James Lawrence, Author at ByDanJohnson.com

Corrections to Falcon Post

By James Lawrence || February 26, 2012 Leave a Comment (Edit)

Here's correx on a couple mistakes in the last post on the Renegade Falcon and FK 12 Comet LSA biplane: *** The gentleman who bought the Falcon at Sebring is from Switzerland, not Sweden. *** The Comet with the Lycoming 233 LSA engine, which is rated for aerobatics unlike the Rotax-powered version, will be marketed by both Renegade and Hansen Air Group. *** Mike Hansen told me not everyone who is interested in the Comet wants to do aerobatics in it. Some folks just love bipes, so the Hansens will also continue to sell the Rotax-powered version.

Here’s correx on a couple mistakes in the last post on the Renegade Falcon and FK 12 Comet LSA biplane: *** The gentleman who bought the Falcon at Sebring is from Switzerland, not Sweden. *** The Comet with the Lycoming 233 LSA engine, which is rated for aerobatics unlike the Rotax-powered version, will be marketed by both Renegade and Hansen Air Group. *** Mike Hansen told me not everyone who is interested in the Comet wants to do aerobatics in it. Some folks just love bipes, so the Hansens will also continue to sell the Rotax-powered version.

Falcons On The Hunt

By James Lawrence || February 25, 2012 Leave a Comment (Edit)

Roomy, sexy, great lines...it's been awhile coming, but the Falcon is now in production.

Manfred Wasser, happy new owner.

Packing up for Switzerland!

Looks like it'll do 150 knots easy, doesn't it?

Just heard from “Doc” Bailey of the Renegade Light-Sport gang, who have taken over U.S. production of the sleek, muscular Falcon SLSA along with wrangling the new Lycoming 233 LSA series of engines.In mid-May, Doc says they’ll be introducing their latest US version of the Falcon, including the tailwheel to tricycle version which uses the same airframe. *** The entire plane is now made here in the US, and based on the constant attention and sales at Sebring, Renegade would seem to have a success on their hands. I’ll be flying it in the next few weeks: have been looking forward to that for some time.Meanwhile, Doc tells me, “We have just moved into our new 44,000 square foot facility here at Lee’s Summit (MO). Sometime I would like to give you a tour of our facility and then when and if you want to go to North Carolina I will take you to our new composite plant, (where) we hope to be making as many as six LSA airframes there soon for different 'want to be Made in the USA' vendors.” *** He says the new version of the Falcon will knock my socks off. That's a tall order, I wear SmartWool socks. *** “We will be at Lakeland doing demo rides a few days before Sun ‘n Fun (March 27-April 1) — we will have three aircraft in the works to be flying before the show — so busy, busy, busy. *** The airplane I shot at Sebring, which you see here, just went off to Switzerland, representing Renegade’s first sale abroad. *** "Turn about's fair play," crows Doc, speaking of reversing the flow of LSA back across the Big Pond! *** The lucky owner is Manfred Wasser of Sweden. *** "He flew every LSA made in Europe," says Doc. "When he climbed abroad our bird he wrote us a check on the spot. He flew over here especially to test fly it and when he got out the big grin overcame him. All pretenses of sales negotiations went out the window. He said how much, we told him, and his wife wrote the check." *** Get me a wife like that! Manfred, according to Doc, is retired and plans to land on “every grass strip and every paved runway, published or not, in the entire continent of Europe in the next two years.” *** That sounds like a tall order and a whale of a good time...and a great way to sell airplanes, since he just became a dealer as well. *** As if that wasn’t enough news for one day, Doc Bailey, ever the voluble entrepreneur, tacked on this tidbit: any day now he’ll be receiving two Peter Funk Fk12 Comets from Germany, to have the new Lycoming 233, fully aerobatic light sport engines installed in them. The Hansen Air Group sells that airplane here in the states and are having Doc mount the engines to allow the sexy little bipe to do aerobatics: they're prohibited for the Rotax engine, which it's also rigged for. The Hansen booth was another constantly busy place at Sebring, that is one very cute airplane. *** I was all set to fly the Comet at Sebring when it blew a tire after our air-to-air shoot and was out for the rest of the show. That’s another one I’m going down early to Florida to fly before SnF, can't wait. *** Mark your calendars for that show! The Air Force Thunderbirds will be there, along with a crackin’ good night fireworks air show. Update 2/26/12 — Corrections on a couple mistakes in the 2/24/12 post on the Renegade Falcon and FK 12 Comet LSA biplane: *** The gentleman who bought the Falcon at Sebring is from Switzerland, not Sweden. *** The Comet with the Lycoming O-233 LSA engine, which is rated for aerobatics unlike the Rotax-powered version, will be marketed by both Renegade and Hansen Air Group. *** Mike Hansen told me not everyone who is interested in the Comet wants to do aerobatics in it. Some folks just love bipes, so the Hansens will also continue to sell the Rotax-powered version. —JL

End-‘O-Year Registration Numbers

By James Lawrence || February 17, 2012 Leave a Comment (Edit)

Cessna Skycatcher

Randy Lervold and the Carbon Cub SS

2011 FAA registrations *** Click to enlarge

Overall market share *** Click to enlarge

Arion LS-1 Lightning - photo courtesy Arion

Aerotrek A240 - photo courtesy Aerotrek Aircraft

The much-anticipated LSA Market Share numbers as compiled by LAMA Europe's head dude Jan Fridrich are up on Dan Johnson's blog this week. They expand on some anticipated, surprising and overall encouraging themes. Sales were up at Sebring and many companies are posting strong numbers. *** First, in the No Brainer Dept: Cessna and CubCrafters won the year hands down. *** Big Cessna, as the charts Dan and Jan compile clearly show, had the largest number of registrations in 2011 with 134, a record for the LSA industry and fully 48% of all listings for the year. The numbers reflect Cessna playing catchup on its 1,000 order glut back at the beginning of the LSA movement. *** As Dan is always quick to clarify and I like to remind you, these are not sales numbers, but actual registrations and thus will lag sales numbers somewhat or, in Cessna's case with their long initial production delays, quite a bit. *** The salient point here is that sales numbers can reflect a lot of "The buyer is just about to sign!" enthusiasm from dealers, whereas registrations are hard numbers and that's why Dan prefers to shoot that way, i.e., straight. *** One success story I know of gives a good example of just how to regard these registration numbers: Jim Lee of Phoenix Air USA has racked up 15 sales of his fab Phoenix motorglider in a little over a year, but initially slow production means he's only been able to deliver a handful so far, although the factory is hustling to catch up. *** If the beautiful motorglider's sales numbers were factored in, Phoenix Air would be number five on the Calendar Year 2011 list's top 10. *** Another case in point: CubCrafters, which holds number 2 position on both the Total Market Share list and the Calendar Year 2011 final tally, notched 34 aircraft registered through the end of the year, and 184 all time total. *** Meanwhile, Randy Lervold, Cubcrafter's General Manager (see our next issue of Plane & Pilot, which features my story on the Carbon Cub SS) announced just before Sebring that the company expected to deliver its 200th aircraft by this month, along with sales continuing at a strong enough pace to justify the new production facility the company built recently. *** Some other notes, and check out Dan's Splog for more of his industry-savvy insights: • SportCruiser: US Sport Aircraft is doing well filling the gap left by Piper's sudden departure from the LSA world with 20 registrations last year. • Flight Design USA with its sophisticated aircraft models and ever-expanding sales/service centers across the country, continues to hold sway over the U.S. market with 341 total registrations. FD came in third for 2011 with 21, just edging out U.S. Sport Aircraft. *** The company continues to find innovative ways of generating enthusiasm for their top-quality CT line of aircraft. Two additions this year drew the limelight: the CTLE Law Enforcement aircraft (see my Sebring post in January) that's catching on with officialdom, and the CT4 four-seat General Aviation entry in development. • Jabiru USA and Arion: Both companies, producers of the J230 *** and LS-1 Lightning respectively, tied for 2011 registrations with 7 each. Arion has pushed up into the 20th all time position with 18 total registrations for its sleek and lovely low-winger. Jabiru has registered 104 U.S. aircraft (and many more overseas for the Australian parent company) and continues to be a solid contender with its large cargo space and stable, long-distance-cruising personality. • Aerotrek: Here's another company that's hung in there through the tough economy by virtue of the enduring popularity of its tube 'n fabric, tricycle/taildragger option, folding-wing mainstay models (A220 and A240). *** Attractive pricing and quality fun-flying airplanes are the secret recipe. Company head Rob Rollison told me at Sebring he'd sold two aircraft at the show and two the previous two weeks, and production is booked for the next several months. 2011 was a good year too, with eight registrations but even more sales. *** Thanks again to Dan Johnson and Jan Fridrich for their excellent work in bringing to light trends in the LSA industry.

