For 21 Years, Quad City’s Challenger has proved a good choice.
It’s enough to create a serious case of envy among producers vying for the market the Challenger seems to own year after year. Even in 2003, a slow year for all aircraft manufacturers, Quad City Ultralight Aircraft pumped out another 120 kits. Most light-sport aviation companies would consider that an excellent performance. For Quad City, it was a down year!
The venerable company from the Quad Cities area of Iowa, near the Illinois border, has put more than 3000 aircraft in the air. Van’s Aircraft has done even better, and Quicksilver has more than 10,000 ultralights flying, but the Challenger is clearly one of the industry’s leaders. And the company has enjoyed the same leadership since it was founded more than two decades ago.
Despite this success, Quad City maneuvers rather quietly. Last year the company celebrated 20 years of operation, yet many ultralighters and most aviators were unaware of the accomplishment.
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Spiffy New Thorpedo…IndUS Aviation’s LP Series
IndUS marketing geniuses called their program “Refresh ’08,” but perhaps it ought to be “Renew ’08?” The changes on which IndUS staffers have long labored gave the proven design its smartest look yet. Here’s a neat trick for what may be the oldest SLSA design in the fleet, what with Serial Number One T-211 turning 61 in 2007 (“and it’s still flying all over the place”). *** In January 2007, IndUS announced a partnership with LoPresti, the Speed Merchant people who helped Piper and several other GA brands extract more performance from their airplanes without airframe modifications. IndUS left the partnership but a clever team at the Dallas company took up the innovation effort and produced impressive results. *** The Thorpedo shown at Sebring 2008 sported a snazzy new engine cowl treatment, light-emitting wing tips including built-in landing lights, and streamlined gear leg fairings.
Strong Finale to Sport Pilot Tour Series
The first of two EAA Sport Pilot Tour stops will occur December 2nd at the famous Flabob Airport in Riverside, California. One weekend later on December 9th the last of the series will be hosted by Brown Field in San Diego. Both events appear ready to break all records for the number of display airplanes. Unless weather prevents some, I expect Riverside and San Diego could see as many as 20 LSA. These small-venue events allow close examination and more time with suppliers than large shows where crowds are too thick to let vendors visit at length with potential buyers. Demo flights are also available. And EAA will present a schedule of seminars nearly all day long, helping to explain the new Sport Pilot rule and to answer questions from the hundreds of LSA enthusiasts that attend. If you live in the southwest U.S., here is your best chance to see a gathering of top Light-Sport Aircraft models.
A Multicopter Current Pilots Might Enjoy? …Developed Within Our LSA Industry
Here’s a helicopter-like aircraft you might actually consider. I have often reviewed what I call multicopters (several articles). I searched for aircraft you might fly for fun; several of them can enjoy the freedom and special benefits of Part 103. I’ve stayed away from commercial “air taxi” projects.
But what if a longtime producer of Light-Sport Aircraft entered the space? What if the aircraft looked like a helicopter but one you could fly without the steep learning curve? What if it offered 45 minutes of flight with a 15-minute reserve?
The earliest entries had short flight times, 15-20 minutes. Most of them cost too much. For example, Opener’s Blackfly (now called Helix) was first promoted at the cost of a “luxury SUV,” perhaps meaning $80,000 at the time. It has since more than doubled in price.
You may doubt or dislike these flying machines, especially when you don’t know the people behind the projects.
Go Solo! Atec’s Solo 212 Let’s You Fly Yourself in Style, Yet It’s Affordable
Was this aircraft the star of MAX, the airshow? Maybe. “It drew a lot of attention,” said a company representative, “a sleek taildragger single seater with a 912 up front.” That it was accented with red inside and out helped, as proven by big auto companies that spend millions to advertise red cars when they want to catch your eye. (Updated 2/27/24: new images at bottom)
Atec Solo 212 is the name of the airplane. It will not be their top seller but for plenty of pilots (me included) this was a charmer. Plus, let me spill the beans on its affordability. I don’t know your budget but this beauty could be had, in America, for $100-110,000 reported RT Aviation partner Todd Livingston a couple weeks after MAX ’24 concluded. That price won’t work for everyone, I know, but it’s half the cost of many “reasonably” priced SLSA in fall 2024.
