I believe you should applaud Milan Bristela. Now a veteran of the Light-Sport Aircraft sector, he has steadily built a successful aircraft manufacturing enterprise — BRM Aero — that recently rolled out Bristell #300. With its first delivery to a customer in 2011, this represents an average pace of 50 aircraft per year, a wonderful business size for a LSA manufacturer. Every company starts smaller and grows, so assuming a spooling up of their production engine, BRM is now completing between one and two aircraft per week. Good job, Milan and team! BRM Aero started in 2009 with two employees. Over the course of several years the team has grown to 50 employees, they report. When growth demanded, they moved into larger quarters but they’ve also maintained a family feel with father Milan and son Martin running the enterprise as partners. The full name of their very handsome aircraft is Bristell NG 5 LSA.
Improved forward visibility — to enhance flying enjoyment and safety.
- Comfortable cabin with less noise and vibration — positioning the exhaust pipe above the wing helps FX1 reduce noise for neighbors and other people on the ground.
- Accelerated Lift & Control Response — with the engine mounted close to the wing, the propeller directs accelerated airflow over the wing enhancing take-off performance, said Alfredo. "This is called 'accelerated lift,' a phenomenon common to twin engine designs," he added. "This effect also tames departure stall characteristics, contributing to the FX1’s forgiving flight qualities. In a similar way, the propeller is also closer to the vertical and horizontal stabilizers and associated control surfaces (rudder & elevators) for enhanced control response."
- CG & Balance — “mid-ship” engine placement, common for exotic sports cars, places FX1’s engine mass closer to the aircraft’s center of gravity. This is said to decrease the aircraft’s moment of inertia for faster response in the pitch & yaw axes, and for the roll axis, raising the engine to the level of the wings on a high-wing design increases roll response.
- Safety — experience with the FX1’s predecessor, the JetFox 97, proved that a “front & center” engine placement can help in the event of an impact. "Rather than having the engine transmit force directly to the cabin, a forward impact is transmitted to the airframe, independent of the cabin, for greater survivability," noted Alfredo. FX1’s cabin employs a cage of built-up welded steel-alloy tubing (chromoly), wrapped in a carbon-fiber composite structure.