The popular Flightstar is solidly an American aircraft again after an excursion with overseas ownership. Original designer, Tom Peghiny, and his partner, Sparky LaMontagne, are majority owners in the Connecticut-based ultralight manufacturer. They’ve introduced four models to the community: Flightstar Classic (277 engine), Spyder (447-powered single place), Formula (deluxe full enclosure single seater) and Flightstar (top of the line two-place aircraft).
The Flightstar line distinguishes itself by featuring well engineered designs with cleanly executed hardware on a sleek, solid design. As they pass by in an airshow demonstration, viewers are pleased by the quiet performance of the machines. Factory pilots fly their two place model with the lighter 503 engine; it’s more than enough engine though you can add the more powerful 582. They go fast as well as slow and handle well at either end of the envelope. Present models offer flaps to further extend the speed range.
Efficiency is a watchword with the Flightstars.
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Hurricane Company – Hurricane II
Fun people and fun planes probably always went together, but when you run into the Hurricane staff, you’ll better understand the combination. The Southern California manufacturer and crew apparently enjoy what they’re doing. They smile a lot and want to go fly their Hurricanes at the drop of a hat. All that pleasure shows up in an airplane that’s fun to buy, build, and fly.
Flying may be the best part. The Hurricane, deriving as it does from solid predecessors like the Phantom and Avenger, has refined the special form of ultralight flying to an art form. The Hurricanes typify ultralight aircraft to many folks, both pilots and first-airshow spectators. Open but protected from the wind by a high quality fairing and screen, the Hurricane preserves that wide-open feeling that gives the comfort of an enclosed cabin.
Though the handling is snappy enough for factory pilots to put the Hurricanes through some aerobatic paces, they also fly with well behaved manners.
Titan Aircraft – Tornado II
In the last year, the Titan company scored a huge media success by having its Tornado appear on the popular TV show Northern Exposure. On the show, pilot character, Maggie, builds and flies the Tornado and the entire episode deals with the aircraft intimately. Titan boss John Williams was hired to provide technical consultation and the show gave a welcome boost to ultralight aviation.
How they chose this airplane over another is no mystery to anyone who’s flown the dashing design. The Tornado is available in a single and two seat model, each of which flies beautifully. One glance confirms an image of speed and snappy handling but these qualities don’t come with a penalty. Both aircraft can also slow down well, and exhibit forgiving takeoff and landing characteristics.
Appearances are important and the Titan aircraft excel in this area. In addition to strikingly raked lines, the planes are built from materials that suggest a long life.
Tenn. Engineering & Mfg – Max-103
TEAM, builder of the MiniMax, High Max, and other -Maxes, introduced their new Max-103 at Oshkosh 1993. With flowing lines, a snappy paint job and an adorable “convertible” canopy, the Max-103 was a hit with airshow goers.
TEAM president, Scott Severin, was the motivation behind changes to old serial #2 MiniMax, completely transforming it to the beautiful plane above. In order to keep the price low and building easy, the MiniMax has always shown rather boxy lines. The ‘103 was visually striking with fiberglass cowlings, a shapely turtle deck, and sweeping red and blue accent stripes over an clean white base.
Fortunately, TEAM didn’t mess with success, leaving the fine handling and solid feel intact. The MiniMax line is known for light controls with quick-not-jumpy aileron response. Taildragger takeoffs and landings are as easy as most tri-gear designs. A wide-open MiniMax is a joy to fly; the view is tremendous.
Not only is the Max-103 a hot little plane, it carries an absurdly low price tag.
CGS Aviation – Hawk II Arrow
You get two things when you buy a Hawk: the airplane and Chuck. The Hawk will cost you a shade over $9,000 (single place; 447 engine). Chuck comes free with the deal. CGS boss Slusarczyk is a fascinating character and when he starts talking, a crowd often gathers.
He’s also a forward-thinking designer. Eleven years ago, CGS Aviation was the first to abandon the silly FAA requirement that ultralights had to be foot launchable. The fully enclosed Hawk set the industry on its ear and never looked back.
Today’s Hawk has seen many refinements but the basic idea was so good it continues to sell. That’s because a Hawk does most things right, making its owners some of the most loyal I’ve ever met.
The cabin is spacious and refinements to the Hawk Arrow make it more comfortable and usable than before. It flies conventionally with very predictable handling, strong performance, and it takes off and lands like you had an autopilot engaged.