Kitfox’s Reasons for De-Emphasizing the SLSA
In the normal order of things, a successful product will probably remain in production until demand slackens, technology changes or it can’t be built effectively. But there are other reasons, some not so obvious. Case in point? Kitfox Aircraft. Since 2009, when the company began selling the Series 7 Sport, it’s cranked out roughly 40 of the factory-built LSAs, with sales always outpacing the company’s ability to produce for the first few years. Eventually, Kitfox began selling the S7 Sport with various engine options, up to the Rotax 914. Sales over the last few years have slowed to a relative trickle, but not really for reasons you’d think.
First of all, the company’s bread-and-butter is the kitbuilt side of the market, so when the factory buildings are busy and full to overflowing and the order book is growing, company owner John McBean elected to prioritize the kit side of the business over the ready-made side.
Flying the Stampe SV4-RS — Your Modern Biplane
I’d seen the full-size Stampe SV4-RS replica at AERO a few weeks previously, and it really put a hook in me. I was fortunate enough to fly a Stampe several years ago and was very impressed—it being greatly superior to the DH Tiger Moth, with which it is often confused. Of course, even the youngest Stampe is still 69 years old, and they require a lot of maintenance. Spares for the original Renault engine in particular are getting rare, the strength of the wooden fuselage can be compromised from decades of oil being splattered across it and the metal fixtures and fittings are far from the first flush of youth. These are old aircraft and they require a lot of looking after. Indeed, the reason why such aircraft (and cars and motorbikes of a similar vintage) are often referred to as “collector’s machines” is that you often need someone following along behind collecting up all the pieces that have fallen off!
Shared Ownership — A Route To “Affordable Aviation”
I was inspired to write this article by a comment made on a previous article I wrote on MOSAIC. I had indicated that MOSAIC had the potential to bring new aircraft to market at half the price of current legacy offerings. The commenter made the point that even at half the price, this would still not make it inherently “affordable” to most people.
This topic will be covered in two articles. The first will discuss how shared ownership is able to bring down the costs of accessing an airplane and thus, making it potentially more affordable to a wider pilot demographic. The second article will detail two proposals on how some form of shared ownership could be expanded into a regional or national model.
How the Numbers Add Up
Affordability is really not a single quantifiable number that can be used to judge a product. There are simply too many other factors such as income, lifestyle and geographical location that have to be taken into account while, of course, no two people see their life priorities the same way.
Buying Used: The Ercoupe — We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Pedals
Few legacy GA aircraft are as easily recognizable as the Ercoupe. The twin tails and large glazed canopy are distinctive, as are its lack of rudder pedals (on most models). Ercoupe Owner’s Club Executive Director Gene Bunt says, “for lack of a better explanation…it’s got major ‘cute factor’.” But apart from its unique looks, the plane is also known for being easy to fly. It was, after all, designed with the goal of being the safest fixed wing aircraft available—one that would not stall or spin.
While the Ercoupe is a type certified aircraft, many of the variants qualify within the Light Sport category. When MOSAIC comes in all of them will qualify. That’s great news for Sport Pilots looking for something “different” to fly. And, they regularly show up for sale for comparatively little money.
Development
Fred Weick, an aeronautical engineer who would later create the Piper Pawnee and have a hand in designing the Piper Cherokee, designed the Ercoupe after joining the newly formed Engineering and Research Corporation (ERCO) in 1936.
Taking Composites “Out Back” — TL Sport Aircraft’s Sirius Backcountry and SE Models
Metal or Fabric… that’s mainly been your choice when you look at LSA that can venture into unimproved landing strips. Composite aircraft with snugly-faired wheels and slippery, shiny exteriors usually stay on civilized airports. You’ve never seen a Cirrus land on a rocky creek bed, have you?
Czech producer TL Ultralight has started down this path and showed a mockup (using images) at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2024.
Additionally, recent years have seen several high wing models introduced by LSA manufacturers known for their low-wing designs. High wing aircraft are often considered more versatile on floats or on big tundra tires, though we’ve seen low-wing variations like Bristell’s tundra tire-equipped TDO (Tail Dragger Option).
Thanks to a well-established production facility paired with computer-aided design, importer TL Sport Aircraft will take its all-composite Sirius into backcountry flying.
Summer Celebration
Oshkosh brings out the best in new aircraft.
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