The much-anticipated LSA Market Share numbers as compiled by LAMA Europe’s head dude Jan Fridrich are up on Dan Johnson’s blog this week. They expand on some anticipated, surprising and overall encouraging themes. Sales were up at Sebring and many companies are posting strong numbers. *** First, in the No Brainer Dept: Cessna and CubCrafters won the year hands down. *** Big Cessna, as the charts Dan and Jan compile clearly show, had the largest number of registrations in 2011 with 134, a record for the LSA industry and fully 48% of all listings for the year. The numbers reflect Cessna playing catchup on its 1,000 order glut back at the beginning of the LSA movement. *** As Dan is always quick to clarify and I like to remind you, these are not sales numbers, but actual registrations and thus will lag sales numbers somewhat or, in Cessna’s case with their long initial production delays, quite a bit.

Icon Back on the Radar Screen

By James Lawrence || February 17, 2012 Leave a Comment (Edit)

Post-Sebring Ketchup

By James Lawrence || February 8, 2012 Leave a Comment (Edit)

After an arduous shooting/flying schedule at Sebring and several more days in country shooting and flying around Florida, I wung my way home to bang out some stories and pix for the mag. *** And now for the rest of the Sebring story: *** I made my way through the big exhibitor tent at show central and ran into Adam Valencic of Light Sport Group, who cued me in on their latest product. They're the folks who market the cool wide-angle A/V-ator HD camcorder that mounts in the cockpit and also stores data for later GPS tracking on computer. *** The new unit is called Dr. Rotech. The palm-sized device is an engine electronics diagnostic tool for Rotax four-stroke engines which tests everything electrical: • Generator coil (on stator) • Charging coil (on stator) • Trigger coil (A&B) • Primary ignition coil (A&B) • Secondary ignition coil • Spark plug connector • Ignition switch • Engine ground *** Verifying or tracking down problems in electrical systems such as cracked wires, loose connections and failed components can take a lot of time. With Dr. Rotech, Adam says electrical troubleshooting now runs from 30 seconds to five minutes! *** The device plugs into the ignition module on the engine and the LED readouts shine red if there's a problem or green if it's all good, to coin a highly overworked phrase from our modern lexicon. *** Dr. Rotech can also connect to computer via USB for actual readout values. If there's an intermittent problem, such as a loose connection, the device will count the number of failures for easier problem trackdown. *** "It sure beats having to mess with an ohm meter while checking each individual wire," says Adam. "It saves a lot of time and is really simple to use." *** The unit works on both certificated and ASTM versions of Rotax 912 and 914 engines. The engine certification requires that Dr. Rotech be calibrated annually. *** "There's a possibility we may offer it in a version for two stroke Rotax engines in the future also," says David Kotick, the whizbang electrical and software engineer who designed and built the patent pending tool. *** Everything needed is included for $499.

Sebring EXPO: 2.5 Perfect Days

By James Lawrence || January 22, 2012 Leave a Comment (Edit)

European LAMA board member Jan Fridrich catches our low photo pass at Sebring. Thanks Jan! Nobody ever shoots the photographer!

FK12 Comet folds its wings.

Randy Lervold showing how it's done.

Day for night

Roger Crow's CTLE

Sebring Expo showgrounds above the CarbonCub SS

And th-th-that’s all folks.

Sebring is alive and well and gliding along better than ever. That's more than I can say for the wireless where I've tried to post since Thursday night, so today, you get two point five posts for the price of one. *** First bit of news: Opening day Thursday was the best attended in the show’s eight year history (not five years as I doofishly reported the other day). Aiding and abetting: beautiful, absolutely beautiful weather. No hurricanes, no clouds of leaflets from Republican Presidential hopefuls, just a lavishly enjoyable (for us snowbirds at least) 70 degrees, with a steady 10 knot wind a good part of the day, followed by a crisp, clear night. Thank the Maker. *** Your humble blogster took full advantage of opening day by spending almost half of it shooting and flying the new BRM Bristell S-LSA (yes, it’s ASTMified). A very, very sweet ship. Think second generation Piper Sport nee SportCruiser, since the low-wing monoplane bears a design familiarity of clean, attractive lines and is, if not a sibling, certainly a cousin to that seminal Czech design. *** Bristell designer Milan Bristela is here at the show with John Calla to give the airplane some street cred. Milan co-designed the original SportCruiser and is full designer of this new airplane. Clearly he’s incorporated many things we’ve all learned along the way, including about the roomiest low-wing cockpit, at 51", I’ve had the pleasure to fly. *** That’s just frosting on the cake, though: if the SportCruiser/Piper Sport is a light, playful airplane that lands itself, rolls around the sky with enjoyable and docile characteristics, the Bristell really feels like a GA airplane. All three axes are beautifully harmonized, the stick feel and responsiveness are both muted and lively. I mean it’s neither twitchy like a spring colt nor sluggish like a one-track dray horse, but both smooth and firm in control handling, and wonderfully quick to jump to your commands. *** Many thoughtful features like a painted sun screen built into the canopy top, 600 lb. useful load, lovely aerodynamics, 1000+ fpm climb, sturdy, sturdy tricycle gear, outsized GA-robust landing gear with Goodyear tires, very lively nosewheel steering (a little too twitchy, but as my endlessly energetic demo host, former C-130 Special Ops driver John Rathwell was quick to tell me, a simple tweak is in the works for that), and all in all, quite an airplane.I’ll properly flesh out my positive impressions when I write the pilot report. For now let’s say this creation of Mr. Bristela is a solid, mature, sophisticated design with many fine details, it’s very comfortable, most certainly enjoyable to fly, and beautifully finished inside and out. *** Alright, that’s way too much for an airplane blog post so let’s move on:I spent a very interesting hour with Roger Crow, a 35-year Air National Guard fighter pilot and law enforcement aviator who briefed me on how his Echo Flight Resources company out of Tulsa has transmogrified a Flight Design CTLE into an aerial surveillance platform, complete with a highly sophisticated aerial video ball turret camera that’s controlled by a John Law techie in the right seat in pursuit of people doing bad things. I’m hoping to do a story on it for the magazine: a fascinating look into how useful LSA are at dramatically cutting costs without compromising performance one bit over similarly equipped Cessna 172s and 182s, and helicopters, which cost a whole lot more to operate than a CTLS. He’s winning over converts with law enforcement orgs across the country, because he’s one of a small club and speaks the lingo.At the annual LAMA dinner Thursday night, it’s prez Dan Johnson and his lovely wife Randee along with a host of sponsors and volunteers and new Sebring fearless leader Jana Filip put on an excellent feed, a raffle of prizes, and a presentation by EAA’s new President, Rod Hightower, followed by an excellent video short from EAA’s superb video department.Friday, although no official numbers were in as I dragged myself off to dinner and to rescue my newly arrived roommate, P&P publisher Mike McMann, from being GPS-lost in the crocodile-infested badlands east of Sebring, looked to be another record day. Lots of folks walking around, kicking tires, taking demo rides throughout yet another gorgeous day. *** Highlights for Friday included catching up with Charles Stites of Able Flight, that wonderful organization that underwrites, with four types of scholarships, the flying dreams of disabled people. Seven more dedicated and determined people, including a deaf woman and a multiple combat amputee successfully negotiated Sport Pilot training to defy the odds. As I told Charles after the update, I always feel better after talking with him. *** Another guy who always lifts my spirits is Boris Popov, founder of BRS parachutes. Boris and I go back more decades than either of us care to acknowledge, when I first began extolling the virtues of the ballistic ‘chute concept he successfully brought to market. *** How good would you feel to wake up every morning and know something you created had incontestably saved hundreds of lives over the years. Yeah. Way cool.By the way, forgot to mention feel-good band Ravi performed for the exhibitor’s reception Wednesday night and also at the LAMA dinner. The band’s namesake Ravi tours the world performing original songs, conducting clinics and lecturing on crucial issues facing the music and aviation industries – two groups you don’t often see conflated. A talented and engaging young pilot/musician, you can find out more at www.theRaviator.com.The twin brothers Hansen and the twin brothers Hansen (one father’s sons are also twins) of Hansen Air Group demonstrated changing the cockpits on the sexy FK12 Comet from a single canopy to two-holer and also folding the wings, all in about five minutes. Hansens the younger performed the operation as the elder sibs “supervised”. *** I’ll be flying the Comet tomorrow for a future report. What a very cool bipe indeed. *** Finally, because it’s bed time for yours truly, Randy Lervold of Cubcrafters and his superb pilot Clay (didn’t get his last name) helped me get an air2air session with their wildly popular Carbon Cub SS. The light couldn’t have been better, and ditto goes for the formation skills of both pilots. Every formation shoot ought to go this well. *** Here’s a sample, judge for yourself. *** Tomorrow, looking forward to shooting my old friend the Flight Design CTLS, thanks to another old friend Tom Peghiny. The CT sports a new dual-panel SkyView deck. Managing Director of the successful European company, Matthias Betch, is in town for the show.

