Five years back at my favorite airshow in Europe — Aero Friedrichshafen — I could not pass the supersleek blue and black low wing from Sweden, my father’s ancestral home. A stunner, it caught my eye and that of everyone else such that taking pictures of it without people surrounding it was difficult.
During this coronavirus mess, Sweden has been in the news because authorities did not fully lock down the country. Some closures were recommended and certain folks (older, immune-deficient… you’ve heard all this repeatedly) were encouraged to self-isolate. Yet pictures show restaurants, streets, and other public venues with plenty of people. Sweden has had deaths, of course, every one of them tragic. Yet it will provide a good baseline with which to judge the effectiveness of lockdown procedures from draconian to… well, Swedish.
However, the greater freedom enjoyed by Swedes allowed an impressive flight only a few days ago.Swedish “Speed Monster” — Blackwing Plus Rotax 915iS Claims New Speed Record
Five years back at my favorite airshow in Europe — Aero Friedrichshafen — I could not pass the supersleek blue and black low wing from Sweden, my father’s ancestral home. A stunner, it caught my eye and that of everyone else such that taking pictures of it without people surrounding it was difficult.
During this coronavirus mess, Sweden has been in the news because authorities did not fully lock down the country. Some closures were recommended and certain folks (older, immune-deficient… you’ve heard all this repeatedly) were encouraged to self-isolate. Yet pictures show restaurants, streets, and other public venues with plenty of people. Sweden has had deaths, of course, every one of them tragic. Yet it will provide a good baseline with which to judge the effectiveness of lockdown procedures from draconian to… well, Swedish.
However, the greater freedom enjoyed by Swedes allowed an impressive flight only a few days ago.
Smokin’ Lightning
Blackwing BW600RG
Founded in 2011, Blackwing Sweden AB made its worldwide debut at Aero 2015. This drop-dead gorgeous design from the Scandinavian country impressed everyone and its main man, Niklas Anderberg, with his ready smile, wonderful command of English, and his Scandinavian blond hair stood out almost as much as his airplane.
Niklas Anderberg (R) and Fredrik Lanz of Blackwing go aloft to make a record attempt.
When he wasn’t answering a million questions, we snuck in a short conversation where he told me the sign on the wall (photo) stating “200 Knots TAS” was not mere bragging. He said they would do it.
OK, I accepted his statement, captured a few more photos when people let me have a view, and moved on to other attractions at the show.
Niklas is obviously both a man of his word and intimately knowledgeable about his design.
On April 15, 2020, sure enough, Blackwing released the following news:
“Yesterday, flight history was written… in Sweden! The country’s pride, Blackwing, has always had high ambitions and, in addition, achieved the proof, that the aircraft is really out of the ordinary,” the news release glowed! “It was proven when the previous world record for top speed was completely pulverized — Blackwing reached a staggering 393.4 kilometers per hour (approximately 212 knots) as an average speed on a 15 kilometer (9.3 mile) stretch, flying in both directions.”
Through the process from concept (C) to assembly and taxiing for a record, this is Blackwing BW600RG.
“That’s just over 60 kilometers per hour (about 30 knots) more than the previous record,” reported a very enthused Niklas!
Not only did Niklas and team best the previous record, they also challenged the record for a closed circuit of 50 kilometers (31 miles) and, “the old record was beaten, by far.”
Blackwing achieved an average speed of 352.9 kilometers per hour (approximately 190 knots), which is almost 70 kilometers per hour (approximately 37 knots) faster than the previous record. Usually, records are beaten by small margins but Niklas blew right past the old mark.
The aircraft was a BW600RG with a Rotax 915iS.
“The combination of airframe and powerplant may well be described as a ‘speed monster’ that requires a quick and educated judgment from the pilot,” reported the company. As shown nearby, onboard were Niklas and Fredrik Lanz, founder and co-worker at Blackwing.
The two pilots from the south of Sweden set two new world records and have filed for FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale) recognition.
Niklas (pilot and CEO of Blackwing) and Fredrik reported their record attempt…
“On Tuesday, April 14th, weather conditions were excellent in Landskrona to try to set a world record,” they said. “We flew in cold air, which made the conditions of 10,000 feet for our turbocharged Blackwing 600 RG almost optimal,” said Anderberg.
While laying claim to two new world records, to gain proper recognition of their achievement, the performance must now be checked and approved by the International Aviation Sports Association, FAI.
The Swedish Aviation Sports Association congratulated Niklas and Fredrik for fantastic results. The records won will sure help this fairly new company, Blackwing, as they prepare for production and global sales.