Loehle Aviation – Sport Parasol
Company owner Mike Loehle has a workable theme: give pilots airplanes loaded with nostalgia, price them right, make the kits buildable by ordinary humans, and back that up with good factory support. His 5151 Mustang broke this ground. Now the Tennessee builder has other designs in the stable.
One is the Sport Parasol. Looks may motivate most buyers of nostalgia, but it doesn’t hurt that the planes fly well. The Parasol in particular may look like a design that would fly very slowly and be very docile. In fact, the Parasol zips along at a good speed and offers rather brisk handling.
The Parasol was introduced at a paltry $2,500 without engine. Part of Loehle’s thinking was that buyers could easily find a used 447 Rotax or equivalent. Add a few more goodies desired by many pilots and you’re still aloft for about $6,000, quite a bargain in a time where everything seems priced at $10-20,000.
Aircraft Supermarket
Aircraft Supermarket
Bob and Dorly Ellefson have made quite a commitment to light aviation. So badly did they want to stay in this business, they helped make it work for them in a unique way.
The Ellefsons bought a desirable patch of land right by the I-80 freeway outside the largish city of Des Moines, Iowa. They built on a nice piece of this for the Golden Circle factory and put in a substantial paved runway. Over the years, Bob and Dorly have largely gotten out of the real estate business to focus on aviation only. “You have to do what you know,” says Bob.
But they have directed their enterprise in two ways. One is Golden Circle Air, manufacturer of the T-Bird line of ultralight aircraft. The other is the Aircraft Supermarket. The Ellefsons made an unusual move for an ultralight manufacturer: they took on other ultralight brands, lots of them, to sell.
Getting Up On A Breese
A M-Squared solidifies its position in the ultralight industry, the company rounds out its line of models with a pair of single-seaters to complement two 2-seaters already completed.
Welcome to fresh Mississippi Breeses.
M-Squared was born of a collaboration of 17-year Quicksilver veteran Paul Mather, and South Mississippi Light Aircraft (SMLA) owner Ronnie Smith. Mather started and solely owns M-Squared, but the two men have established a complementary working relationship.
Ronnie Smith and his wife built their SMLA operation into a regional powerhouse, selling Quicksilvers and other models through a chain of subdealers. Smith also established the southern enterprise as one of the few official American Rotax sales and service outlets and is also a supplier of many ultralight accessory items.
Mather conceived how Smith’s presence in the business might be combined with his own depth of experience and M-Squared rose as powerfully as the early 80-hp Rotax 912-equipped aircraft he debuted in the spring of 1997.
King and Kolbra
The King and Kolbra
The New Kolb Aircraft Company didn’t make a new model. They made two. But don’t judge by the photos accompanying this sidebar.
The red Kolbra was built by Lite Speed Aviation, a group based only an hour away from The New Kolb Aircraft Company. The distinctive orange-and-blue Kolbra is the factory creation. Finished off as professionally, I found some irony in that the newest model was not the factory one.
The Lite Speed model is the ultralight trainer version, and that’s precisely how Lite Speed plans to use it. New Kolb’s factory edition is an example of the King Kolbra, which will require FAA registration and an FAA pilot’s certificate.
In truth, besides the beefy Australian 80-hp Jabiru engine (versus the Austrian Rotax), the main differences between the two examples relate to the nose jobs. From the front seat aft (ignoring the engine), the two planes are all but identical except for paint and upholstery.
Golden Circle Air’s T-Bird I Is Easy On Pilots
Ten years ago, in the spring of ’93, I flew and reported on the nosewheel T-Bird I. Part 103 was barely 10 years old then and Sport Pilot/Light-Sport Aircraft concepts were a decade in the distant future.
This month we’re going to take a look at the taildragger T-Bird model. The good news through this passage of time is that the T-Bird I remains a delightful aircraft to fly. Anyone entering ultralight aviation should consider this plane among the fleet of possibilities.
Maybe you’re a bit overwhelmed by the steady stream of talk about FAA’s proposed Light-Sport Aircraft rule. The concept may be a bright light on the aviation horizon, but with another 6 months or more to wait, the patience of many pilots is wearing thin.
Even though I’m excited about this proposed new class of aircraft, I remain a true believer in the lighter, simpler, less expensive theory of ultralight aircraft.
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