Sebring is alive and well and gliding along better than ever. That’s more than I can say for the wireless where I’ve tried to post since Thursday night, so today, you get two point five posts for the price of one. *** First bit of news: Opening day Thursday was the best attended in the show’s eight year history (not five years as I doofishly reported the other day). Aiding and abetting: beautiful, absolutely beautiful weather. No hurricanes, no clouds of leaflets from Republican Presidential hopefuls, just a lavishly enjoyable (for us snowbirds at least) 70 degrees, with a steady 10 knot wind a good part of the day, followed by a crisp, clear night. Thank the Maker. *** Your humble blogster took full advantage of opening day by spending almost half of it shooting and flying the new BRM Bristell S-LSA (yes, it’s ASTMified). A very, very sweet ship.

CubCrafters Will Deliver 200th LSA in February

By James Lawrence || January 17, 2012 Leave a Comment (Edit)

Photo courtesy CubCrafters

Savvy companies find a way through even the worst of economic times. *** Case in point: CubCrafters will deliver its 200th LSA (see Update below). *** The Yakima, Washington-based LSA maker can thus secure bragging rights for being the top US-made producer of ASTM-certified Light Sport Aircraft eclipsing its Cub clone rival American Legend out of Texas, which has led the pack for some time. Coming just a couple days before Sebring's US Sport Aviation Expo kickoff on Thursday, the forecast should be welcome to industry watchers and potential buyers eager for a cheerier outlook. *** The company offers two Cubalikes: the Sport Cub S2 (100hp) and the Carbon Cub SS (180hp, and what a climbout monster it is!) *** The company started up in 1980 and recently added 15,000 square feet of space to its manufacturing facility. *** And yes, they are a-hirin'. *** Keep up the good work, you guys! Update 1/17/12 — We will soon report year-long market share numbers and can confirm a strong 2011 performance by CubCrafters. Our figures may be somewhat different as we count only FAA registrations not "deliveries" or "sales." Also note that the Yakima company has not yet delivered #200 but plans to do so in February. These comparisons take nothing away from CubCrafters but may help explain the differences in reported numbers. —DJ

SEBRING EXPO Kicks Off Next Week!

By James Lawrence || January 17, 2012 Leave a Comment (Edit)

The new Bristell will be at Expo next week. Photo courtesy BristellUSA

Dynon's SkyView

EAA's Rod Hightower to speak

The show I look forward to the most every winter is the Sebring U.S. Sport Aviation Expo, the premier gathering of Light Sport industry vendors in America. *** This is the fifth go round for the expo; each year it offers more pure fun for LSA pilots present and future. *** This year sports a noticeably upscale look, with new management (show founder Robert Woods remains very active in the show) and a stronger promotional flavor. *** Major sponsors this year include our own Plane&Pilot! *** The four-day gathering, which kicks off next Thursday, Jan. 19, promises to be the biggest show yet. *** Lots of return and new LSA exhibitors, display booths with the latest hot gear, and symposiums, including the new Bristell low wing monoplane and Pipistrel Sinus 50-foot span motorglider, both of which I hope to fly for future reports.Avionics leader Dynon will hold full on classes to teach the many ins and outs of its powerhouse SkyView EFIS display... for free! EAA's new head honcho Rod Hightower will speak at the annual LAMA dinner Thursday night.There's a ton more things to talk about, check it out right here for all the details. *** If you've got a hankering for early Spring- style LSA tire-kickin' and demo flying, program Sebring into your GPS and get on down thar!

The show I look forward to the most every winter is the Sebring U.S. Sport Aviation Expo, the premier gathering of Light Sport industry vendors in America. *** This is the fifth go round for the expo; each year it offers more pure fun for LSA pilots present and future. *** This year sports a noticeably upscale look, with new management (show founder Robert Woods remains very active in the show) and a stronger promotional flavor. *** Major sponsors this year include our own Plane&Pilot! *** The four-day gathering, which kicks off next Thursday, Jan. 19, promises to be the biggest show yet. *** Lots of return and new LSA exhibitors, display booths with the latest hot gear, and symposiums, including the new Bristell low wing monoplane and Pipistrel Sinus 50-foot span motorglider, both of which I hope to fly for future reports.Avionics leader Dynon will hold full on classes to teach the many ins and outs of its powerhouse SkyView EFIS display… for free! EAA‘s new head honcho Rod Hightower will speak at the annual LAMA dinner Thursday night.There’s a ton more things to talk about, check it out right here for all the details.

Sebring Expo 2012 Kicks Off Next Week!

By James Lawrence || January 15, 2012 Leave a Comment (Edit)

The new Bristell will be at Expo next week. Photo courtesy BristellUSA

Dynon's SkyView

EAA's Rod Hightower to speak

The show I look forward to the most every winter is the Sebring U.S. Sport Aviation Expo, the premier gathering of Light Sport industry vendors in America. *** This is the eighth go 'round for the expo; each year it offers more pure fun for LSA pilots present and future. *** This year sports a noticeably upscale look, with new management (show founder Robert Woods remains very active in the show) and a stronger promotional flavor. *** Major sponsors this year include our own Plane & Pilot! *** The four-day gathering, which kicks off next Thursday, Jan. 19, promises to be the biggest show yet. *** Lots of return and new LSA exhibitors, display booths with the latest hot gear, and symposiums, including the new Bristell low wing monoplane and Pipistrel Sinus 50-foot span motorglider, both of which I hope to fly for future reports. Avionics leader Dynon will hold full on classes to teach the many ins and outs of its powerhouse SkyView EFIS display... for free! EAA's new head honcho Rod Hightower will speak at the annual LAMA dinner Thursday night.There's a ton more things to talk about, check it out right here for all the details. *** If you've got a hankering for early Spring- style LSA tire-kickin' and demo flying, program Sebring into your GPS and get on down thar!

The show I look forward to the most every winter is the Sebring U.S. Sport Aviation Expo, the premier gathering of Light Sport industry vendors in America. *** This is the eighth go ’round for the expo; each year it offers more pure fun for LSA pilots present and future. *** This year sports a noticeably upscale look, with new management (show founder Robert Woods remains very active in the show) and a stronger promotional flavor. *** Major sponsors this year include our own Plane & Pilot! *** The four-day gathering, which kicks off next Thursday, Jan. 19, promises to be the biggest show yet. *** Lots of return and new LSA exhibitors, display booths with the latest hot gear, and symposiums, including the new Bristell low wing monoplane and Pipistrel Sinus 50-foot span motorglider, both of which I hope to fly for future reports.