“Flight days and exhibitions have been canceled due to the coronavirus where our goal has been to get orders for BW 600 RG,” noted Niklas. “We hope that the attention around these world records can aid incoming orders,” he explained.
Previous FAI-Recognized Record
For the official record in Class UL aircraft RAL2T (Movable Aerodynamic Control / Landplane / Flown with two persons / Thermal Engine), previously recognized record holders include:
- Speed over a closed circuit of 50 km: 15 Dec 2019 283.62 kilometers per hour; pilot Alberto Rodolfo Porto (Italy) with crew Elisa Tomasi (Italy) aircraft Siren
- New [pending] record: April 14, 2020 348 kilometers per hour; pilot Niklas Anderberg (Sweden) with crew Fredrik Lanz (Sweden)
- Speed over a straight course (15 km): 15 Dec 2019 330.45 kilometers per hour pilot; Alberto Rodolfo Porto (Italy) with crew Elisa Tomasi (Italy) aircraft Siren
- New [pending] record 14 April 2020: 377 kilometers per hour; pilot Niklas Anderberg (Sweden) with crew Fredrik Lanz (Sweden)
On Friday April 17th, FAI officials responded to Kjell Folkesson of the Swedish Flygsportförbundet (Air Sports League) who, adhering to FAI procedures, submitted the claim on behalf of Blackwing, “Well received; we will check and publish these preliminary claims on Monday,” said FAI’s representative. It takes time to go through an established process before they can claim official status as a record holder.
You may enjoy Niklas’ final comment to me when I sought confirmation and asked additional questions:
“We had a Glasair III as a chase plane with 340 horsepower. It needed full throttle to keep up. ?” A Rotax 915iS outputs 141 horsepower.
Five years back at my favorite airshow in Europe — Aero Friedrichshafen — I could not pass the supersleek blue and black low wing from Sweden, my father’s ancestral home. A stunner, it caught my eye and that of everyone else such that taking pictures of it without people surrounding it was difficult.
During this coronavirus mess, Sweden has been in the news because authorities did not fully lock down the country. Some closures were recommended and certain folks (older, immune-deficient… you’ve heard all this repeatedly) were encouraged to self-isolate. Yet pictures show restaurants, streets, and other public venues with plenty of people. Sweden has had deaths, of course, every one of them tragic. Yet it will provide a good baseline with which to judge the effectiveness of lockdown procedures from draconian to… well, Swedish.
However, the greater freedom enjoyed by Swedes allowed an impressive flight only a few days ago.
“The quality and finish of his aircraft and kits has to be seen to be appreciated,” Dave added. I completely agree. I have often told Randy how I admired the factory finish of the airplanes he presents to interested pilots at airshows. A stickler for getting it right, Randy demurs my admiration but anyone who has closely examined his models at an event knows I am not exaggerating.
Then and today, most Rans models have been made available in both tricycle gear and taildragger configurations. 
Kit assembly time for these fairly simple aircraft was between 100 and 125 hours. “Rans’ manuals and instructional building guides lead the industry in completeness,” expressed Dave. “No special tools or jigs are required to build the planes and they can be built in a single car garage.”
Cruise speed in S-4/5 is 55 to 60 miles per hour while stall, using optimal flaps, is 25 miles per hour.
With more than 15,000 flying, it even outranks Van’s Aircraft for kit aircraft that made it into the air — although Van’s has sold more kits in total and no one disputes the Western brand’s leadership position.
The MX model abandoned the weight shift idea — this was too foreign to lots of potential customers. Instead, it used stick-and-rudder two-axis controls, but with a difference. The joystick connected to the elevator and rudder while the rudder pedals were connected to spoilerons on top of the wing.
The Coronavirus madness is far from being a U.S. problem. Naturally, we tend to focus on our own part of the world …as we must. Yet even far-away countries are also struggling — to protect citizens and to keep their economies afloat. It simply has to improve as the present situation cannot last.
“Along with much of the world,” Paul continued in early April, “New Zealand is feeling the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic with a state of emergency declared. With this four-week lockdown all non-essential companies are required to close or work from home.”
“While our technicians and workshop staff are safe at home with their families, our designers are using this time and working from their homes to finalise the remaining aspects of the design, prepare work and plan the actions required once we are able to get all staff safely back to work,” observed Paul.
“Not currently being reliant on sales and having investors with long term vision makes Vickers a stable and strong company in this environment,” explained Paul.
