A few years back I evaluated Ramphos. Now, the boat-hulled trike is our newest Special Light-Sport Aircraft amphibian — SLSA #102. Priced at less than $40,000 for the Rotax 582-powered version to something north of $50,000 for the four stroke Rotax 912 powerplant, this seaplane qualifies as a bargain. Ramphos Trident won its SLSA approval back in April 2009. *** In revealing this achievement, one of the most interesting points from U.S. partner Gil McGarity concerned a Ramphos entry to the potentially huge China market. “Just when things looked the darkest, what with spending all our money for the certifications and the recession starting with a vengeance, we were invited to China,” Gil recalled. “We struck a deal to help develop a line of weight-shift aircraft and train personnel to fly. We were given 10 young engineers trained in using the Katia CAD programs, two 747-sized hangars with state of the art paint rooms, composite labs, 5 and 7 axis CNC [machines], assembly areas and a seemingly endless stream of development funds.” To show how serious officials are about opening the gates to sport aircraft, Gil said authorities… “built a 500-meter asphalt runway for LSA craft very near us in Changsha.” He noted that very few if any recreational aviation runways exist in China.