New Tecnam Float Plane; Impossible Turn Part 2

By James Lawrence || January 10, 2012 Leave a Comment (Edit)

Floats always add sex appeal to land planes, don't they? photo courtesy Tecnam

Jim Lee finishing the NASA speed run. photo courtesy NASA.

Pretty Phoenix. photo courtesy Jim Lee

A couple fun things before I lose the day entirely.Just got word from Tecnam today, via Plane & Pilot publisher Mike McMann, that the Italian aircraft producer has adapted one of my favorite LSA, the P92 Echo and Eaglet (trainer version), for water operations. *** Dubbed the P92 Sea-Sky Hydroplane, this waterbird should prove to be yet another fun entry into the SLSA sweepstakes. *** My impression of the Eaglet remains: a lively, forgiving, fun-to-fly all metal trainer that I expect will appeal even more with web feet, for those of aquatic inclinations. *** Some details: The Hydroplane is the 6th generation model of the successful P92. *** Takeoff run is spec'd at under 200 meters, along with "an impressive climb rate" from its 100-hp Rotax engine. And I wonder how the Eaglet's landing performance, for example (26 knots, full flaps, no power) will translate to the water and extra weight. *** The Hydro will be produced at Tecnam’s new composites production facility, home to both the Tecnam P2008 and Tecnam P2010 four-seat GA up-and-comer, in Capua, Italy. *** There's nothing much online about it yet; I'm hoping it will make it to Sebring mid-month, or Sun 'n Fun in April. |||| Gliders and the Impossible Turn Also just heard from friend and soaring pilot/instructor/longwing trendsetter Jim Lee, last heard from when he flew the only conventionally-powered aircraft in the NASA Green Flight Challenge last fall that won Pipistrel's Taurus Electro G4 a cool $1.35 million prize. *** Jim acquitted himself admirably with the Phoenix motorglider at that event. *** He dropped me an e-note to add his glider-centric take on my Impossible Turn post here of a couple days ago. *** Take it away James: "For one, in any aircraft, don't follow the centerline of the runway (after) take off unless required by parallel runways or tower ops. Veer downwind of the runway on climb out, then if the engine quits, you only have to make a 180, not a 270. Glider pilots are required to practice, and perform on the checkride, a turn back to the runway from 200 feet. It is easy in a glider. I can do 100 feet, and I have seen 50 feet done in a real emergency when the towplane flew into a hangar. 500 feet is easy in a small Cessna with practice. [Even] 400 feet is easy, and 300 feet is doable in an LSA with practice." *** Jim heads up Phoenix USA out of Melbourne, Florida. I've flown and reported on the Phoenix and it is one wonderful all-around dreamship.

New Tecnam Float Plane; Impossible Turn 2

By James Lawrence || January 10, 2012 Leave a Comment (Edit)

Floats always add sex appeal to land planes, don't they? photo courtesy Tecnam

Jim Lee finishing the NASA speed run. photo courtesy NASA.

Pretty Phoenix. photo courtesy Jim Lee

A couple fun things before I lose the day entirely.Just got word from Tecnam today, via our publisher Mike McMann, that the Italian aircraft producer has adapted one of my favorite LSA, the P92 Echo and Eaglet (trainer version), for water operations. *** Dubbed the P92 Sea-Sky Hydroplane, this waterbird should prove to be yet another fun entry into the SLSA sweepstakes. *** My impression of the Eaglet remains: a lively, forgiving, fun-to-fly all metal trainer that I expect will appeal even more with web feet, for those of aquatic inclinations. *** Some details: *** The Hydroplane is the 6th generation model of the successful P92. *** Takeoff run is spec'd at under 200 meters, along with "an impressive climb rate" from its 100 hp Rotax engine. And I wonder how the Eaglet's landing performance, for example (26 kts., full flaps, no power) will translate to the water and extra weight. *** The Hydro will be produced at Tecnam’s new composites production facility, home to both the Tecnam P2008 and Tecnam P2010 four-seat GA up-and-comer, in Capua, Italy. *** There's nothing much online about it yet; I'm hoping it will make it to Sebring mid-month, or Sun 'n Fun in April. *** Gliders and the Impossible Turn *** Also just heard from friend and soaring pilot/instructor/longwing trendsetter Jim Lee, last heard from when he flew the only conventionally-powered aircraft in the NASA Green Flight Challenge last fall that won Pipistrel's Taurus Electro G4 a cool $1.35 million prize. *** Jim acquitted himself admirably with the Phoenix motorglider at that event. *** He dropped me an e-note to add his glider-centric take on my Impossible Turn post here of a couple days ago. *** Take it away James: *** "For one, in any aircraft, don't follow the centerline of the runway (after) take off unless required by parallel runways or tower ops. Veer downwind of the runway on climb out, then if the engine quits, you only have to make a 180, not a 270. Glider pilots are required to practice, and perform on the checkride, a turn back to the runway from 200'. It is easy in a glider. I can do 100', and I have seen 50' done in a real emergency when the towplane flew into a hangar. 500' is easy in a small Cessna with practice. [Even] 400' is easy, and 300' is doable in an LSA with practice." *** Jim heads up PhoenixUSA out of Melbourne, Florida. I've flown and reported on the Phoenix and it is one wonderful all-around dreamship.

Demystifying The Killer Turn

By James Lawrence || December 31, 2011 Leave a Comment (Edit)

Everyone gets the big scare speech early on in their flight training: "If you lose power on takeoff," say our trusty CFIs, with the requisite sobering tone of voice, "DO NOT try to return to the airport if you are below X feet above ground... always find an emergency landing area somewhere ahead." *** Everyone has their favorite altitude number for "X", which is a factor of many variables, including aircraft engine off glide ratio and density altitude. Usually it's a comfortably conservative number, say 1000 feet minimum AGL. *** There's a good reason for that cautionary buffer zone of course: many pilots — and passengers — have died trying to make the killer turn back to the airport from too low an altitude. *** In an attempt to demystify the infamous "Impossible turn", AOPA online managing editor Alyssa J. Miller goes about the worthy business of investigating firsthand just how high one should be above launch airport altitude to feel safe about turning back for that oasis of engine-out safety: the runway. *** It's all based on aviation journalist Barry Schiff's "Impossible Turn Maneuver Checklist," also replicated in the article. Miller's goal is to "find out how much altitude you need to turn around safely—not to try to turn the aircraft around in a pre-set amount of altitude." *** It's an important distinction, that difference between knowing the absolute minimum altitude you'll need vs. having a mindset of "must turn in 500 feet" to wrestle with. *** And she does a service thereby for all of us by accumulating some real world numbers. *** Taking wing, she climbed to a safe altitude with CFI Sandy Geer, then recorded several repetitions of: • simulated engine failure on takeoff • stabilizing to best glide speed • turning 270 degrees (a turn left or right dictates you will need more than just 180 degrees to line back up with the runway) • flaring, as if performing a landing • then recording the total altitude lost from pulling the power. *** Miller's best altitude loss number was 300 feet in a Cessna 172! The average altitude lost for the entire group of simulations was between 300 and 500 feet. I'm itching to try this in an LSA... especially a motorglider. *** After discussing their efforts, they each settle on a minimum above ground comfort altitude: CFI Reed's is 1000 feet AGL, while Miller says she might consider 750 feet her personal minimum. *** Both note that in a true emergency situation any number of distractions will lead to greater altitude loss, or as we say Webside: YRMV (Your Results May Vary). *** It's a thought-provoking read, with a helpful accompanying video. *** At Sebring next month, I'm going to add this maneuver to my pilot report flight list, which should also give me some interesting comparison figures between different models of LSA, since all flights will take place from the same airport. *** Meanwhile, read the whole AOPA article. Update 1/4/12 — See the second part of this article on January 4, 2012.

Everyone gets the big scare speech early on in their flight training: “If you lose power on takeoff,” say our trusty CFIs, with the requisite sobering tone of voice, “DO NOT try to return to the airport if you are below X feet above ground… always find an emergency landing area somewhere ahead.” *** Everyone has their favorite altitude number for “X”, which is a factor of many variables, including aircraft engine off glide ratio and density altitude. Usually it’s a comfortably conservative number, say 1000 feet minimum AGL. *** There’s a good reason for that cautionary buffer zone of course: many pilots — and passengers — have died trying to make the killer turn back to the airport from too low an altitude. *** In an attempt to demystify the infamous “Impossible turn”, AOPA online managing editor Alyssa J. Miller goes about the worthy business of investigating firsthand just how high one should be above launch airport altitude to feel safe about turning back for that oasis of engine-out safety: the runway.