Earlier 
To gain perspective on the history of this well-regarded design, I reached out to an old friend who had extensive early experience with the original company located not far from his home.
“Immediately after seeing these bright colored flying toys at Skylark, I rode my motorcycle to Windsor Connecticut where the Ultralight Flight Inc., facility was quartered. Ultralight Flight was housed in a old building of about 2,000 square feet that used to be summer housing for migrant tobacco pickers.
“Within a couple of hours of seeing the planes at Skylark, I had a new job in the ‘machine shop’ of Ultralight Flight. I made pretty much all the tooling to cut, drill, and bend aluminum tubing, make plastic bushings, and a wire jig for upper and lower wing wires and control cables for the Mirage.
“Within a couple of months after the show, we had tooled up and set up a dealer network across the country that produced sales of 10 to 20 birds a week,” Ken noted with enthusiasm! “We had a pretty well oiled machine and could really pump out kits.”
“About nine months later, when all of the load testing and checks and measures were done, we brought the new Phantom out to Skylark Airport for test flights. It was a pretty awesome time. It was an amazing flying machine, going well beyond Mirage.
At the time of production of the following video The Ultralight Flyer would estimate the value of a used Phantom from the 1980s to be worth between $4,500 and $6,500.
Lazair entered the market in the early 1980s and was sold in kit form. Kits took between 500 and 1,000 hours to build as they were basically a raw materials kit. The fuselage and tail section use aluminum tubing with bolt and rivet construction.
Power was originally supplied by two modified Pioneer Chainsaw engines of approximately 5.5 horsepower each. The Series 2 and 3 models used two, single-cylinder, 9.5-horsepower Rotax engines. These engines were mounted on the leading edge of the wings.
Climb rate on the Lazair Series 2 and 3 ultralights was approximately 450 to 500 feet per minute. Cruise speed was between 35 and 45 miles per hour. Stall is around 25 miles per hour.
From comments to 
“Pioneer engines are under powered,” galactica one noted. “The Rotax 185s are good engines, parts are available, and performance is adequate. They should be upgraded to around 30 horsepower total,” the commenter added, as “two engines in the 15-horsepower range would give Lazair proper performance.”
Of course, I refer to 
Bristell with 
Representative U.S. Sport Planes, led by industry veteran Scott Severen, has demonstrated this baggage capacity with photos showing a 
Since I first saw the F2 in mock up, Flight Design has redesigned the intake for two reasons: “to reduce drag as we confirmed the older version was very functional but draggy; and for aesthetic reasons,” said the company. “Flight Design team designer and Head of Airworthiness, Christian Majunke, designed conceptually. He also designed a rather novel installation of the coolant and oil radiators,” elaborated Flight Design USA representative, Tom Peghiny.
At Sun ‘n Fun 2020, Deon expected to introduce Whisper to American kit builders. Alas, as with the rest of this group, you probably won’t see it until July in Wisconsin.
Bruno will be aided in his approach to the U.S. market by longtimer, Ed Ricks, who once helped the Paradise Aircraft people with their 
The FireStar is a high wing, strut braced, taildragger in a pusher configuration. To some aviators, “taildragger” is a negative. However…
If you prefer new to a used aircraft, the modern Part-103 compliant Kolb Firefly won’t cost you as much as you might think. However, the Kentucky factory is busy building these aircraft, so a ready-to-fly model might be a few months coming. Part 103 ultralights are quietly out-selling many other types and for good reasons: they are proven, inexpensive, and involve almost no FAA regulations.
Power for used Firestar will likely be supplied by the Rotax 377, 447, or 503 two-stroke aircraft engines, however, a variety of engines from 28 to 55 horsepower have been used.
As it turns out, the Sorrel Hiperlight SNS 8 was originally designed at the request of Ron Schettler, the first Canadian Distributor of 
SNS 8 is offered in kit form. It features a two piece 4130-welded steel fuselage, which can be separated for ease of storage. The aircraft can be covered in pre-sewn Dacron sail cloth envelopes or by the use of standard aircraft covering materials. Building times are in the 150 to 400 hour range, with the conventional fabric covering taking longer to complete.
Thunderbird Aviation was established officially in 2002 by Ron Jones. He reported, “[We] offer aircraft that appeal to a wide range of interests …from an ultralight, to a two-place Experimental, to a fully aerobatic yet cross-country-capable machine, and soon to come will be the SLSA Version.”
Beside a Rotax 377 or 447, other engines that have powered the Hiperlight SNS 8 are Hirth, Kawasaki, and half-VW conversions.
