ByDanJohnson.com

What must be wrong with the photo you see nearby? Was that airplane damaged in some way resulting in it being sent to the scrap heap? Only Textron executives know for sure, but what I see appears to be a fairly worthy airplane about to be munched by heavy equipment.

Aero-News.Net Aero-News.Net broke this story after scoring some photos from Facebook, they report. That outfit is always fast with news and willing to tackle stories some others resist.

While I have sometimes been slighted for being a mostly-good-news guy, reporting the latest and greatest developments from light aviation, I cannot turn down a story as sad as this one, with regrets to those who prefer my generally cheery attitude.

This warehouse appears to contain about 47 airplanes, by my count. Note the yellow Kevlar parachute straps hanging from many fuselages. Most appear to have engines.

What galls me is that in the photos I see — this is all the evidence that I have uncovered, thanks to the headstart from Aero-News.Net — it appears that beyond airframes, Cessna chose to scrap perfectly good, indeed brand new, engines, tires and who knows what else.

I should think those parts could have been salvaged in some way to be used on other aircraft. Perhaps the whole warehouse-full could have been given to charities, or as Aero-News.Net suggested, perhaps to the Civil Air Patrol, where the legal liability might have been contained.

Yet companies with billions at their disposal might not have been moved. The few million dollars that might have been received for parting out engines and more could have come back to bite Cessna and Textron if, for example, a single lawsuit found the company at fault for selling subpar components. As some legal eagle once said, “Your company may be one lawsuit away from being out of business.” At a public company like Textron, that risk may simply have not been an option on which they were willing to gamble.

The end is near for N60925, registered to Cessna Aircraft Co., with serial number 16200257.

In the end, for a giant like Textron, the matter came down to dollars and sense. Instead of disassembly, or using the parts to maintain the 275 or so Skycatchers still in operation, they chose to scrap the works, brand new engines and all.

Let’s have a moment of silence in respect of airplanes being scuttled… and then, let’s get back to enjoying the many dozens of fine Light-Sport Aircraft still on the market. Indeed, many LSA available are superior to Skycatcher anyway.

See many of these and more at the upcoming 13th annual Sebring Sport Aviation Expo scheduled for January 25, 28, 2017. All y’all come on down!

Flattened, good parts, bad parts, and all…

Beaten and down, this Skycatcher is never coming back to life.

Compress Post ...

This weekend, let’s watch some video. At airshows (where I seem to spend a lot of time), my video partner Dave and I race around from booth to exhibit and attempt to find new aircraft or products we think may be of interest to our viewers. I’m pleased to tell you that we must do this fairly well measured by a million and a half minutes a month spent watching Dave’s YouTube channel according to Google, which owns the popular video outlet.

In the video below shot at the Mid-West LSA Expo, you hear from Steve Minnich, who operates Dreams Come True, a family-run Evektor dealership in Dayton, Ohio.

Harmony is the evolution of the SportStar, the airplane that launched the Light-Sport Aircraft phenomenon back on April 5th, 2005. Along with Flight Design’s CT, the two were honored at a ceremony at Sun ‘n Fun that year where FAA presented the #1 and #2 aircraft to satisfactorily demonstrate compliance to the ASTM standards.

Today, pilots all over the world know about Light-Sport Aircraft and nearly 70,000 of them have been sold around the world.

Harmony looks like a much more expensive aircraft after steady evolution by the Czech manufacturer. A comfortably wide cockpit presents a large instrument panel easily able to handle big-screen digital instruments. It can easily appeal to someone used to a Bonanza or a Cirrus but who wants to spend less money flying for that hamburger or pancake breakfast. Handling is responsive yet thoroughly conventional. In-flight behavior is predictable and stability is excellent.

Find out more about Evektor’s professional-grade Harmony LSA at Steve Minnich’s Dreams Come True page, which leads you to their website and much more.

See more about all kinds of LSA, light kits, and ultralights on our LSA Videos page that is approaching 500 videos for your entertainment and educational enjoyment.