FAA Amends Sport Pilot Examiner Medical Rule

By James Lawrence || December 28, 2011 Leave a Comment (Edit)

photo courtesy Aviation Advertiser

Getting into the New Year garage cleanup spirit, the FAA has amended its Part 61 flight training rule, finalized in 2009, with some needed clarifications and corrections.The stated purpose is to "revise the training, qualification, certification, and operating requirements for pilots, flight instructors, ground instructors, and pilot schools." *** The primary change as it relates to our corner of the aviation universe: Flight examiners giving the checkride for the Sport Pilot ticket do not need a medical certificate as long as they have a U.S. driver's license: i.e. the same self-certification of competence to fly requirement that governs the Sport Pilot license qualification. ***

Getting into the New Year garage cleanup spirit, the FAA has amended its Part 61 flight training rule, finalized in 2009, with some needed clarifications and corrections.The stated purpose is to “revise the training, qualification, certification, and operating requirements for pilots, flight instructors, ground instructors, and pilot schools.” *** The primary change as it relates to our corner of the aviation universe: Flight examiners giving the checkride for the Sport Pilot ticket do not need a medical certificate as long as they have a U.S. driver’s license: i.e. the same self-certification of competence to fly requirement that governs the Sport Pilot license qualification. ***

LSA News Bits as 2011 Draws to a Close

By James Lawrence || December 24, 2011 Leave a Comment (Edit)

photo courtesy Remos Aircraft

photo courtesy CubCrafters

photo courtesy Rans Aircraft

photo courtesy Remos Aircraft

In 36 hours or so, Chief Pilot S. Claus will be on final for a few billion chimneys worldwide. Here's what's popping up in one of my last looks at LSA news webwide for 2011. Meanwhile, my best wishes for a Merry Flying Christmas and new flight horizons for all in 2012! *** Cubcrafters flexes its market success muscle with a new manufacturing facility and the hiring — yes, hiring! — of new personnel to build its popular LSA Piper Cub clones. *** A newly leased 15,000-square-foot building near the Yakima, Washington airport boosts existing capacity by almost 40% and is already in operation. Congrats to CubCrafters and we wish you continued success. *** Included are a new welding shop and CNC (Computer Numerically Controlled) machine shop. *** The new space will make room in the main plant for an R&D facility and an updated, more centralized parts department. *** Owner Jim Richmond says, "Our planes are selling well, and if we get even a little help from the economy, we will need to increase our production rate." *** Check out those job openings. SportAirUSA, that broad-based purveyor of several LSA models and instrument panel goodies, adds to its avionics offerings with the Adventure Pilot iFly GPS, a 7-inch touch-screen moving map based on FAA sectional charts (I own one myself — very cool unit). *** The company also reports the iFly will be standard equipment on the Snap! singleseater and an installable option for its Sting, Sirius, Savage Cub, and SeaRey LSA. Starting price is $549. The iFly comes loaded with the U.S. sectionals, IFR low en route charts, geo-referenced approach plates, airport diagrams, and more. *** JUSTNET, the Justice Technology Information Network, an arm of the Office of Justice, posts a summary of LSA considered for law enforcement duty, and more detailed looks at each aircraft evaluated. The page is part of the Aviation Technology Program, which looks at a broad range of low-cost aviation technologies as alternatives to conventional GA aircraft in law enforcement aviation units — typically helicopters and FAA certified aircraft. *** Some familiar SLSA models evaluated: Rans Coyote, Tecnam Eaglet, Sky Arrow. Powered parachutes and autogyros are also considered. *** The overview cites the high cost of acquiring and maintaining these aircraft (new Cessna 172: $300,000) and serves up the economic viability of various types of LSA as a dramatic alternative to for maintaining the long arm of the law skyward. *** In particular, the report calls out Light Sport Aircraft as well as small unmanned aircraft systems (“sUAS” — how institutions love acronyms!) and moored balloons... moored balloons? Remos Aircraft keeps growing its dealer/service center network. Latest addition is Light Sport West of Sacramento, California. A Remos GX was added to the GA training fleet based at Sacramento Executive Airport (KSAC). *** Light Sport West joins a growing number of FBOs nationwide who are realizing LSA offer appeal, economy and fun flying to flight students.

In 36 hours or so, Chief Pilot S. Claus will be on final for a few billion chimneys worldwide. Here’s what’s popping up in one of my last looks at LSA news webwide for 2011. Meanwhile, my best wishes for a Merry Flying Christmas and new flight horizons for all in 2012! *** Cubcrafters flexes its market success muscle with a new manufacturing facility and the hiring — yes, hiring! — of new personnel to build its popular LSA Piper Cub clones. *** A newly leased 15,000-square-foot building near the Yakima, Washington airport boosts existing capacity by almost 40% and is already in operation. Congrats to CubCrafters and we wish you continued success. *** Included are a new welding shop and CNC (Computer Numerically Controlled) machine shop. *** The new space will make room in the main plant for an R&D facility and an updated, more centralized parts department. *** Owner Jim Richmond says, “Our planes are selling well, and if we get even a little help from the economy, we will need to increase our production rate.” *** Check out those job openings.

Knocking Around The InfoVerse

By James Lawrence || December 6, 2011 Leave a Comment (Edit)

image courtesy Pipistrel

photo courtesy Dan Johnson

photo courtesy Dynon Avionics

photo courtesy Sebring Expo

Flight Design CTLE photo courtesy Flight Design

|||| News travels fast these days: Just ask Herman Cain. New tech net scraper Gizmag just ran a blurb on the Pipistrel Alpha that I covered earlier. Gizmag's focus is on Alpha's low cost, which as they note is less than €60,000 (currently about $80,000). *** Now consider this: if the euro continues to go through its troubles and drops further against the dollar, imagine a quality SLSA, like the Alpha promises to be (it's based on a years-proven design — the Vinus/Sinus — with hundreds now delivered), priced at, perhaps, $70,000. For all of us who've decried the high costs of LSA, might this be the price point/airplane that would help break the LSA sales logjam? |||| Dynon plans Hands-On SkyView Training at Sebring. Who among us hasn't sat for the first time in a new LSA and felt brain overload when confronted with an unfamiliar EFIS display? *** One of my initial — and most stressful — challenges during my Sport Pilot training was figuring out where to look and how to work those info-jammed screens while also getting to know the airplane. Helping out with that comes a promising and much needed program, to debut at next month's Sebring Light Sport Expo. (That's right, kids, Sebring is just around the corner... more on that below). *** Dynon Avionics will offer free courses on how to wrangle the SkyView, its runaway hit EFIS display. *** The 3.5-hour classes will be held all four mornings and the first three afternoons at Sebring. Working SkyViews will be set up so people can get some real hands-on tutoring without having to RTFM (Read The Freakin' Manual, which apparently only 1.4% of the U.S. population can abide). *** Class size will be limited to the first 15 people who sign up. The classes will be held at the nearby (like, walking distance from the show) Chateau Elan Hotel and Conference Center. *** Kirk Kleinholz, CFII and SkyView expert, will handle the professorial duties. This first set of classes will be free: ongoing classes will have a fee, so get in there, pilots, and sign up! |||| Sebring Expo Looms! Yes chilluns, the big winter LSA show is truly stepping it up this year, with a much-ballyhooed new presence and a much bigger feel, judging by the number of promo emails I've gotten for months now. Rather than rehash the 2012 offerings, just go Sebring's website. *** Alright, just a couple teasers, I can't resist (and I can't wait to get down there myself!): ••• "Exotic" vacation packages will be auctioned ••• Registered exhibitors include Flight Design, which will bring its CTLE law enforcement special ••• NASA Green Flight Challenge winner Pipistrel will bring several models (alas, not the winning electric one-off Taurus Electro G4) and, ••• the EAA Piper Cub J3 Sweepstakes contest airplane is expected to be on display. Y'all get your tickets now, hear? ••• EAA's new head man Rod Hightower will give a presentation at the annual LAMA Dinner. ••• Tons of events, factory and general demo flights and lots more to look forward. *** Did I say I can't wait? Now if only winter would truly arrive in the northeast (it's 58 degrees again today!) I'll have even more motivation to jet southward — not that Sebring leaves any need for that — this is simply the biggest all-LSA event in the country.

