The large Pipistrel display near Air Show Central makes it clear: this major LSA Slovenian company has come to play, and play big.
The Pipistrel SW (Short Wing) has been flying with the brand-new Rotax 912 iS fuel-injected engine that made such a big spash at Sun 'n Fun,
Designer and visionary thinker Tine Tomazic, left, and U.S. (and Australian) importer and latest Raspet Award winner Michael Coates
Another look at the Sky Arrow. The rear seat is raised for superb visibility for both instructor and pilot.
There's even a little prop on the front that you give a spin to start the simulator program!
Check this out: a six-screen Piper Cub motion simulator from Redbird.
The Pipistrel Virus SW with Rotax 912 iS fuel injected engine.
Photographing Dan Johnson caught in the act of photographing a new LSA
Pipistrel in particular seems to be riding the crest of ever-growing reputation. It’s new Alpha Trainer, which I’m scheduled to fly tomorrow morning, lucky me (I’m the first US journalist I think to have the privilege), is already selling and selling well, with at least a couple checks changing hands at the show earlier in the week and another sold by Rand Vollmer, the Southeast Pipistrel go-to guy, today, the $83,000 ($89,000 with shipping from Slovenia and U.S. set up and other costs factored in) is staged to make a big play for individuals and flight schools who are ready for an aircraft that is truly cheap to fly (2 gph in training takeoff/landing circuits, 3-3.5 gph at 107 knot cruise…and all this on an 80 hp Rotax 912!) and representative of a progressive, brilliant design team that promises more exciting developments in years to come. *** Exciting as in the Panthera 4-seat Ferrari-like cruiser that is currently in development for 2013 delivery as a certificated airplane in Europe…2015-6 in the U.S *** Pipistrel is a bold, imaginative company of forward thinkers like company founder Ivo Boscarol, award-winning engineers like project leader Tine Tomazic and savvy marketers like U.S. importer Michael Coates and hard-working, professional dealers like Rand Vollmer. I love this company, I have no reservations about saying it. When I think of Pipistrel and the aircraft it has already produced, not to mention some still-secret electric-powered aircraft in the pipeline, I smell the future of aviation. *** The paradigm has shifted, and visionary companies like Pipistrel will lead it. *** Time to sack out. Even a breezy day in Wisconsin summer heat takes it out of you. Enjoy the pix. More tomorrow on the Alpha. *** A brand new Sky Arrow from new owner Magnaghia was on display in the Hansen booth near the LSA Mall. This 20-year-old design is ASTM-approved and a popular tandem trainer with the Able Flight program for physically challenged student pilots that’s thriving at Purdue University.
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