Readers who scour the Internet looking for fascinating Light-Sport Aircraft may already know Shark. Conceived by Jaro Dostal in the Czech Republic, this design is the latest from a man who has a long, storied history of aircraft for the light aviation set. Jaro’s work included the Skyboy from the early days of LSA and later the MD-3 SportRider. Both won approval from many pilots. All Jaro’s designs have one common easily-seen design characteristic: his shark fin vertical tail. Of course, this one is no different in that respect but it is the first to openly embrace the name. With this speedy aircraft already flying in North America and with more on the way, I couldn’t resist the compelling “Shark Attack” title. Let’s check it out. Shark.Aero Shark is built at a factory in the country of Slovakia in a region said to be well known for producing innovative designs.
Shark Attack — Review and Video of a Striking Mosaic-Ready Aircraft
Shark.Aero
Shark is built at a factory in the country of Slovakia in a region said to be well known for producing innovative designs. Shark Aero s.r.o. built a reputation and history producing composite structures for Diamond Aircraft. "These manufacturing and production capabilities were an instrumental part of how the Shark 600 became one of the top performing and safest sport aircraft in the world," said the factory. The company manufactures the entire airframe in-house, including welded components like landing gear and engine mounts. "Only very specific parts like avionics, engines, and propellors are produced outside the Shark factory," they emphasized. As North American importer, Chris Horsten, details in the video below, Shark 600 uses 3D-printed parts in non-critical, non-structural areas. The factory makes good use of this technology to facilitate and streamline production in areas that would be cost-prohibitive or time-consuming. "Examples of visible parts are the stick and throttle," said Shark Aero. Chris noted other uses like gear-door latches. Chris runs Mach 9 Aero, Sport Aircraft Canada, and Kanardia plus he represents the Aerolite 103 ultralight and expects to resume with the BushCat. He is based near Toronto, Canada and in DeLand, Florida. If you are interested in Shark, the company welcomes pilots to visit their factory in Europe. "Pre-arranged visits to the factory can be booked," said Shark Aero, "especially for new owners who would like a factory check ride." How does this sound? "Visitors can fly into Vienna, Austria, rent a car and drive about one and a half hours to Senica where the factory is located. Our staff is very happy to provide you with a tour while you fly your new plane and enjoy the stunning local countryside."Flying Shark
As a Mosaic LSA, Shark is not inexpensive. Features like a hydraulic constant-speed prop, fully retractable gear, emergency airframe parachute system, an all-carbon-fiber airframe with Kevlar reinforcements and many refinements throughout do not make for a bargain-priced airplane. At $300,000 well-equipped, you'll need a bigger budget or partners but this aircraft can cruise well above LSA speeds. In my experience Shark handled beautifully. Roll control was moderate, not touchy. Elevator and rudder controls felt solid, befitting an aircraft of this size and construction. In turns, Shark held bank and altitude easily. Being tandem, the pilot always sits at the lateral center of gravity so the airplane quickly begins to feel like a part of you. We did nothing very radical but 720° steep turns at 45-60° bank revealed an aircraft that grips the air firmly. Shark always felt predictable. As Chris notes in the video, stall is very slow on Shark. It looks like it is a speedster — and it does well — but the slow speed capabilities surprised a number of experienced pilots who examined the aircraft while I was setting up to interview Chris. A flaps-extended stall well below 40 knots is much lower than most expected. In flight we dawdled along at 50 knots with relative ease, especially knowing the stall was still 10-15 knots slower. Stalls tend not to drop a wing depending somewhat on how you enter the condition. Controls become softer, of course, but remained authoritative. That translates to an aircraft that can accommodate fairly short runways. Takeoff is typical between 400-600 feet, said Chris. We landed on two long, confortable runways but we didn't use much of either. Climbout was brisk, 800-1,000 feet per minute at sea level with two aboard and three quarter tanks. Shark's deck angle remained shallow. This gives better forward visibility but some pilots may tend to raise the nose depending on what they flew earlier.Readers seeking a thorough Shark flight review can check out Dave Unwin's review from August 2024.The price of the Shark aircraft "reflects the cost of thousands of precision-engineered parts, an all-carbon fibre structure with a Kevlar cage, and approximately 4,000 hours of skilled craftsmanship," noted the factory. They've delivered more than 100 aircraft, mostly around Europe. No question: Shark is striking, performs well, and handles easily. Pilots who like tandem will love Shark.
Record Setting Shark
In January 2022, Shark demonstrated its reliability by carrying 19-year-old Zara Rutherford around the world. Later, in August 2022, her 17-year-old brother Mack followed suit, each breaking multiple Guinness World Records. Zara became the youngest woman, and Mack the youngest man, to circumnavigate the globe solo. Together, their record-breaking missions spanned an impressive 106,000 km (57,000 nautical miles), covering 43 countries and 5 continents, and enduring extreme climates with temperatures ranging from -35°C to +48°C. One of the most remarkable achievements came during Mack's journey. In the longest flight of the missions, Shark carried him non-stop for 10 hours from Kushiro, Japan, to Casco Cove, USA, without any refueling or stopovers. This flight also set a record for the longest distance flown over water. In 2015, a new FAI world speed record was set by Eric de Barbarin-Barbarini, who clocked in at 303 kilometers per hour (163.6 knots). This record was set with a Rotax 912 ULS 100-horsepower naturally-aspirated engine, and without some of the more recent aerodynamic refinements which have since been incorporated into the airframe. —Shark AeroTECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Shark 600 all specifications provided by the importer
- Empty Weight (basic operating weight)* — 750 pounds
- Maximum Take-off Weight (MTOW)* — 1,320 pounds
- Economy Cruising Speed — 135 knots
- Maximum Cruising Speed (VH) — 157 knots
- Never Exceed Speed (VNE) — 180 knots
- Stall Speed, full flaps — 35 knots
- Stall Speed, clean — 43 knots
- Maximum Climb Rate — 1,475 feet per minute
- Maximum Range (long range cruise configuration)** — 1,350 nautical miles
- Fuel Consumption (long range cruise configuration)** — 3.5 gallons per hour
- Maximum Range (fast cruise configuration)** — 1,036 nautical miles
- Fuel Consumption (fast cruise configuration)** — 5.5 gallons per hour
- Maximum Positive Load — + 4 G
- Maximum Negative Load – 2 G
* including emergency parachute system ** with 29.6 gallon fuel tank capacity
Video recorded November 2024 at Spruce Creek Fly-In airport (7FL6) with North American importer Chris Horsten. https://youtu.be/JObUKp4R64Q