|||| News travels fast these days: Just ask Herman Cain. New tech net scraper Gizmag just ran a blurb on the Pipistrel Alpha that I covered earlier. Gizmag’s focus is on Alpha’s low cost, which as they note is less than €60,000 (currently about $80,000). *** Now consider this: if the euro continues to go through its troubles and drops further against the dollar, imagine a quality SLSA, like the Alpha promises to be (it’s based on a years-proven design — the Vinus/Sinus — with hundreds now delivered), priced at, perhaps, $70,000. For all of us who’ve decried the high costs of LSA, might this be the price point/airplane that would help break the LSA sales logjam? |||| Dynon plans Hands-On SkyView Training at Sebring. Who among us hasn’t sat for the first time in a new LSA and felt brain overload when confronted with an unfamiliar EFIS display?

Oldest Living LSA Pilot?

By James Lawrence || December 1, 2011 Leave a Comment (Edit)

J. Guy Reynolds about to do his thing. photo courtesy The Journal

Evektor SportStar. photo courtesywww.lightsportaircraft.ca

Here's a story to give us all some cheer as we slide into final on the Holiday Season. *** An article in Martinsburg, West Virginia's The Journal newspaper chronicles the exploits of one T. Guy Reynolds Jr. , a local pilot who just celebrated his birthday by spreading his wings in his Evektor SportStar. *** "No big deal", you say? Ah, but this gentleman is one year shy of being a centenarian ...that's right, he just turned 99 years old! That makes him, says the article penned by John McVey, likely the oldest pilot in the state. *** And we have to ask ...maybe the nation? *** "I wanted to fly on my 99th birthday," he said. "I enjoy it, and my airplane is very nice to fly." *** The SportStar model was the first to win ASTM approval back in 2005 as a legal SLSA and continues in its latest iteration as the Harmony...my flight report is due out in the next issue of the magazine. *** Evektor's airplanes appeal to pilots like Mr. Reynolds with long aviation backgrounds, since it's a familiar, mostly-metal airframe with good long range legs and comfortable interior to back it up ...these things get more important as we get older! I've logged around 30 hours in the Evektor Max and its successor Harmony so I'm more expert on this subject than many ...it's an excellent long-leg airplane for the posterior regions. *** The article goes on to report that Mr. Reynolds began flying, in a Ford Tri-Motor, before most of us were even glints in our parent's eyes: in 1929! He founded Martinsburg's Civil Air Patrol squadron and was its first commander in 1943. Taking on challenges late in life seem to be a habit ...Reynolds had in fact laid off flying in the mid-'50s in order to raise a family and didn't resume until 2004 ...at age 92. *** He made his first parachute jump on the day he turned 93. What a Guy! *** "I keep very positive — that's how I've lived so long. I'm still happy and thank God for that every day." *** Happy Birthday to you, sir!

Here’s a story to give us all some cheer as we slide into final on the Holiday Season. *** An article in Martinsburg, West Virginia’s The Journal newspaper chronicles the exploits of one T. Guy Reynolds Jr. , a local pilot who just celebrated his birthday by spreading his wings in his Evektor SportStar. *** “No big deal”, you say? Ah, but this gentleman is one year shy of being a centenarian …that’s right, he just turned 99 years old! That makes him, says the article penned by John McVey, likely the oldest pilot in the state. *** And we have to ask …maybe the nation? *** “I wanted to fly on my 99th birthday,” he said. “I enjoy it, and my airplane is very nice to fly.” *** The SportStar model was the first to win ASTM approval back in 2005 as a legal SLSA and continues in its latest iteration as the Harmony…my flight report is due out in the next issue of the magazine.

Cessna Feels The Pinch …and Pinches Back

By James Lawrence || November 29, 2011 Leave a Comment (Edit)

The Sky's no limit...in greenbacks.

Pipistrel's new trainer LSA, the Alpha, will make a debut in 2012 at about $80,000. artwork courtesy Pipistrel

In a recent piece on AvWeb, Paul Bertorelli takes a good look at Cessna's decision to bump the price of the Skycatcher by a cool $35K — yes, that's 35 thousand. Okay, it's not every day we see a 31+% price hike in a retail price of anything, especially in this economy. *** Yet Cessna's move should come as no surprise to anyone who knows, as Bertorelli points out, that the price of aircraft has grown faster than the rate of inflation for decades. Thirty years or so ago, a new Cessna Skyhawk could be had for around $30,000. Today it's 10 times that number, or more than $300,000, whereas inflation applied to that original $30K number would put the figure just north of $100,000...about three times higher. *** Meanwhile, the aviation giant has up until now done its best to keep the price close to it's original near-$100,000 level. Most recent raise was from $112,000 to around $114,000. *** Originally announced in 2007, more than 1,000 orders were racked up in short order. *** Then came more than two years of delays — first deliveries were made last year and 150 or so Skycatchers have been delivered this year. *** All along, Cessna tried mightily to hold the line on price increases even in the face of production cost increases: it of course wanted to hold onto that $75 million in orders; wholesale decimation of the Skycatcher order book would have been a heavy hit, even for Big C. *** The company pressed on through at least one major tailfeather redesign to keep the program viable, and keep original placeholders on board with a gradually-climbing price that stayed close to the original ticket of just under $110,000. *** Now the scrappy Skycatcher has climbed the U.S. delivery numbers to its recent, current position of #2. Only longtime leader board-topper Flight Design has registered more LSA in this country. *** How does Cessna's new $149,900 price compare? Look at the price of equivalent-quality SLSA out there; you're looking at a typical sticker-shock number of $125-150K*. Big C is only raising its product to market parity, and to help support production costs, after having worked hard at it's "holding the line" image. Also factored in: many of the instrument options are now standard, so the price increase isn't baldly wholesale: some perks are factored in. *** Still, those options are no longer voluntary. *** I wonder how deep in the red Cessna went with the delays in production, increased design and retesting costs — the company has proudly, and deservedly, boasted that it took Skycatcher through a program more rigorous than the ASTM standard, including spin testing... that's how the original design flaw was uncovered in the first place. *** Bertorelli goes on to reflect on the marketing and psychological effect of the price jump, and whether it will cause a bailout of significant numbers of remaining production number holders. He also has some interesting insights on how Cessna has always been good at maintaining its profit margin, even if it meant raising prices and accepting the lower sales numbers that resulted. That's how companies survive, after all *** It's a good read, check it out for an insight into how big aviation business cope these days. *** He concludes with a compelling question that deserves more thought and some comment: if Cessna, with it's offshore Chinese production, can't produce a relatively "low cost" SLSA, does that put the kibosh on the notion entirely? *** I have my own thoughts, viewed from a slightly different angle: look at my recent post on the Pipistrel Alpha Trainer that was just introduced around $80,000, and that's not a stripped model either. I read an online forum thread a couple days ago in which several posters flat out decried the $80K price point. "Impossible!" they cried. *** Yet here is a lean, mean, well-oiled design/production house in Slovenia that is showing us the way of the future, perhaps. The company just sold 200 Alpha trainers to India; the production prototype is planned for debut in April. *** I believe the company President, Ivo Boscarol, when he says he will produce the airplane at that price. His vision all along has been that if you do things in a very targeted, innovative and efficient manner, you can produce affordable, quality aircraft that will sell, even with the euro/dollar exchange rate, in the $80K range in America. *** Take another look at what we complain about as a "high cost" light aircraft: adjusted backwards to the before-inflation rate (1975, roughly); we're looking at $19,000 for the Alpha ...had it been available in that year. *** Before we cry in our $7 microbeers, we should lament the destruction of our currency by the craziness of world economics for the last 70 or so years. That is the real culprit. An ounce of gold still buys approximately the same goods it bought in 1950...1920...1900. It's not that things are more expensive. It's our currency, no longer backed by gold or silver, that's taken the hit. *** Why do you think China among other national governments is buying gold like it was on fire sale? Because it is. *** Aviation companies like every other enterprise must find ever-more-efficient ways of surviving, let alone thriving, by continuing to discover how to do the impossible, even if they have to grapple with perceived realities, such as this misplaced notion that there are no cheap light aircraft. *** Put another way, I'll buy an $80,000, all-composite, well-equipped, good-performing aircraft for $19K any day of the week... even if I have to find a few partners to help me out with the purchase, since my salary also buys a quarter of what it did a generation ago ('75). But that's another, and unfolding, story. * For the record, not all SLSA cost $125-150,000; we have good quality, airworthy, and good performing aircraft for below $100,000. —DJ