You can watch more than 1,000 videos on Videoman Dave’s YouTube channel publishing as SportAviationMagazine.com. Your support of Dave’s YouTube channel allows him to do his work. Please consider subscribing annually or Lifetime.

Compress Post ...

The first-ever inaugural event of the DeLand starts tomorrow, November 3rd and runs through the 4th and 5th (THursday, Friday, Saturday).I hope you are planning to attend. The exhibitor spaces are full sold and several aircraft were in place by Wednesday afternoon before the show. C’mon down and check out the newest event in light recreational aviation.

After a major setback in 2014, Remos found and secured solid financial support for their light aircraft manufacturing enterprise. See the earlier story here but the great news is that Remos AG is now back and better than ever. This year at AirVenture 2016, I flew with marketing guru Patrick Holland-Moritz in the new Remos GXiS. As you can read here, I found the new model a joy to fly with the best implementation yet doe Rotax‘s fuel injected and upgraded 912 iS Sport powerplant. Patrick coined the term “smartification” to describe their approach and I love his new word.

As the German producer continues to reinvigorate their business, they are also securing new dealers to represent them both in the USA and overseas. Remos was founded in the mid-1990s. Today, Remos produces the Remos GX alongside the top-of-the-line GXiS. More than 100 Remos LSA are flying in the U.S., with some 450 operating worldwide. About 50 people work for Remos today.

Remos recently announced a new dealer in the United States. SimplyFly is supporting the German manufacturer with an innovative approach of how to bring people into aviation. The company is based at Aurora airport, just a 40-minutes car ride from downtown Chicago, Illinois.

When David Spano and Tony Sabos established SimplyFly six years ago in 2010, their goal was to provide flight training under the banner of Power Sports. They wanted to focus on growing sport aviation by targeting the general public. What is their approach?

“Around 15 percent of those who take the Discovery Flight go on to become Sport Pilots or Private Pilots,” said Remos on behalf of SimplyFly. That is an impressive conversion rate after a single introductory flight. “All of the training is done in Remos aircraft,” said Patrick. SimplyFly has four Remos models for this purpose and of course, the Illinois company — with an densely populated major metropolitan market a short drive away — is also a dealer able to sell new aircraft like GXiS.

At their fair, mall, and festival displays, “SimplyFly works to correct false perceptions and present flying as an attainable sport. They don’t sell aviation as a mode of transportation, they sell fun,” exclaimed Patrick!

Based at Aurora Municipal Airport (KARR) west of Chicago SimplyFly offers a Sport Pilot certificate for $6,400 and the Private Pilot for $9,600. This is no bare-bones training. The dealership and flight school includes 40 hours of flying for Sport Pilot training — 20 is the bare minimum according to FAA regs — or 60 hours for the Private. Both courses include ground school.

“Almost all our students pass their check ride in less than the allotted time,” said David.
“Once they start on a certificate, we encourage them to fly at least twice a week. We credit some of this success to the forgiving flight characteristics of the Remos GXiS.” They report students become comfortable very quickly.

Flight training in Remos aircraft has worked out so well the partners moved up to become dealers so they can offer sales and service.

The second Remos dealer in North America after the German company’s reorganization, SimplyFly is part of the Remos expansion as the European manufacturer rebuilds a global presence for their Light-Sport Aircraft. SimplyFly has plans of its own to expand to other major metropolitan areas.

Compress Post ...

Are you interested in light aircraft? “Check.” Interested in cool looking flying machines? “Check.” Enjoy following the latest trends in flying? “Check.” Interested in autonomous (pilotless) flying? “Umm… Not sure?” Interested in an Autonomous Airbus Air Taxi? “Hmm… no, not really?” Interesting in getting your Eight-Engine Rating? “Ah, No!” However you answered and whatever you think, the world of aviation appears to be changing.

