“I’m of mixed feelings over this,” express many Light-Sport Aircraft industry participants who have caused my phone to ring regularly since late September *. That’s when EAA and AOPA came together to address requests from some members for a driver’s license “medical,” which would allow aviators with certificates beyond Sport Pilot to fly GA aircraft with clearly defined limitations without the need for an FAA medical. *** In the weeks that followed the announcement, numerous LSA professionals have expressed dismay with the initiative. A dozen cancelled sales have been reported and that is not likely to represent the whole picture. A common complaint is the industry was unaware of the plan announcement until just before it was made; no discussion occurred between the member organizations and the LSA industry. *** For the record… work to formulate a written proposal to FAA is underway; a date for presentation to the agency has not been announced.
When I was a kid, I used to say, "Just scotch it." I mean that Scotch (brand) tape could fix anything, or so my young mind thought at the time. Apparently, duct tape is the new Scotch tape, at least for aviators trying to fix tears on a fabric-covered aircraft. But, 
In genuine Hollywood fashion Mythbusters went the distance, not merely patching with duct tape, but covering an entire Belite with the silver sticky stuff carefully striping the Belite vertically and horizontally (photo... yes, that's all duct tape!). After a very short flight without a turn, they found no tape had come loose; the Duct Tape Belite had achieved flight.
James Wiebe flew the plane during filming in June. And therein lies the real story, in my opinion. Through his duct-tape-airplane suggestion, James put light aircraft on national television. Mythbusters reaches about two million Americans, many of them younger people, with a science-is-fun message. I think it's great James got his bird on the show... heck, as the star of the show. OK, the Belite and duct tape.
Wiebe's blog noted that the Mythbusters show drove so many people to Belite's website immediately after it aired that their website crashed. Another proof that even in an age of mobile Internet devices, television still plays a major role in global culture and communication.
Proving the naysayers wrong (again!) were at least two intriguing Part 103 airplanes you can buy and fly today for less than $20,000. That's well the under the average price of a new automobile for a ready-to-fly aircraft with desirable features, not a stripped-down machine that no one really wants. I wrote about Terry Raber's lovely little 
If you've ever visited AirVenture's Ultralight Area, odds are you saw a pilot known as the "Flying Farmer" doing circuits of the Ultralight Area pattern. Seemingly a different (though vaguely similar) aircraft would do pattern flights each year accented by a throaty, guttural four-stroke sound that did not mimic the ubiquitous Rotax or the smooth Jabiru, or even the also-distinctive-sounding HKS. Powering the Flying Farmer's aircraft was a Generac generator motor converted to airplane use. It pulled aloft a welded aluminum structure under a semi covered, or semi enclosed, aircraft that also didn't imitate any other airframe you saw. They all looked to fly energetically.
I refer to Gene Smith (the "Farmer") and his 
Now Gene's son, Larry Smith, is the front man for their newest-yet Backyard Flyer, a legitimately Part 103 aircraft that looks as solid as much heavier aircraft — "251 pounds even with tricycle gear," said Larry. Welded aluminum permits larger diameter tube-frame construction that has a reassuring beefiness to it.
Perhaps the most unusual feature of this not-like-the-others airplane is the swing wing. Four bolts allow movement on a "turntable" so the one-piece wing pivots 90 degrees to sit over the tail and protrude beyond the nose. The "swing wing" requires a 30-foot trailer but would truly be useful in a crowded hangar as it measures only 83 inches wide. Aileron disconnects took a couple minutes; the whole process didn't consume five minutes.
A couple years before the first European LSA arrived, a euro and a dollar had roughly the same value. Then things started to change. Wages began to rise in eastern Europe. Simultaneously, the dollar began to lose value... or the euro began to gain (it doesn't really matter which way you look at it). The two conspired to cause the 
So, what if you'd love a Cub-like aircraft yet you haven't won the lottery? How about iCub? (Or how about a 
Bill Canino, President of SportairUSA coined a new phrase when he said, "Zlin Aviation builds one of the world's most popular lines of Cub fly-alikes." Indeed the Zlin is not a Cub. It's lighter and uses the Rotax engine; neither American Cub replica uses Rotax. "We are now able to offer [Savage models] in America at prices $40,000 to $50,000 below the competition," said SportairUSA. To prove their point, the Arkansas company lists Savage Cub for $78,790, ready-to-fly including shipping, fees and registration. New, lower prices on other aircraft in the Savage line are $71,090 for the Classic, $74,490 for the Cruiser, and $87,610 for the iCub.
SportairUSA has become a full-line supplier to the LSA industry with additional aircraft such as 
