ST. PAUL, MINN. — Having just returned from the scene of the East Coast Championships (ECC), I feel safe in declaring the cross country season "Open." The ECC, hosted each year by Sequatchie Valley Soaring Supply in Dunlap, Tennessee, was a success with four solid rounds. The 450-point meet was won by Butch Peachy in his UP-TRX. Behind Peachy were #2 Brad Koji (Wills Wing); #3 Ken Brown (Pac Air); #4 Zoar Dog (AKA Jerry Braswell on a Wills); and #5 Eric Kaye (Wills Wing). ••• In addition to the main contest another grueling match earned keen competitor interest. Yep, the Fat Boys Glide Off brought new meaning to the phrase, Leisure Class. Tim Donovan won the FBGO in his Sensor. The event was popular enough to bring plans for the ’94 event, though you’ll have to fit a Lifestyle Formula to see if you can qualify. Good humor from organizers Rick Jacob and Cliff Whitney, co-proprietors of SVS.
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Product Lines – May 1993
ST. PAUL, MINN. — May is always a special time of year for me. You see, each May I start another year in the "Product Lines" logbook. I appreciate your loyal readership as I conclude 14 years and begin No. 15 of writing this lil’ ole column. My "THANKS!" at the end of each column couldn’t be more sincere. I’ll work hard to keep your readership as another year passes. Well, on with the show… ••• Lots of well-deserved hoopla for Wills Wing’s 20th Anniversary. I visited the factory just before all the action (for a story that will appear on Wills Wing in the July ’93 issue of Kitplanes… look on newsstands everywhere in late May). WW Prez Kells gave me a thorough tour — well, that is, after they hid any new goodies they might have so you don’t read about ’em prematurely in this column. The tour ended in the design offices of Steve Pearson.
Product Lines – February 1992
ST. PAUL, MINN — Continuing to ride the crest of a wave of popularity begun by the positive reaction to their TRX high performance model, UP is now preparing to introduce yet another new variation on the TRX planform. Last month it was was reported here that UP announced their XTR intermediate glider. Now the Salt Lake City area-based company is in the final stages of R&D on their XTC, an entry level glider. When completed, UP will have introduced three new gliders in a year! ••• The XTR, UP confirmed, is for Hang III pilots. Certification was underway as this was written. Price has been set at $3,795, or $3,495 without a VG system. The company says production was begun in December and that response has been satisfying. ••• The XTC is "an aluminum glider with a truncated planform, like the TRX and XTR, which has been designed to meet the needs of the entry level pilot." UP dealers will soon have a full line from the newly re-emerged glider builder.
How-to-Buy a Lightplane — Part 2 of 3
FACING THE BUYING DECISION, PART II
Last time we discussed the pilot (you!); this time we discuss the many types of aircraft choices you have. In the last installment, we’ll put these together and help you narrow your choices to a few models.
What Kind of Pilot Are You?
Let’s just say you actually know yourself. While this sounds like a comment that deserves a “Duh!” response, don’t be too quick to judge. If every pilot or buyer of aircraft knew what they needed or wanted, my job would be easier. But it isn’t so. Most pilots know something about what they want, but many don’t have enough information to make the best decision.
Some readers are “experts.” A good many ultralight or light plane enthusiasts have been around long enough and owned enough variety of ultralights to know what they like.
These veteran sport aviators represent a lot of combined experience.
How-to-Buy a Lightplane — Part 1 of 3
WANT TO BUY A LIGHTPLANE?
Task Can Be Daunting, Yet Rewarding
I’m one lucky pilot. I love airplanes and get to fly more of them than the average sky jockey. Writing pilot reports for several magazines has given me the opportunity to fly about 250 different aircraft in the last 23 years.
This makes me a “Master of None” type of pilot (except in my own planes) but does give me a feel for the huge variety of light airplanes you can buy.
The choices are fantastic. Counting the whole world of sport aircraft, you can have just about anything you want| and that’s the problem. What to buy?
TRYING TO HELP
At every airshow I attend, and through phone calls between airshow, pilots often make a request: “You’ve flown all these lightplanes, which one should I buy?”
Frankly, the question makes me uncomfortable.
While I appreciate the feeling of confidence some pilots place in my experience, telling someone what to buy is a sure way to be considered wrong eventually.