When a company like airliner giant Airbus goes after media coverage with its E-Fan and ups the ante with Vahana, some may begin to feel the ground move under their feet like a California earthquake. Imagine a fleet of pilotless vehicles ready to swoop in to pick up passengers and deliver them to doctor appointments or a visit to grandma’s house. Aviation appears to be headed in some very new directions.

On ByDanJohnson.com, I have followed other flying car or drone developments. See this article or here’s another for a couple examples.

Recently, Airbus quietly removed the shroud of secrecy on an ambitious project called Vahana. From a division based in Silicon Valley, Vahana is the work of A³ (“A-cubed”), an Airbus entity for advanced projects.

A pilotless passenger aircraft, Vahana is intended to take off and land vertically from helicopter skids instead of wheels incorporating two sets of tilting wings, each with four electric motors. Vahana holds a single passenger under an aft-swinging canopy.

The business case for Vahana includes worthy points: Battery safety and energy density is advancing; low-cost, reliable avionics are available, borrowing from decades of work done for unmanned aerial vehicles; obstacle detection and avoidance algorithms are increasingly sophisticated; Airbus suggests automated composite manufacturing and assembly show that small, lightweight vehicles can be produced at high volumes and significantly lower costs than traditional aerospace methods have previously allowed.

Rodin Lyasoff, CEO of A-cubed wrote, “Our aircraft will follow predetermined flight paths, with only minor deviations if obstacle avoidance is needed. We believe this mode of operation will be compatible with future airspace management systems and will allow more aircraft to share the sky. Full automation also enables us to make our aircraft as small and light as possible, and will significantly reduce manufacturing costs.”

Lyasoff said A-cubed has assembled experts in aircraft design and manufacturing, electric propulsion, vehicle autonomy, and aircraft certification. He reported significant progress and expects a full-size prototype to fly by the end of 2017. A³ has completed vehicle design and developed and acquired several critical subsystems. They will outsource to external partners construction of the first airframe.

While smaller, nimble groups are also pursuing the air taxi and autonomous flying ideas, Airbus can deploy one huge advantage that most (but not all) other aircraft developers lack: access to funds. Airbus reportedly invested an initial $150 million to future projects including Vahana.

Despite being part of a giant and very competitive company, A-cubed appears unusually generous about their effort. Lyasoff wrote, “We will also release many of our internal tools and flight code under an open source license. We believe that this degree of openness will push the industry as a whole forward, and we hope that others will follow our example.”

Flying taxis without pilots will face public acceptance challenges. A-cubed refers to “sense and avoid” technology to prevent midair collisions and redundant motors so the loss of one is not catastrophic. In a worst case scenario, a ballistic parachute would deploy.

If A³ flies a full-size prototype by the end of 2017 Lyasoff believes the Airbus entity can come to market by 2020. Given Airbus’s worldwide brand, Vahana must be taken seriously.

Get ready for a brave new airborne future unfolding at light speed!

Compress Post ...

China’s A2C ultralight seen at a 2015 airshow in Anyang. This one is fitted with agricultural crop micro-spray equipment. At least the powerplant is familiar, a Rotax.

This story was featured in Toronto, Canada’s TheStar.com and was written by Eric Talmadge of the Associated Press. At the end of his article Eric wrote, “Officials say the ultralight aircraft used for the flights were made in North Korea.” If so, I’d say they are a knock-off of a Chinese aircraft that I have examined.

A China airplane looking very similar has been seen at AirVenture 2015 though I’m guessing few visitors paid it much attention as it was far from the sleek, beautiful light aircraft commonly seen at the big show. However, China’s A2C-L aircraft, developed by the AVIC Special Vehicle Research Institute, was this year the first ultralight aircraft to obtain a certificate of model design approval and a production permit issued by Civil Aviation Administration of China, according to China Aviation News. Nearly 100 A2C planes have been sold, that publication reported.

A tourist flight is photographed over Pyongyang, the capital city of North Korea.

Mr. Talmadge reported in The Star, “Until a few months ago, if you wanted a bird’s-eye view of North Korea’s capital, you basically had only one option: a 492-foot-tall tower across the river from Kim Il Sung Square.