Meanwhile, I have been producing more content here on ByDanJohnson.com so everyone sheltering-in-place can at least fantasy fly their favorite flying machine. I will also continue with the “Virtual 
Changes for 2020 include a reshaped and longer cowling, Blackline propeller with new spinner, fully integrated landing light, and an additional NACA inlet to improve cooling. Other aerodynamic improvements include new landing gear legs with internal brake lines and new low drag wheel fairings. This all leads to significantly reduced drag and an increase in maximum speed. The company reports, “[These] aerodynamic modifications have made the CTLS 2020 nearly 10 knots faster!”
A new 
“Our F2 Light-Sport Aircraft model is fully ASTM-compliant after fine tuning,” noted the company. “Our first airplanes will be delivered to customers in June 2020. Careful engineering allowed us to bring this complex airplane under the maximum allowed take-off weight (of 1,320 pounds or 600 kilograms).”
Late in 2017, a Flight Design review concluded that prepregs could deliver a more consistent final product by ensuring constant material quality and processing parameters and could produce a lighter and stronger aircraft at a more competitive overall cost. The low-temperature cure could be done outside an autoclave. The latter reduces tooling costs and can boost build rates. Following careful analysis, the company went with Hexcel. Prepreg materials — “pre-impregnated” composite fibers have an epoxy material already present — were first used for the F2 prototype.
Flight Design began to review the market for available material options with a key part of its strategy to find and qualify a prepreg system that is not traditionally used in higher cost autoclave production for aerospace applications.
Already in operation since March 1st, Flight Design will “offset” the carbon emissions from the fuel burned by their airplanes during the first 2,000 hours of operation. They’ll do this by employing the 
Offsets will come from cash contributions by Flight Design to programs that meet internationally-accepted standards. Funds will be deployed to planting more trees and other actions that consume CO2.
The look it presents when assembled but not covered is that resembling construction of a geodesic dome, except flat. It looks like a daunting build but you just put piece after piece in place, right on the drawing, until all the “popsicle sticks” are in place. The process is not unlike color-by-the-numbers as little kids do.
The charming, highly-affordable, all-wood Koala was designed by Mike Fisher and Wayne Ison in the early 1980s. Yes, the same, one-and-only Wayne Ison associated with Team Aircraft, another builder of light weight, low-cost, nearly-all-wood designs. We will present an article and video on Team’s MiniMax later on on the Ultralight April 2020 Vintage series.
From the beginning Fisher and Ison designed Koala to fit 
We can have you in a plane for the price of a used Harley motorcycle, said 
Hawk was the first ultralight to be fully enclosed, meaning it had a floor, meaning you could not foot-launch it. The rule was still in place when Chuck first debuted Hawk but that one aircraft lead us into the brave new world of wheel-launching.
The point of this series of short (5-minute) videos is to identify aircraft almost anyone can afford. I should not have to say it, but please don’t assume a $5,000, decades-old ultralight will compare well to a modern LSA. The good news is that, in some ways, such a low-cost aircraft might even be more fun assuming you use good judgement about when and where to fly.
In recent months many light aviation enthusiasts have been asking about progress on FAA’s proposed rewrite of the Light-Sport Aircraft regulations. Following a lengthy teleconference in 2019, the 
FAA is moving forward on the rulemaking project yet everything remains in progress while the agency gathers internal assessments. What follows is as accurate as possible at this time but changes will occur.
FAA generally agreed with our back-calendar estimate that the NPRM may be forthcoming in late 2021 or early 2022. This was based on the perceived amount of work remaining.
A number of pilots and aircraft developers, surprised by the large potential increase in weight, have wondered what will keep these aircraft from becoming very large. If FAA will not specify a weight, what will prevent LSA 2023 from becoming heavier aircraft beyond the scope of LSA and the Sport Pilot certificate?
At present, FAA has given no specifics on speed, but reading between the lines, LAMA expects maximum flight speeds could be 140-150 knots.
However, matters regarding operation of LSA falls under Flight Standards, the people who manage Part 61 (airmen certification) and Part 65 (mechanics).
If the Ip value worked out to be less than 1.2, it was proposed at one point that the aircraft would fit within the definition of a Light Sport Aircraft. This formula would only work for airplanes, not applying to rotorcraft, powered parachutes and weight shift control trikes.
However, there is a very simple explanation for the lack of sensitivity of the formula to weight. And in fact, the explanation comes from algebraically simplifying the equation itself. When you do that, you find that even though weight appears in the original equation, it quickly drops out since it is in both the numerator and the denominator.
