteristics.
Appearances are important and the Titan aircraft excel in this area. In addition to strikingly raked lines, the planes are built from materials that suggest a long life.
Titan Aircraft – Tornado
The Tornado is one the most exhilarating ultralights I’ve flown. As I approached the short span aircraft, I didn’t expect to be so delighted with its flying qualities.
The Tornado has great lines. It looks like it might fly fast, handle briskly, and cope with bumps well. These impressions turn out to be correct when you fly the plane. However, flight reveals some secrets as well.
A clean design, cantilevered wings, full enclosure, with slick aluminum surfaces contribute to good slow flight qualities. The wing obviously works harder that its short span suggests. The Tornado will fly slowly when you deploy the large flaps and the speed range is admirably wide.
The plane will also land at surprisingly slow speeds. Handling is not only good at high speeds, it remains crisp at stall. Stalls themselves are mild affairs with no evil tendencies; under full power, I simply couldn’t generate a stall.
Just Aircraft — SuperSTOL with 180-hp Titan (2016)
Just Aircraft turns heads everywhere when they first introduced the SuperSTOL (STOL stands for short takeoff and landing). With a 100-horsepower Rotax 912, the aircraft was an awesome performer. Yet they saw even more potential. After installing a 180 horsepower, six cylinder UL Power 520i, they tackled installing the similarly potent motor from Continental, the Titan X-340. When Just Aircraft engineer Tory Woodland planned the installation, he realized they’d have to extend the fuselage to assure the right weight balance and control. They added two feet to the length but the climb rate is an astonishing 3,000 feet per minute. Hear more on this video.
It’s Almost Fall 2022 and It’s Time for Two Favorite Light-Sport Aircraft Aviation Events
As Labor Day approaches each year, pilots in the Midwest U.S. — and some from much further away — start heading to Mt. Vernon, Illinois. About an hour’s drive East of St. Louis, Missouri, Mt. Vernon is home to a dedicated sector show that has emerged as a favorite.
This is the 14th year for the Midwest LSA Expo, so airport manager and all-around good guy Chris Collins is starting to psyche up for his benchmark 15th year in 2023. Putting this in perspective, that’s as old as the Sebring LSA Expo ever got before it disbanded. I’ll bet Chris never really thought about running one of the most established shows in the country.
While I cannot speak for every attendee, I can tell you that vendors return year after year for a very good reason: they sell airplanes. Pilots can thoroughly examine an airplane and perhaps make their decision.
DeLand Showcase 2019 — Ending the Airshow Year for Light-Sport Aircraft and SP Kit Aircraft
In about one week, it all ends. Before then, DeLand Showcase 2019 is set to begin! As this is the last airshow of the year, it’s also fair to say the season ends when DeLand show concludes. This year is the fourth annual event.
Since the Sebring show bid a final farewell last spring, DeLand will be the last light aircraft show until Arizona’s Copperstate/Buckeye Air Fair in February, followed two months later by Sun ‘n Fun. If you live in the eastern half of the USA, DeLand and Sun ‘n Fun are separated by five months. Yikes! You can learn more about Copperstate/Buckeye in this video with the Vice Mayor.
Next week on November 14-15-16, welcome to sunny, warm Florida.
Come to DeLand
I hope many of you who frequent this website will be heading to DeLand for the event starting next Thursday.
Badland Aircraft — Kitfox Lite, A True Part 103 Ultralight Aircraft, Returns to the Market
Once we had Avid Flyer. It begat Kitfox, which begat many models before returning to the starting point by creating a Part 103 ultralight vehicle* called Kitfox Lite …what else? At that time Kitfox was owned by its principal, Dan Denney.
A good marketer Denney’s Kitfox once employed a whole staff of sales people following up on loads of leads that the then-new design was generating. Even now, decades later, Kitfox, doing business as Fox Air, is building one of the most successful kit-plane designs in aviation history. (For the facts and market position of Kitfox visit our Tableau Public page of LSA and SP kit statistics.)
While the Dan Denney version of Kitfox Inc., addressed strong demand, they also began working to widen the market they served. Kitfox had found success as a two seater in various configurations but did a market exist for a single seater?
Lightning LS and XS — Arion Aircraft’s Sleek and Fast “Built in America” Speedsters
Most pilots love a fast-looking aircraft that looks as good on the ramp as it does in the air? Sure, gnarly backwoods airplanes on huge tires and tall gear struts have huge appeal, and float-equipped aircraft and seaplanes also draw strong interest. Yet aviation’s leading draw may be speed …more is better, right?
If that’s an accurate assessment, then let the drooling begin over this beautifully contoured flying machine that can race 135 to 185 miles an hour for a fairly modest investment. I’m writing about Lightning from Arion Aircraft, available as either a Light-Sport Aircraft or an Experimental Amateur Built version. That these handsome aircraft are also 100% designed and manufactured in the USA may be sweet icing on the cake for many readers.
LS-1 is a true Light-Sport Aircraft that meets all the parameters and survived a detailed FAA audit a few years ago. In the field owners I’ve spoken to love Lightning and its speedy ways.
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