Now, if you have the cash, you can climb into the back seat of an ultralight aircraft.” He explained that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to give North Koreans more modern and “cultured” ways to spend their leisure time, and with foreign tourism companies looking to entice visitors with unique things to do besides visit war museums and political monuments, a Pyongyang flying club has started offering short flights over some of the capital’s major sights. Maybe it’s working as Talmadge reported, “Officials say more than 4,000 North Koreans have gone up in the ultralight fleet since, along with ‘hundreds of foreigners’ from 12 countries.”

His report continued, “The tours, which began in late July, are operated by the Mirim flying club out of a fancy new facility on an old airfield.” Flights go directly over some of Pyongyang’s most iconic spots, including the gargantuan May Day stadium, the torch-tipped Juche Tower and Kim Il Sung Square area, and the Munsu Water Park (center photo), another of Kim’s leisure spot “gifts” to the city. After each flight, the tightly controlled society requires club officials to inspect photographs taken from the air.

The country’s Mirim flying club provides tourist flights for $150, although reportedly less for North Korean citizens.

Flights aren’t cheap. A 25-minute mission from the airstrip on the outskirts of the city to Kim Il Sung Square and the Juche Tower, which had previously been the best place to get an urban panorama, sells for about $150 (2-3 month’s wages for an average Korean factory worker). Shorter flights are offered at lower prices, starting from about $65, but those only fly around the immediate vicinity of the flight club, which is fairly rural. Prices for North Koreans are much cheaper, though club officials reportedly would not say exactly how much.

Officials say the ultralight aircraft used for the flights were made in North Korea. Perhaps, but if so, they must have used the A2C-L as their template. North Korea does trade with China, one of its few export/import partners.

I can only marvel at what North Koreans or tourists would think if they saw one of our modern Light-Sport Aircraft or a well-made American ultralight-like aircraft. China has other models North Korea might access but maybe the A2C-L was chosen for specific reasons. I’m guessing those few thousand folks that have taken a flight find it a special experience… one any American can take virtually for granted.

Compress Post ...

A few miles south of my home one finds Kennedy Space Center, where this fascinating photo was taken. photo courtesy of Wall Street Journal

First a personal tale and then something completely different…

In the last week, I encountered something brand new to me, although old as the ocean. I refer to Hurricane Matthew, which swept through my home area of Daytona Beach late last week. You haven’t seen anything new on this website for a few days because, well… I was a little busy. Along with everyone else in this area, we spent days preparing for a Category 4 storm (identified as packing wind speeds of 135-156 miles an hour, enough to tear buildings apart). Everything outside was brought indoors. Sandbags were loaded and positioned because a 15 foot storm surge was predicted along with torrential rains. Because my dwelling — at the Spruce Creek Fly-in, an airport community (7FL6) — sits only 22 feet above sea level, such a storm surge took on epic damage possibilities.

Fortunately, the winds capped at 91 mph at the nearby Daytona Beach airport (KDAB). The storm surge was much less than forecast and the rain was not as heavy as anticipated. We probably owe this to a “wobble” the storm path took that kept it further out at sea. Thank goodness, the eye of the storm did not wander toward land. I don’t want to think about that.

To return everything to its normal place and to clean up the mess of branches and debris the storm scattered around took more time, so nearly a week was lost to Matthew. Nonetheless, the overall damage was less than anticipated so I am thankful while remaining concerned for losses sustained by others.

Besides the Rotax engine, I can also see what appear to be deluxe Beringer wheels.

After translating some Mexican websites, I was able to glean a few facts about a new aircraft, a Light-Sport Aircraft according to developers, that is reportedly the first airplane in 50 years to be made completely in Mexico. I found it interesting that this new LSA-like aircraft arrives from a furniture company. Perhaps that’s less unusual when you know that the airplane is made of wood, “extracted from fir and birch planted exclusively for aeronautical use and certified by the FAA,” said the companies.

