What made this choice of topics lucky was that as I was doing some investigation of this company and aircraft, I reached out to a local aviator who hails from the same country: Hungary. His name is Doma Andreka and he is the importer of 
He is also part of 
I was drawn by its lovely wings but the entire aircraft has appeal, although being intended for soaring flight, it may not be a roomy as some cross-country-oriented Light-Sport Aircraft.
Given a substantial versatility and range with "easily changeable wing extensions," you can have either a 36-foot-span speedster or a 49-foot soaring motorglider.
Altus took its maiden flight in May of 2018. Since that initial flight, "Altus spent over 800 hours in the air and earned 5 FAI world records without a single problem," reported the company.
During development, champion pilot and developer Krisztián Dolhai, also flew several FAI records including speed over a closed course and straight line. While Altus is a motorglider at heart, it scoots right up to the LSA speed limit.
Let's make it simpler with an image of an intriguing display hoisted above an actual Altus. I love how they managed to depict the airflows and fix them to the aircraft without damaging the airframe or its ability to fly.
It's too early to get into price and further details about Altus. After this introduction, more will follow, perhaps later this month.
In this wonderful 
Read that again! Even if you are denied a conventional aviation medical, you may still fly a glider/motorglider. That is a significant difference, even from Sport Pilots flying Light-Sport Aircraft. Chip Erwin uses this argument for his Merlin motorglider (
It was one of those fortuitous incidents. For my next subject aircraft, I chose the Altus motorglider because this particular aircraft was personally intriguing to me. I enjoy soaring, gliders, and therefore motorgliders. However, it’s not an ego thing. Motorgliders have a very special niche in American aviation. I’ll get to that below. What made this choice of topics lucky was that as I was doing some investigation of this company and aircraft, I reached out to a local aviator who hails from the same country: Hungary. His name is Doma Andreka and he is the importer of Magnus Aircraft and its aerobatically-capable Fusion. He is also part of Aero Affinity, which helps international companies make inroads to the complex American recreational aircraft market. At Aero 2023, Doma and his former countrymen came to preliminary agreement. With steady progress, Altus may be available to Americans by next year.
With a delicious 10-day spacing between them — time to rest up a bit after a vigorous week — later in April comes 
Organizers of the 49th event announced major plans for this popular airshow that kicks off the recreational flying season. My focus is on LSA, Sport Pilot kits, and ultralights. At Sun 'n Fun, that means Paradise City, where big things are happening. You would not be wrong if you scanned this article and saw increased interest in this part of the overall Sun 'n Fun grounds.
Perhaps it is the potent combination of new leadership and bubbling pilot energy. Perhaps new attention is related to the coming Mosaic regulation. No matter, the area known to many readers as Paradise City or the Ultralight Area — or Light Planes, as Sun 'n Fun now labels it — appears newly energized for 2023. This follows a solid year in 2022 when the overall market sector I follow was 
The other sponsor is a new aircraft manufacturer, 
Rotax Aircraft Engines
https://youtu.be/jeLblxjyxGo
The short answer, I told them, is yes. A good many LSA were initially designed and subsequently tested to higher weights than the 1,320 pounds permitted under present FAA rules. What will happen to these 1,320-pound LSA when higher weight Mosaic LSA come out, some asked? Will these current LSA become obsolete?
I believe they will not, because any LSA you buy today will work just as well under Mosaic. It may not carry as much or have some other attribute, but neither will current LSA cost more as will larger and better equipped Mosaic LSA.
However, many — perhaps a third, maybe half — of all LSA on the market today have actually been constructed and tested to carry somewhat higher weights. Several models come to mind that could operate within ASTM safety margins at 1,600 or 1,700 pounds. A manufacturer would probably need to re-declare
Inflation is on almost everyone's mind these days …globally, by the way. So let me trot out the old expectation for Light-Sport Aircraft from a couple years before the LSA rule finally emerged.
A leading candidate in 2005 was Flight Design's CT, which sold for around $60,000, though it was rather sparsely equipped by today's LSA standards. At the time, that was widely considered an acceptable cost for a new LSA.
Today, dollar inflation makes that figure around $100,000 but that's before adding glass cockpits, airframe parachutes, and autopilots, much less retractable gear or adjustable props. Leather interiors and fancy paint jobs add more as do major shipping expenses if imported. All these facts help explain why LSA are often $150,000 today and can easily exceed $200.000.
Nonetheless, a certain number of buyers will go for models I'll call "Mosaic LSA." For example, a buyer considering a new LSA now could pay $150-175,000 for a well-equipped top brand and after Mosaic comes out, get a new certificate that permits carrying more weight. Others will choose to sell their 2022 LSA for a 2025 Mosaic LSA.
