Cool It! — Scott Severen of US Aviation — the central Texas general aviation dynamo — is a man on a mission. He showed an AMT FlyCool installation (video) on a Flight Design CTLS at Sun ‘n Fun that was a surprisingly clean installation considering he brought all the air conditioning parts in his airline luggage. By AOPA’s fall Summit, he had refined it considerably (photo). Now the installation features a handsome louvered right side baggage door that brings fresh air in and exhausts warmer air. The panel switches are permanent and in the warm Texas sunshine, the system had great appeal. It adds surprisingly little weight (22 pounds); cost varies by installation but is much less expensive than old style air conditioning systems for airplanes. One downside is a loss of some luggage capacity but for example, a flight school wouldn’t care. Their students could chill instead of sweating through their flying lesson.

I wrote about Free Bird two years ago, to the surprise of many readers who thought, well … different things about Iran, most of them not very positive. We tend not to realize how media reporting and statements from government officials influence our views of a place like Iran. I don’t doubt that some of the crazy things we hear about do indeed happen. Yet I suspect the country is significantly composed of citizens that probably have little control over the direction their government chooses. So, with this update, I plan to tell you a little about what it’s like for the Dorna Aircraft Company to operate in a country like Iran. Think whatever you will, but you likely see attractive aircraft comparable to those from many countries. “Oh, you want to see the Dorna Aircraft showroom,” a Tehran visitor might ask. “Ah, go to the Negar Tower and take the elevator to the 23rd floor.” According to marketing and business development point man for Dorna, Sajad Entesari, “I think it’s highest show room in region.” With his father Yaghoub, Dorna’s CEO, this family-run Iranian airplane producer has some struggles operating in the country, as you might expect.

My LAMA Europe counterpart and friend, Jan Fridrich, took another trip to China in October as he attended Xi’an, said to be the largest General Aviation exhibition in the country. While the show was large with expansive, expensive exhibit stands, airplanes were sparser than events such as Aero Friedrichshafen. Like a few American events (thinking of AOPA’s just concluded Summit and NBAA’s giant show), Xi’an’s convention hall housed indoor displays while the “static” display of more airplanes was at an airport. U.S. organizers usually try to colocate these two displays. In contrast, Jan reported, “The static exhibition was at the airport in Pucheng, which is about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Xi’an! Practically speaking, it was only accessible by bus and only during one official day and the journey takes 2.5 hours … Without Chinese friends it is very complicated to get anywhere.” Jan added that viewers at the airport were unable to get within 60 feet of airplanes.

In just-completed October, ByDanJohnson.com repeated a remarkable number: 70,000+ Unique Visitors, defined as a separate computer [IP] address, came to the website in the two fall months of September and October — after the main airshow season concluded. Before I go any further, let me say, “THANK YOU!” For a specialty website focusing on Light-Sport Aircraft plus kit airplanes and other aircraft Sport Pilots can fly to reach such a large group of visitors suggests that interest in this segment is strong. This may be despite the still-sluggish economy or perhaps it is precisely because of it. LSA and the Sport Pilot certificate are the most affordable ways to own a new airplane or to get started in aviation so I see a bright future for the sector. On this website we try to present information you want and it seems we’re succeeding. We’ll keep working hard; you can count on it.

In the last days of October, another fascinating UK light aircraft took to the air after several years in development. The brainchild of Giotto Castelli and Tony Bishop takes advantage of SSDR, a British CAA initiative with the longer name of “Single Seat Deregulation,” proving as has the LSA movement that reduced government control allows innovation to blossom. The British program allows aircraft weighing less than 115 kilograms to bypass conventional certification. A test pilot took the canard design up for its first official flight recently logging about 30 minutes up to 4,000 feet and 80 knots to conduct initial handling trials. After a post-flight inspection, data analysis, and refueling, he took it up again for its second, one hour flight to explore the envelope further, including stability, control and canard stalls. Then on October 30th, with notoriously difficult UK weather still cooperating, former BAE Systems chief test pilot Keith Dennison demonstrated e-Go to an invited audience of customers, investors, volunteers, suppliers, friends and family at Tibenham airfield in Norfolk, England.

Recently I became of aware of one of those “Oh, wow!” airplanes, one that can generate much the same response as Just Aircraft‘s attention-riveting SuperSTOL. At first glance, DoubleEnder intrigued me. At opposite corners of the USA, we now have twin Rotax engine sport planes: the long proven AirCam in southern Florida, and a newer sensation, Double Ender in Alaska. Some readers may believe neither fits this website’s focus on LSA, light kits, and aircraft Sport Pilots can fly; like AirCam, Double Ender weighs too much (2,500 pounds gross) and has too many engines (dual Rotax 914 turbos each modified to 130 hp) to be an LSA. However, both are sport planes powered by Rotax engines. Plus, look at the accompanying photos. They inspire by showing flight qualities similar though not identical to AirCam. So, here’s a preliminary story of this unusual aircraft.

After watching the Terrafugia Transition (video) fly from on the main airshow runway at AirVenture 2013, many pilots began to view the LSA flying car as more than a media magnet. The project, which has indeed generated an amazing amount of mainstream media attention, proved itself to be a real aircraft that can indeed drive like a car. More recently the Massachusetts company amped up their game with a new model, TF-X, now in early design stage. Meanwhile, the Transition, also evolving as a design, garnered the attention of — and a $2.7 million investment from — DARPA, the U.S. government’s Defense Advanced Research Products Agency. Where some once saw a novelty product only of interest to those intrigued by a “flying car,” more began to view this as a genuine aircraft. However, Terrafugia isn’t the only company pursuing such a unique machine. One of my favorite quotes comes from Molt Taylor, the prime mover behind Aerocar, perhaps the first “practical” flying car and one that earned certification.

Most of our attention is paid to either Light-Sport Aircraft, both SLSA and ELSA, or to light kit aircraft that Sport Pilots may fly. Yet another worthy category exists: Standard Category certified airplanes that can also be flown by someone with or exercising the privileges of Sport Pilot. Recently, my home airport, Spruce Creek Fly-in near Daytona Beach, hosted an Ercoupe event that brought 11 of these charming and distinctive airplanes. Spruce Creek is home to more than 500 airplanes and more than 500 hangar homes, along with another 1,100 homes. The diversity of aircraft is broad from ultralights to bizjets and military jets and everything in between including one of the largest fleets of RVs anywhere. Ercoupe, first manufactured by Engineering and Research Company (ERCO), is a low-wing mostly metal airplane with fabric covered wings. Production started before World War II aiming at a very low cost, very safe airplane.