Last year, I almost got to do a flight report on one of the most enjoyable airplanes I’ve ever flown: an Urban Air Lambada SLSA motorglider. *** Alas, before the magazine could schedule the story, two (not one, but two) Lambadas broke up in flight, both in very strong soaring conditions. *** The design was immediately suspect of course, though plenty of load tests on the Czech Republic design both before and after the incidents had failed to show any structural weakness. *** Both pilots used their onboard ballistic parachutes by the way, which saved both their lives. That’s yet another strong argument right there for onboard parachute systems: no way would they have survived otherwise. *** One breakup was evidently a case of pilot overspeeding – way overspeeding, and during 1500 fpm soaring conditions to boot. Yikes. The other is still under investigation but pilot error is suspect there too.
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Phoenix Motorglider To Debut at Sun ‘n Fun 2010?
Last year, I almost got to do a flight report on one of the most enjoyable airplanes I’ve ever flown: an Urban Air Lambada SLSA motorglider. *** Alas, before the magazine could schedule the story, two (not one, but two) Lambadas broke up in flight, both in very strong soaring conditions. *** The design was immediately suspect of course, though plenty of load tests on the Czech Republic design both before and after the incidents had failed to show any structural weakness. *** Both pilots used their onboard ballistic parachutes by the way, which saved both their lives. That’s yet another strong argument right there for onboard parachute systems: no way would they have survived otherwise. *** One breakup was evidently a case of pilot overspeeding – way overspeeding, and during 1500 fpm soaring conditions to boot. Yikes. The other is still under investigation but pilot error is suspect there too.
In Praise of Skyhawks
I was stimulated to blathering by a couple comments on my 2-part post on Santa Monica Flyer’s Charles Thomson the other day. *** Thanks always for all comments: very helpful and thought-provoking. *** Comment from Anonymous: Bad rap for the 172 in general. It’s one of the safest airplanes to fly, and it has the track record to prove it. *** I like the Piper, but let’s give it a few years in the air and then compare it to a 172. *** Sounds a little like the arrogance of youth. You might want to be careful with that while you’re in the air. Another Anonymous said…Awesome looking plane! I want to come fly it. Good luck to you!! *** Thanks to both of you. Starting off, I never meant to give the impression Charles Thomson was bad-rapping the C-172. He was justifiably critical of the Skyhawk that broke in flight and delivered him directly to the scene of a nasty crash afterward.
American Eagle Flies East
Soon to be a part of the GA flight line at a quaint country strip in western Mass. is the American Eagle. *** It’s new home will be at *** Great Barrington Airport (GBR), typical of small airdromes throughout our great land with its 2,585-foot paved strip, flight training and repair stations, charter ops and a loyal cadre of hangar-flyin’ pilots, some of whom I met the other day when I dropped in to say “Hi.” *** The lovely airport is five minutes from the cultural mecca of Great Barrington, nestled in the Berkshire Hills, a great place to live and a draw for Gothamites (NYC) to the south and Bostonians to the east. *** The strip was converted from a potato field in the ’20s, (maybe that explains its appeal to those of us of the Irish persuasion.) *** One regular who’s flown out of GBR for decades, after I asked him when the new Eagle SLSA would arrive, shot back, partly in jest, “Whattya want one of them for?” *** Once I told him a bit more about the industry and my little corner of it, we had a good yak about things all pilots love to talk about, starting with airplanes and ending with…airplanes.
Enter the PiperSport!
Piper Aircraft’s Prez/CEO Kevin J. Gould made it official today at Sebring: the company has entered into a new, worldwide-exclusive distributor licensing agreement with Czech Sport Aircraft that will bring the SportCruiser to market – by April! – under the new name PiperSport. *** As I reported yesterday, Piper did not buy into the company as had been rumored. *** Piper representatives told me there will be some changes to the aircraft, such as refining control harmonies, to optimize its conformability to Piper’s long heritage of entry-level airplanes. *** But by and large, this is still the SportCruiser, which is a fine, Euro-proven design that is not only an excellent training airplane but most definitely a lot of fun to fly, and a dream to land. *** CEO Gould and other Piper personnel addressed a gathering of public and media to make the important announcement. *** Gould began his remarks by evoking the original Piper Cub, what he described as “one of the original ‘LSA’ aircraft of its time.” *** “Piper is entering what is undeniably one of the most exciting market segments in general aviation,” he continued.