In a recent piece on AvWeb, Paul Bertorelli takes a good look at Cessna’s decision to bump the price of the Skycatcher by a cool $35K — yes, that’s 35 thousand. Okay, it’s not every day we see a 31+% price hike in a retail price of anything, especially in this economy. *** Yet Cessna’s move should come as no surprise to anyone who knows, as Bertorelli points out, that the price of aircraft has grown faster than the rate of inflation for decades. Thirty years or so ago, a new Cessna Skyhawk could be had for around $30,000. Today it’s 10 times that number, or more than $300,000, whereas inflation applied to that original $30K number would put the figure just north of $100,000…about three times higher. *** Meanwhile, the aviation giant has up until now done its best to keep the price close to it’s original near-$100,000 level.

Unintentional Holiday part Deux

By James Lawrence || November 6, 2011 Leave a Comment (Edit)

Yours Truly scaring the crap out of hisself

SALSA's Rand Vollmer and the components for his soon to be built Sinus motorglider...

...which will look like this!

Taurus self-launching motorglider; also comes electric powered!

(Note to my readers: the first part of this tome is just below) *** So here I was in Slovenia, unable to fly and three more days before I could return to my wife in Hamburg, unless I wanted to pay another $200 to change the flight. Modern air travel, what a concept. *** Undaunted and determined to enjoy my first visit to this lovely country after two days in bed with a virus (the physical kind, not the airplane), I crawled back into the light and joined up with Rand for a thoroughly enjoyable factory tour, courtesy of Ivo's daughter Taya (she's also a partner in the firm), who speaks very good English indeed and gave us a very informative and enjoyable peek at how the company does it's day-to-day.And what a factory! High tech geothermal heat, solar power (enough to run the entire factory year round, and sell excess back to the grid) and open, sunny, airy spaces all make for a wonderful working environment. *** Then Ivo invited Rand and me to join him and the entire Pipistrel crew for a "team building" weekend trip. We followed the bus jammed full of Pipistrelians east for a couple hours and found ourselves in the middle of one of those ropes course-like facilities meant to scare the bejeezus out of people. It's a fair-weather season facility that lives atop a ski area in eastern Slovenia. *** Now remember, I was just out of a sick bed and still pretty wobbly. And when I saw that the first task my teammates and I would have to perform was climbing up a 10 meter wooden pole (that's 33 feet, folks), lumberjack style (albeit safely belayed by ropes carabinered to a body harness), and then stand up on top of said pole, I got a tad wobblier. *** The flat top of that pole was about as big around as a medium-sized pancake, maybe 9" in diameter, 10" at the most. *** Are you kidding me? *** After attaining that precarious perch (and not everybody did), to get max points for the team, we then had to gingerly pussyfoot our feet around on top of the pole until facing in the opposite direction. Then we could take a leap of faith into space, expecting/trusting/hoping like hell we'd be safely arrested and lowered to the ground by our teammates who held the lifeline ropes. *** Let me tell you right now: a 33-foot tall pole is an excellent harmonic device for magnifying the timid, overcorrecting uncertainties of your thigh muscle/knee joint mechanisms. *** Let me say it another way: the more you shake, the more that damn pole gyrates at the top, like a plate spinner gyrating a plate atop a long stick...and you the plate! *** So brother, you haven't lived until you've stood on top of an oscillating pole, willing your legs (unsuccessfully) to stop quavering and unsuccessfully trying to convince your body to believe what your mind knows: that you're safely backed up by the rope harness...and that your teammates are paying attention. Looking down from almost forty feet (bugged-out eyeball elevation) to see your big boots completely eclipsing that pancake-sized pole top and, in the vast distance beyond those boots, the foreshortened bodies of people's little white heads as they look up at you to shout encouragement (in Slovenian), is one of those "WTF am I doing here?" moments in life that shouldn't be missed. *** The purpose of the weekend trip of course was to give people who work so diligently together a chance to share some bonhomie away from the factory, which no one seemed to have any problem with at all. The Pips are a very friendly crew indeed. Traveling out of country is great...even when you don't get to fly a single minute. And spending that day with the crew, facing some other fun team challenges together, knocking back more than one glass of blueberry schnapps, sharing meals and tasting wine, feeling the warmth, good cheer and open amiability of all, watching groups at different tables at an ancient Slovenian winery dinner burst into song, made me wish for a spirit of nationality and camaraderie that seems missing on the American scene these days. *** Anyway, no, I don't yet have a single Pipistrel flight story to share (other than the Virus I wrote up after Oshkosh which should be out in the mag very soon.) *** But I do plan on getting my Private Pilot motorglider rating this winter, and escape the New England snows in the process: Rand and I hope to enlist Jim Lee of Phoenix Air USA, who impressed everyone with the Phoenix motorglider's 47 mpg performance at the GFC on conventional fuel power, to take us through the training down in Florida. We'll fly Rand's 40-foot Sinus Touring Motorglider and I for one, shoveling the wet snow from our upstate New York Halloween porch just a few days ago, muttering "disgusting" to myself the entire time, can hardly wait to head south and strap on that sleek, beautiful airplane. *** Meanwhile, keep your eyes on Pipistrel. They've got a lot of excitement coming down the taxiway. *** En route, I'll be looking at the virtues of getting your private pilot glider rating down the road too, since it automatically removes a lot of the Sport Pilot restrictions (10,000 altitude max for instance) with very little additional effort...and you don't need a medical to fly a glider either...even a motorized glider with retractable gear. Not a lot of pilots are fully aware of that, so we'll be kicking it around once I start my training. *** Meanwhile here's Jim Lee's treatise on how to fly a glider without a medical certificate...or even a driver's license! Of course as always, and as Jim notes, we want to be sure we self-certify that we are indeed fit to fly.

Green Flight Challenge A Teachable Moment

By James Lawrence || October 11, 2011 Leave a Comment (Edit)