As an example, the wing area of a Flight Design CTSW is 107.0 square feet indicating that it is considerably larger than the minimum 57.87 square feet defined by an Ip of 1.2.
A frequent comment I hear is that the price of recreational aircraft are too high. Some pilots have been stating this for 18 years, since a couple years before Light-Sport Aircraft emerged.
Throughout aviation history, airplane builders worked hard to shave pounds, ounces, or grams from their designs. If light is right, then ultralights do it best.
Yet for many, the Buccaneer XA could be a load of fun for just the right price. Plus, 
One of the top-rated ultralight aircraft, ‘er… vehicles, of the early 1980s was the Buccaneer amphibian.
First introduced in 1984, Buccaneer XA was the first amphibious single-hull ultralight to enter the market. It featured bolt-together aluminum tubing for the main frame fuselage, with a center mounted fiberglass hull bolted to it. Buccaneer’s wings, tail section, ailerons and rear fuselage were also constructed using aluminum tubing joined by gusset plates and bolt joints, then covered with slip-on, sewn-Dacron sailcloth “envelopes.”
Power was originally supplied by the then-popular Rotax 277, a 28-horsepower, two-stroke engine. Later models were powered by the Rotax 377, 447 and 503 engines. All these were discontinued by 
You should also throughly inspect the airframe, wings, landing gear, and the control systems.
“Two years of hard job, more than 20 years of specific experience in this sector, invested into this new project. This new plane represents the sum of our vision, the expectations and needs coming from our customers and the desires of the STOL market. Design and elegance, innovations and safety, improved aerodynamics and performance, enhanced cabin comfort with new cargo capacity, reliability and strength, functionality and the potential to deliver new adventures, all come together quite well mixed.”
“Norden is a name used to identify the beautiful Nordic and Scandinavian countries — Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland. These incredible lands, with northern Canada and Alaska, are linked to the concepts of adventure and STOL operations. It is no secret that true bush flying was invented in the genuine Northern Territories.” Great distances and remoteness helped Pasquale find a name that could both inspire great “adventures” and “long trips.”
He also reported, “The standard tailwheel can now be upgraded to T3 tailwheel suspension system or even Acme Stinger. The standard bungee system can be upgraded with a custom made shock absorber system produced by one our dealers, or even with a more professional Acme Shock Pro Series system, designed for tough operations.”
Years ago at the very beginning of Light-Sport Aircraft and Sport Pilot, 
Rainbow’s 15-day Light Sport Repairman Maintenance Courses are taught in their new home facility in Kingsville, Missouri. These courses allow the students to obtain an FAA Light Sport Repairman Certificate with a Maintenance Rating (LSR-M), giving them the equivalent privileges of a Airplane and Powerplant (A&P) with an Inspection Authorization (IA), but limited to light sport aircraft.
Rainbow’s LSR-M class is an FAA approved workshop and an FAA certificate will be issued after successful completion. You do not have to own an aircraft. You do not need to be a pilot. You may charge for your services. The fee for the LSRM course: $4,195 or $3,995 (if paying in cash), which considering you can earn money afterward, represents a good bargain.
“This, too, shall pass…” said my neighbor, Bill Chernish, who flies for Southwest Airlines. His industry is unusually battered by the coronavirus pandemic. His calm and forward-looking view is refreshing amidst the fear seen, well… everywhere.
Delay, postpone, or cancel — that seems to be the question organizers of events faced in the current pandemic scare.
“Nevertheless,” he continued, “it is still imperative for Messe Friedrichshafen (the exhibit operator’s business name) to look to the future.
Like tens of thousands of others, I so enjoy this event and was looking forward to the show that was to begin in just a couple weeks. I was able to back out of most booked travel and will start planning for the 2021 event.
Relax, folks. We’re not going anywhere fast. Across all industries, shows and events have been “falling like dominos,” as publisher Ben Sclair put it when I called to discuss 
Later yesterday both the giant Florida theme parks Disney and Universal announced they will close Sunday through the end of the month. These Orlando-area businesses along with other theme parks draw 75 million visitors annually with a $75 billion economic impact, said officials, so even a few weeks of closure is a serious decision.
The organization said, “With the full support of Polk County, the City of Lakeland, Lakeland Linder International Airport, and the FAA, at this time we are planning to postpone the 2020 Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo until May 5-10. We appreciate the unwavering support of our airport and community and hope everyone will make plans to join us here this May.”
“The best practices of scientific and health resources are being followed as we prepare for our 2020 event. At 