To start off your new workweek, here are fresh light aviation news bits from last week.
DAWN PATROL — Lift Aircraft’s team got Hexa assembled and checked out ahead of time for major TV coverage.
Not all aviation news items justify a whole article but that doesn’t mean these accomplishments should be ignored. Here are three such items. Each exerts an influence on the future of flying.
Let’s get the newsday started…
Whoo Hoo!
Sun ‘n Fun Turns 50!
Keen to celebrate their 50th anniversary, Sun ‘n Fun sent out a special invitation that may be of great interest to fly-in campers.
Sun ‘n Fun e-blasted, “6 Things To Do When You Land at Sun ‘n Fun 2024!” The half-century-old event runs April 9 to 14, 2024 in Lakeland, Florida.
- After you park your airplane and find your camping spot for the week, head on over to The Island.
- Check in at the Pilot Welcome Center brought to you by Phillips 66.
- Visit the Island Country Store and stock up on your basic necessities.
- Hungry? Grab a bite to eat at Fresco’s. They’re open from 7 AM to 10 PM at The Island.
- Grab a rental car or Uber at The Island.
- Visit over 500 Exhibitors in all areas of the aviation industry.
Fly ‘n Early Aircraft Camping packages allow you to fly in as early as Saturday 4/6/2024 and stay through Thursday 4/11/2024. Includes camping and admissions for one or two persons. Great for those who fly-in early and depart on Thursday!
Hexa Draws Big Media
to Lakeland (home of SnF)
Mainstream media may be challenged by streaming TV and a bazillion YouTube channels but when one of the Biggies covers aviation in a positive way, it can have a major influence.
Nine staff or associates from ABC’s “Good Morning America” assembled on the Sun ‘n Fun campus for an early morning live broadcast. —all related images by Scott Severen
Indeed, a flock from ABC’s “Good Morning America” arrived at Sun ‘n Fun’s Lakeland campus to shoot one of their on-air personalities flying Lift Aircraft’s Hexa (aircraft article).
The show being Good Morning America, of course, they started before dawn. A large crew arrived in two groups, showing how Big Media goes about capturing a news segment. Nine personnel arrived from GMA with another local outfit providing a trailerload of equipment apparently needed for this sort of production. Nearby images tell that story.
GOT ENOUGH GEAR? — For a couple minutes of live airtime, GMA producers gathered quite a team plus tons of equipment.
The effort was to video Disney and ABC weatherman Rob Marciano flying Hexa …all by his lonesome since this multicopter is a single seater. To assure things would go well for the on-air personality, the executive producer took a preview flight in Hexa. A job perk, one supposes.
It all looks like a lot of gear and commotion for a nearly all-automated flight. The real trick wasn’t the flying so much as a high level of coordination between the field crew and the New York HQ studio.
ABC and Disney weatherman Rob Marciano announces that he is about to go fly the Hexa… solo, of course. The Part 103-eligible aircraft only has one seat.
The real feat — This was a live broadcast. No production suite editing can take place. Rob makes some remarks, gets in Hexa, and takes off. Many fingers were no doubt crossed that all would go perfectly… and it did!
Thanks to Scott Severen for some excellent images at the break of dawn. He attended the shooting and is himself a recent pilot of Hexa (see his flight review).
A busy fellow, Scott is the Jabiru LSA importer and is also the new president of LAMA, which hosts the LSA Mall in Paradise City during Sun ‘n Fun. For the first time, LAMA will welcome Lift and other invitees to display eVTOLs in the Mall. You may never have examined one of these up close and personal so here’s a great chance to check them out.
Even if you are not a multicopter fan, you surely realize that positive coverage of any sector of aviation is good for all of aviation.
How Much Is It?
One of the most often asked questions in aviation is “How much does that aircraft cost?” I am asked that all the time and if I don’t cover price in an article, I am sure to hear about it. Of course, you have judge what you can afford, so price is important.
Ready for some aviation alphabet soup? LSA and VREF get together. The first abbreviation you know well. The latter may look familiar but the appraisal service appears concentrated on higher-end aircraft, which makes sense as those aircraft comprise the bulk of the U.S. aircraft fleet.
Montaer Aircraft is proud to have their MC-01 included in this price reference. “VREF’s global standing as the most trusted aviation reference source brings unparalleled industry recognition to the MC-01,” said importer Shalom Confessor.
“VREF listing ensures accurate market valuation of the MC-01, facilitating smoother financing and insurance processes for buyers,” Shalom continued. “In addition, such recognized listings allow value to be accurately forecasted, providing a reliable benchmark for resale value.”
VREF has a long history, this year celebrating 30 years in operation. It is the official partner of AOPA for aircraft prices.
“”VREF is thrilled to include the Montaer MC-01 in our Aircraft Value Reference Guide,” stated President Jason Zilberbrand.
ARTICLE LINKS:
- Sun ‘n Fun 2024, event website
- Lift Aircraft, all contact info and content on this website
- VREF, company website
- Montaer Aircraft, all contact info and content on this website
- Jabiru LSA are sold in the USA by Scott Severen who contributed to this article
- LAMA, the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association, hosts the LSA Mall in Paradise City at Sun ‘n Fun
BREAKING DAWN — Lights…check, camera…check, action…ready — “OK, sun, we’re all set!”
The cost of attending Sun ‘n Fun have increased tremendously over the years. We stopped attending five years ago due to costs.
In my opinion, all these drone-copters (Hexa) have virtually NO safety; it is going to take only one having a system failure to become a rock and make a fatal crater due to some unforeseen bolt or wire or short happening. They ALL need a backup system in the form of like a parachute or rocket or something that can deploy at zero-zero because even a failure at 20 feet will be catastrophic, especially if the media, who as we all know, are ‘aviation experts’, are there to have a field day.
I’m not commenting on overall multicopter safety. I have long said when their software is sufficiently robust, these airplanes will have a good safety record.
However, I can comment that the Lift Hexa is planning on a parachute with very low altitude capability and others have also talked to emergency airframe parachute suppliers.