Sebring Starts Tomorrow
I’m down at Sebring, Florida, waiting for the LSA Expo to begin tomorrow, and the weather is smiling: it’s lots warmer than the crop-freezing temps of a week or so ago. *** Out at the field, many exhibitors are setting up as I write this, hoping to start the year off right by scooping their share of the buzz and making some sales and strong leads. It’s been a tough year for almost everybody. *** I know of at least one big announcement on Thursday. I’m sworn to secrecy until then so let’s just say it should have a strong and positive effect on the entire LSA industry. *** Meanwhile, AvWeb reports this morning that deliveries of the Cessna Skycatcher will be delayed half a year or more, due to design changes after two spin accidents during the exhaustive flight test program. *** Discouraging no doubt to the 1,000 eager ticket holders who’ve bought delivery positions, but Cessna states its intention that Skycatchers, like all its other models, stick around in service for a long, long time.
In A Sling – And Happy!
The more I look into the story about those two wild and crazy South African dudes (post below) who flew around the world in the LSA of their own design and manufacture, the more interesting it gets. *** Just heard back from James Pitman who offered this: *** “We’re just getting into production at this instant here in SA and will deliver the first 20 planes to local buyers. We absolutely intend to be in the US thereafter – hopefully commencing in the second half of this year. We have an established close friendship with Matt Liknaitsky, who is the distributor for MGL Instruments in the States, and we’ll be getting help and advice from him on how to best serve the US market…Thanks for the good wishes for the year – we’ve got a hang of a lot of work ahead of us, but we’re excited about the prospects and are having a good time, both working and flying.” *** Can’t do much better than that, eh?
Around The World In 40 LSA Days
Last July I ran an item on the grand LSA adventure of two South Afrikaaners, James Pitman and Mike Blyth, who set out to fly around the world — in an LSA! *** Happy to report the boys finished the epic flight, all 45,150 km (27,090 miles) with a stop at EAA Airventure 2009 to boot – in 40 days! *** One memorable highlight: two friends of the pilots greeted the return landing in Full Monty mode: they waved large South African flags, wearing boots…and nothing else! (check out those merry buffsters in the photo). *** The story was just carried on the official Johannesburg, S.A. website, written by Makoena Pabale. *** Anybody who doubts the durability and utility of LSA, take note: the chariot of choice was the Sling, built by The Airplane Factory right in Joburg. *** BTW: the company is their own startup, and the Sling is their first design.
Homebuilt Aircraft in China Begin to Take Off
“Chinese New Year” invokes images of fireworks but here’s another take. We hear little or no recreational flying occurs in China, but that turns out to be wrong. According to an article in Wired magazine by by Michele Travierso, the Do-It-Yourself spirit exists even in that highly controlled country. *** A Chinese DIYer named Mao Yiqing has built a human-powered aircraft, which he calls Mozi (after the 5th century inventor of the kite), using his skills running Oxai, a company that builds RC planes. Mozi was built using many of the same techniques and materials — balsa wood, styrofoam and carbon fiber — as his model planes. *** Wired reports, “His workshop is covered with pictures of Eric Raymond, an American pilot who flew his solar glider across the United States and, in June, over the Alps.” Yiqing is preparing his plane, which weighs 84 pounds and has a wingspan of 81 feet, for a 4-mile flight across Dianshan Lake near Shanghai.
Ticket to Ride… er, Fly… Well, Both… Maybe
You’ve surely seen news coverage of Terrafugia’s Transition, the “roadable” LSA from a brain trust of award-winning MIT engineers in Woburn, Massachusetts. This modern version of the well-worn flying car concept has attracted plenty of media attention, and deservedly so, I think. I have been reviewing all their materials and info for an article to appear in Light Sport and Ultralight Flying magazine and I’m impressed with the task’s complexities. *** Step one is the effort to create a powered-folding-wing, four-wheel aircraft that flies as the designers wish. That’s hardly a trivial project especially as the folding wing must work in such a way that you can then drive down the road without removing those wings. (In comparison, Icon’s A5 also has powered folding wings but they stay full length, sweeping back against the seaplane’s fuselage.) *** Step two is making a road-capable drive train using the same Rotax 912 powerplant.
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