The winnah! Pipistrel's Taurus Electro G4. photo courtesy Pipistrel

Up to the Challenge: eGenius takes flight. photo courtesy NASA

Posting from Istanbul, Turkey where I'm on vacation with my family, but just couldn't wait another day to talk a bit about what most everybody in aviation's been talking about these last several days: the CAFE Green Flight Challenge (GFC). *** History was made when the Pipistrel Taurus Electro G4 twin-fuselage electric-powered aircraft carried four adults, around 1000 lbs. of batteries, one electric motor with a bit prop, and a lot of engineering and piloting savvy to victory in the GFC. They earned themselves $1.35 million in the process. Huge and well-deserved congratulations to Pipistrel!But for my money, the deeper story is not just that they flew off with the biggest aviation dollar prize ever, or even that they accomplished the task of flying 200 miles on one battery charge while also averaging more than 100 mph for the entire flight, or that they did it while "burning" the equivalent of 1 gallon of gas per passenger, or four gallons total...but...that they accomplished all that yet consumed the equivalent of around 1/2 gallon of gas per passenger! *** Looked at another way, they took off with full "tanks", and landed with just a bit less than the electricity equivalent of half a tank of gas. *** And get this: The eGenius entry had similar economy numbers, though it used a very different design approach, using a conventional motorglider planform, albeit with a tail mounted motor to afford a larger, more efficient prop. Also, it flew with two, not four, people onboard. *** So here we have two teams with different aerodynamic approaches that both met the challenge, and met it easily. *** And as soon as they release numbers on the Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Eco Eagle, I'll post them too, as the ERAU team also flew but as a demonstration flight — they were disqualified from competition for a couple technicalities. *** But here's the deal, restated from my last post: at least two, and possibly three of the entrants didn't just meet the task: they killed it! *** Here are the official numbers: e- Genius (which won the second place prize of $120,000 as well as the Lindbergh LEAP award of $10,000 for quietest aircraft) tallied 375.8 passenger miles per gallon. *** And the G-4? An astounding 403.5 passenger miles per gallon! *** That is nothing less than stunning. *** Electric flight is here.Yes, battery tech needs to keep advancing, and dramatically, to bring e-flight into the mainstream GA hangar. But the GFC proves that the page has been turned. From here on in, it's a race to market affordable, practical electric airplanes. *** As Eric Lindbergh, Lucky Lindy's grandson, said recently, the first company to make a viable electric trainer will usher in the new age. The G4 accomplished its victory on around $7 worth of electricity. Imagine the rental/training cost of an e-trainer being $125...or $135 "wet". Kinda funny. *** Dr. Calin Gologan, the Romanian designer of the PC Aero Elektra One, which won the LEAP award this year at Oshkosh, believes battery efficiency (expressed as energy density) will improve by 11% per year. In 9 years, that's double what we have today. Anybody want to bet it won't happen faster than that? *** Lest we forget, kudos and bravissimos to Pipistrel, the eGenius team, the Embry Riddle team which converted a Stemme motorglider, to Jim Lee, who entered the contest with a conventionally powered Phoenix motorglider (I'm looking forward to seeing his numbers too), and all the others who originally entered but couldn't quite make it to the starting line. *** They all have their place in history, and all mark the beginning days of a tide that will change aviation forever. *** Look for my just-submitted story on electric flight in the upcoming December issue of Plane & Pilot, which hits the stands in Nov. *** Meanwhile, check out this video of the event's highlights.

Posting from Istanbul, Turkey where I’m on vacation with my family, but just couldn’t wait another day to talk a bit about what most everybody in aviation’s been talking about these last several days: the CAFE Green Flight Challenge (GFC). *** History was made when the Pipistrel Taurus Electro G4 twin-fuselage electric-powered aircraft carried four adults, around 1000 lbs. of batteries, one electric motor with a bit prop, and a lot of engineering and piloting savvy to victory in the GFC. They earned themselves $1.35 million in the process. Huge and well-deserved congratulations to Pipistrel!But for my money, the deeper story is not just that they flew off with the biggest aviation dollar prize ever, or even that they accomplished the task of flying 200 miles on one battery charge while also averaging more than 100 mph for the entire flight, or that they did it while “burning” the equivalent of 1 gallon of gas per passenger, or four gallons total…but…that they accomplished all that yet consumed the equivalent of around 1/2 gallon of gas per passenger!

Green Flight Challenge Down to Final Three!

By James Lawrence || September 30, 2011 Leave a Comment (Edit)

The eGenius all-electric CAFE Green Flight Challenge competitor. photo courtesy Eric Raymond

eGenius, designed by Univ. of Stuttgart engineeers. photo courtesy Airbus

Updates 10/4/11 and 10/5/11 — Congratulations to Pipistrel for their unprecedented third win at a NASA Challenge. Picking up a cool $1.35 million, the company won with their unorthodox dual Taurus G2 fuselages joined by a larger, centrally-mounted electric engine. The custom-configured, four-seat aircraft achieved an amazing 403 passenger miles per gallon of fuel (or its equivalent). After this string of wins, Pipistrel has firmly placed itself in the lead position among highly efficient light aircraft and those powered with electric motors. *** NASA claims the prize purse was the biggest ever awarded for an aviation competition. In second-place a much smaller but still hefty check for $120,000 went to the German eGenius team, NASA announced. *** Read more from our friends at AvWeb and at Flying online. In addition, Aero-News offers a video with more on the potential of electric power (scroll to or search for "The Green Flight Challenge"). —DJ The CAFE Green Flight Challenge is at last underway — it was originally planned for mid-July — and as of the end of today's flying, just three of the original 13 entrants are still qualified to keep going for the $1.65 million prize money. *** The event, centered in Santa Rosa, California (between Los Angeles and San Francisco), is sponsored by Google and is seeking to advance public awareness and the technologies of electric and high-efficiency flight. Electric-driven aircraft have garnered most of the advance press, though most of the electric entrants have either been eliminated or couldn't get their aircraft ready in time.It's a pretty simple task: fly 200 miles averaging 100 mph or greater... with one teeny tiny hitch: fuel burn or fuel equivalent use (electric or electric/hybrid) can only be one gallon of fuel. That's right: one (1) gallon. Put another way, that's 200 mpg. Daunting, to say the least. *** Every task day there are different challenges to test the full mettle of each aircraft and pilot, such as a strictly economy run, a maximum decibel test, then the final speed/economy run on the last day. *** One entry, the Eco-Eagle, in the works for 2 years from Embry-Riddle Aviation University, was just disqualified because the race rules specify a two-place airplane must fly with two people, not just a pilot and an equivalent copilot weight in the other seat. But Embry-Riddle's rules specify only one ERAU participant can fly in a competition event. The Eco-Eagle also did not have a fully functioning airframe parachute system, although one was aboard, and that violated another CAFE requirement. *** The officials, with full consent of the other competitors, will allow the aircraft to fly in the race as a demonstration aircraft, and although it's not eligible for an award, it will be interesting to see how it fares against the others. *** Gotta say, somebody didn't do their homework. Those poor kids at Embry Riddle worked for two years and nobody figured out they wouldn't be legal because of a basic rule: flying with all seats filled? Hard to figure that one, but kudos to the team and the competitors for encouraging the ERAU team to be part of the event: they've certainly earned it. The aircraft was performing very well in practice runs according to varied reports from the field. *** In a bit of a surprise, old friend Jim Lee in the Rotax-powered Phoenix USA is one of the three remaining competitors (along with Pipistrel's Taurus G4 and Germany's e-Genius)! Jim's a master at squeezing every last bit of performance out of whatever he flies (as I've written before, he held the distance hang glider record for years back in the '80s and is an accomplished sailplane pilot). And he really loves nibbling the thermal potential in his elegant, high tech Phoenix motorglider, for which he's also the U.S. distributor. *** Ah, my misspent youth: if only I could afford one... or a Pipistrel Vinus or Sinus... or Eric Raymond's Sunseeker... alright kid, snap out of it. *** I don't know yet what happened to the electric version, the PhoEnix, other than it couldn't be made ready for race date in time or perhaps wasn't performing up to expectations. *** Many people are reporting that it's the electric version that's flying, but Jim's comments in the video below would seem to put the kibosh on that. Too bad PhoEnix is out, it was a promising entry... but also kind of cool that a gas-powered motorglider is even in the finals. Good hunting Jimbo! *** Having the stock 100 hp Rotax-powered Phoenix in the final running should be a great PR boost too for what is already the sweetheart motorglider of the LSA genre. Motorgliders are gaining more attention from pilots who want more than point A to point B flying on their plates. *** One of the other two remaining entrants is the Pipistrel Taurus G4 (this link goes to Pipistrel's Michael Coates's gallery of GFC photos, worthy of a look). The G4 is in essence a purpose-built joining of two Taurus G2 electric motorglider fuselages onto a larger wing with an electric powered motor-only pod at wing center — a wild jump of ingenuity because being able to carry four passengers, two in each pod, (which CAFE rules require them to do) does qualify the aircraft to carry the equivalent of four gallons of gasoline in electric power storage capacity — one gallon per person is the rule, for 200 miles at 100 mph. The G4 may turn out to be a winning strategy, if the economy is there.The final entrant is e-Genius, built by University of Stuttgart aeronautical engineers and students and a formidable entry in its own right. *** Today's event required all entrants to meet the noise level ceiling of 78 dBA during full-power takeoff, as measured from 250 feet away. All three (four counting the non prize- qualified Eco-Eagle) met the challenge.