The good news then? Buyers looking for lower purchase prices can choose a late-model used LSA, while early adopters upgrade to the latest and greatest Mosaic LSA.
That's ten excited pilots and several vendors that found attending worth their time and expense. We did not canvas all vendors but I'm aware of of a pair of Flight Design F2 sales, one or two Montaer MC01s with 915, and two Fusions, one with a 915 and the other with 912iS. I also understood good sales prospects for BushCat and Aero Adventure, so in all, a solid event.
The weather was about perfect, though breezy both days. DeLand puts on a kind of day-long airshow with skydivers parachuting down almost continuously all the while aircraft are taking off and landing. With no control tower, regular DeLand pilots interact easily with the skydiving operations. It gives Aero Showcase visitors a visual treat numerous times per day.
Planning a Repeat
True, most LSA are not recommended for aerobatic flying or training. However, one of the main reasons for that is that Rotax does not want their LSA 9-series engines used for aerobatics. If the engine manufacturer does not permit that, we're done talking. It cannot be used that way. The airframe maker can also stipulate no such operations.
However, neither FAA regulations nor ASTM standards expressly prohibit aerobatics. We've already seen one entry that is capable of aerobatics — the FK-12 Comet biplane — but when that model uses a Rotax powerplant, going upside down on purpose is not permitted.
Has Magnus got a valid reason for pursuing aerobatics? Are they trying to invite owners to fly this way? A better rationale: With a capable aircraft, a qualified instructor can offer what some call "Upset Recovery Training." Others may say "unusual attitude training," but the purpose is to prepare pilots who may find themselves in unfamiliar — "upset" … "unusual" — situations, so they know how to exit that condition.
Instead, Magnus will use a ULPower engine. The latter has anticipated this use and the Belgian company recently declared that it meets all ASTM standards applicable to aircraft engines (specifically the F2339-19A standard for reciprocating spark engines for Light-Sport Aircraft).
Welcome to ULPower (see video below) and congratulations to Magnus for using this engine to further their idea of Fusion 212 being used for upset recovery training. The Hungarian company made it official as did ULPower.
"Magnus Aircraft is proud to announce its Fusion 212 airplane is approved for intentional spin. Starting now (April 2022), complete stall and spin awareness training, which is required for all CFIs as per FAR 61.183, can be [done] on the Fusion 212," wrote László Boros, CEO of Magnus.
U.S. representative, Doma Adreka added, "I am pleased to inform you about the spin test results of the Fusion airplane. Since April 4, 2022, all Fusions are approved for intentional spins, and with an ASTM-compliant ULPower 350iS engine, approved for upset recovery and basic aerobatics (+6/-3Gs). With these capabilities the Fusion is the first Special LSA approved for all of these maneuvers and advanced training."
"UL Power confirmed their ASTM declaration stating that the 350 and 520 engines are ASTM-compliant and can be used on SLSA," Doma added.
Officially, 
"Magnus successfully completed the comprehensive intentional spin and recovery test series," Doma elaborated, "so the Fusion 212 airplane is approved for upset recovery training (UPRT), intentional spin and basic aerobatics (+6/-3Gs), which is extremely important for flight safety. Fusion 212 is the first and only available Light Sport Aircraft for these maneuvers." (Note that Tecnam acquired the single-seat 
"Fusion 212 provides low operating costs ($50/hour) to training organizations and private owners. Fusion 212 is well known for its high structural load capacity and strength allowing maneuvers that expand the regular flight envelope." I quickly and willingly add that my two flights in Fusion have shown it to be an extremely solid feeling aircraft (
However, he fell in love with aviation while working for Magnus in Europe and later in the USA, first residing in Texas though he and his family have now relocated to Florida. Doma earned his pilot license in 2020 and is working towards his instructor ticket.
Today, he lives with is wife, Vicky and daughter, Lili Anna, in the Spruce Creek Fly-In community near Daytona Beach. "After almost five years in Texas we moved to Florida in 2021. We absolutely adore living here!"
With that kind of youth and enthusiasm, I expect we'll see Doma and Fusion at an airshow near you.
Since to my similar talk a year ago — when I introduced the then-recently-devised term of Light Personal Aircraft …which is now gone! — lots and lots of pilots have written wondering if this or that general aviation airplane could be included as a LSA. Here's my response.
First, they won't ever be a "LSA." All Standard (not Special) Airworthiness Category aircraft will retain their original certification. A Cessna 150 won't become a LSA.
