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.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.Readers seeking a thorough Shark flight review can check out Dave Unwin's review from August 2024.
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.TECHNICAL 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