Product Lines – November 00
ST. PAUL, MINN., — You know, it seems like quite some time since I wrote about a new flexwing hang glider but in this month’s "Product Lines," I’m pleased to tell you about a new topless entry. It’s AirBorne’s new Climax 154. First some specs: area is 154 squares, span is 34.1 foot, AR is 7.6, nose angle is 127-133 degrees, and it has 90% double surface with 32 battens, a weight of 77 pounds, and recommended pilot weight of 155-275. AirBorne says it takes only 10 minutes to assemble and packs down to 17.4 feet (short pack to 12.8 feet). Well, the specs don’t differ much from any other topless, so let’s look a little further. • The company has already found success with their entry-level Fun, intermediate Sting II, and recreational Shark. As principal Ricky Duncan said, "The only product missing from our range was a truly high performance glider." Besides the obvious removal of upper rigging, they reversed prior AirBorne patterns and went with the more widely accepted elliptical tip and changed their older Shark cam-VG system to allow a tighter VG full-on setting.
ASAP — Chinook Plus 2
Long one of Canada’s best loved ultralights, the Chinook – formerly designed and built by Birdman – is another of the country’s designs saved by the Holomis family when they went acquiring ultralight aircraft companies to complement their successful machining enterprise in British Columbia.
A simple design with lines unlike any other ultralight I’ve flown, the aircraft has pleasing characteristics that most pilot will enjoy. Larger aviators especially will like the enormous cabin of the Chinook. And like other Canadian designs, the Chinook’s sturdy triangulated construction allows it to operate as a bush plane from almost any open space. Consequently, ASAP likes to show Chinooks with tundra tires or floats, both of which add to the rugged good looks.
The wide open cabin is surrounded by well supported clear Lexan giving you a panoramic view from either seat. Tandem aircraft often cramp the aft seat and don’t give it the best visibility, but Chinook sets a new standard.
Aeroprakt Aircraft
An American in Ukraine: We develop a taste for the local sport airplane product.
The September 2000 KITPLANES® cover featured Howard Levy’s report on Aeroprakt airplane kits about to be imported into the U.S. Recently, I visited the factory and flew the airplanes. Here’s what I found.
We’re Not in Kansas
In a land far away, people with a strange language are doing something good for pilots in America. They’re building some fine aircraft and coincidentally helping Yankees discover their distant land. The country is Ukraine, the city is Kiev, and the company is Aeroprakt.
Don’t feel bad if remnants of the old Iron Curtain blocked your view. I had the same impression until I traveled to the ancient country for a look. Before we get to the airplanes, though, let me give you a brief tour of the country, the city and the company. Then you’ll get my impression of the aircraft.
Gemini Twin
A New Powered Parachute From a Well-Known Leader
Randy Snead branches out into his own company
Once an important figure in
Buckeye Industries, Randy is
known to many as the man
who worked on the technical
side and performed flight-testing for
Buckeye. When the former company fell
into struggle (see Editor’s Note), Randy
departed to do his own thing. Customers
who followed state, “It’s the people
behind the company” that are important.
I can find no argument with this
approach; we all tend to trust those we
know.
In turn, Randy is assisted by people he
trusts. His wife, Fern, is the business
manager and also operates the parts and
ordering department for the young firm.
Their son, Jeremiah, has experience in
general aviation aircraft, weight-shift
trikes, and powered parachutes, and he’s
built many powered parachutes. In the
EAA way, Gemini Powered Parachutes is
a family affair.
Introducing Gemini
Powered Parachutes
“It’s the American way” say others.
Phamous Phantom
Phantom ultralights continue to charm many pilots
The proposed sport pilot and light-sport aircraft rule changes have been
the focus of much discussion and anticipation over the last several
months, and good reasons for such unbridled attention are plentiful.
Under the proposed rule, you can obtain
an FAA sport pilot certificate in as
little as 20 hours and then carry a passenger
without having to become a flight
instructor. Many interesting aircraft will
become available for purchase either as
kits or ready-to-fly light-sport aircraft
(LSA), and these machines will be more “capable” in that they will be faster, better
equipped, more comfortable, and
more closely resemble conventional aircraft.
In many ways, they will outperform
the general aviation aircraft they may
come to replace.
Experts expect financing and insurance
to become more readily available.
And access to America’s 12,000 airports
should follow. You’ll be able to buy fully
built LSA that will qualify for commercial
operations like flight training or rental.