However, yes, it is possible that a Sport Pilot — or some higher rated pilot using Sport Pilot privileges — could fly a Cessna 150, Aeronca Champ, Piper Cherokee, or even a Cessna 172. The latter with four seats might have to be flown with only one passenger.
As before, none of this is official or certain. Accept it as an indication of FAA's current thinking. We won't know for sure until we see the NPRM and I predict we'll see that at Oshkosh 2022.
So, how could a Sport Pilot be allowed to fly a larger aircraft, or possibly one with four seats, or one with retractable gear? All that is up to Flight Standards, the group that makes decisions about pilot privileges and flight operations. Unlike the aircraft certification department that is giving more work to industry (who might then chose methods they prefer), Flight Standards is unlikely to hand over any work to the industry.
They may, however, use endorsements. The endorsement method is a proven system within FAA and it has worked exceedingly well for Sport Pilots flying Light-Sport Aircraft.
If you are a student earning your Sport Pilot certificate, you might fly in a simple aircraft like a Quicksilver, so you'll emerge with an 87-knot limit. To fly a faster LSA, go get a checkout from an instructor in a faster aircraft. When he or she thinks you've got it, they'll endorse your logbook, sign their name and number, and off you go. That's it. No test or check ride. Indeed, this shows even Flight Standards is letting industry (instructors) make judgement calls.
Endorsements also work for flying into complex airspace. Get trained and endorsed and go enter the nearby Class D or C airspace. The same is true if a Sport Pilot wants to fly a retractable gear LSA seaplane. Train. Endorse. Repeat. The method works.
Could FAA use this method to graduate Sport Pilots into larger, faster, more capable Light-Sport Aircraft? I don't see why not; it already works. But, as with all the above, we'll see what FAA's final decisions are. When? My bet remains on Oshkosh 2022. Stay tuned!
I flew 
As head of Magnus Aircraft's U.S. operation, Doma is an ideal candidate. He has worked in the factory in Hungary for some years, as head of communications and marketing. As the Hungarian company sought to pursue business in America, the leadership sent Doma to Texas to help Fusion 212 earn its SLSA Special Airworthiness Certificate.
In 2021 alone Doma reported selling seven aircraft and expects to log a couple more before the year ends. That's a solid start to the refreshed Magnus America enterprise in the USA.
Although this sturdy aircraft may be optimized for aerobatics the images nearby show this is a comfortable traveling machine as well. Going gross country knowing an aircraft can handle turbulence is reassuring.
As Doma next plans to promote Fusion 212 in the uberactive aviation state of Florida, I'm sure we'll be seeing more Fusions and if some of them appear to be upside down… perhaps they are!
Watch for our 2021 video interview to learn even more. Until the new one is done this after-flight review contains a lot of information about Fusion. (Video shot at Sebring in 2018.)
I hope you can attend 2020's 
MC-01 by Montaer
SmithSilver by Tri-State Kite
Sparrow by Carlson
F2 by Flight Design
Vashon Ranger
VL3 by JMB Aircraft
Fusion 212 by Magnus
Rob Rollison the proprietor of the very successful 
Deon will have the InnovAviation FX1 we saw at Midwest 2019 (
"Duck and cover" was a phrase to describe the morning on Thursday, Day Two at 
Some, like Scott Severen of 
L600 importer Deon Lombard said he expecting his first with the 
A new-to-Americans Light-Sport Aircraft made its debut showing at AirVenture 2018. Here is the Magnus Aircraft Fusion 212.
It appears another SLSA snuck by my penetrating radar for such achievements. U.S. chief pilot Charlie Snyder told me that the first Fusion earned its Special Airworthinews certificate back in September 2017 thereby joining our 
Snyder and Foldesi exhibited their brightly painted low wing that uses mostly carbon fiber construction and a dual taper wing. Full dual controls are available at both seats. Toe brakes on each side guide a castoring nose wheel via differential braking. Rudder pedals are adjustable to accommodate pilot height differences. Leather upholstery is used throughout and cabin heat is provided.
Standard avionics equipment includes a single 10-inch 
“This low-wing monoplane [has a] symmetrical wing profile that provides it with superb aerobatic capabilities,” said Magnus Aircraft. However, the company advised, "While the aircraft has aerobatic capabilities … as a Normal Category SLSA aircraft, Fusion 212 is presently limited to a maximum of 60 degrees of bank and a maximum pitch up or down of 30 degrees when operating in the United States."
"Fusion 212 is available for special order with 3-5 months of manufacturing lead time. Snyder also said purchase is available from U.S. inventory. A base model Fusion is currently priced from $139,900. Magnus Aircraft, Inc., is licensed by the Hungary-based manufacturer to sell to the American market."