After three years of work the timber airplane, designed by Giovanni Angelucci and built in Mexico, is approaching being market ready. The somewhat spartan news was released without naming a functional website where interested persons could find more details. Even determining what the new aircraft is called was not clear but since this is a launch project, it’s probably too soon for any enterprising business person to rush into representing the airplane.

Although the news released referred to the new aircraft as a Light-Sport Aircraft, the speeds they announced are well outside the U.S. category, hence my use of the term “LSA-like.”

A side by side two-seater aircraft, this proposed LSA is a low wing design with fixed gear. Its takeoff weight of 600 kilograms (1,320 pounds) exactly matches the LSA standard but cruise speed was listed at 260 kilometers per hour or 140 knots, a bit speedier than allowed though that might change with a different prop and other minor modifications. Maximum speed was shown as 300 kilometers per hour or 163 knots.

The new Mexican airplane is power by a very familiar engine, the 100 horsepower Rotax 912, which places it more securely in the LSA sector. Endurance was listed as six hours yielding a range of better than 800 nautical miles, suggesting a fuel supply of about 30 gallons. Empty weight was shown at 330 kilograms or about 725 pounds, again roughly typical for the LSA category. Ceiling was shown as 15,000 feet.

The developers noted, “[The airplane is an] artisanal manufacture by cabinet makers.” Such advanced wood-working skills were “applied to the design to ensure the efficiency and durability of the aircraft over time. Its use is sporting, recreational flying and can be used by flight schools and such work as territorial surveillance.” The new plane comes from an alliance of Horizontec and Pirwi.

The companies added, “[This] will be the first airplane manufactured in Mexico since last century… and will contribute to the reactivation of the Mexican airline industry, which since the ’50s did not produce full, but only aircraft parts.”

“The design was confirmed by the Aviation Cluster of Queretaro and the Aeronautical University in Querétaro (UNAQ), which for three years has harbored the project.” The new aircraft is priced at $180,000 and will be [built] on request in order to customize to the taste and needs of each client.

You can’t see the Mexican entry at the DeLand Showcase coming up in just three weeks (November 3-4-5), but you can see the Jabiru J-230-D and many more Light-Sport, light kit, and ultralight aircraft. More details at DeLand’s website.

Compress Post ...

WUFI ’16 — It’s tomorrow in New Zealand. Weird as it seems to write that, the down-under nation is 17 hours ahead of those of us on America’s east coast. So, pilots in that nation will lead the parade as ultralights and other open-cockpit aircraft kick off the World Ultralight Fly-In on October 1st, a global day in the sky. If you have one of these aircraft, I hope you log on to their map and add your pin and info to the group.

As of September 30th, the day before WUFI Day, more than 800 pilots had already shown their support for the “movement” to have some joy in the air aboard your light flying machine. Organizer Dayton Ultralights and Facebook regular Paul Lindamood were looking for 1,000 pilots to join the party. Given normal human propensity to wait to act, it might happen. I’ll be interested to hear the final report but you should get your bird ready now and check the news later.

Interestingly, a look at their map reveals two nations that jump out for their lack of participation (or at least showing so on the map). Russia and Brazil both have active aviation communities and I’m surprised to see those areas with no pins. Perhaps they’re among those waiting until the last minute. Follow the development on Dayton Ultralight’s Facebook page. More info right here and here.

DeLand Showcase — We’re now about one month away from the first-ever DeLand Showcase at the …you guessed it, DeLand Airport (KDED). Based on my years in close-by Daytona Beach, weather over November 3rd, 4th. and 5th should be good, no longer broiling in tropical heat but neither wintery. Get more info: DeLand Showcase 2016

TAF Sling Kit — Mike Blyth and the gang from The Airplane Factory has done it again. No, not fly around the world… again. They’ve done that so often it’s almost not news. What they repeated was fully building of one of their kits, and flying it, at an airshow. Certainly this shows a regular homebuilder that Sling kits can be completed in a reasonable amount of time.

The Airplane Factory USA Team announced, “A Sling 4 [seater] has been built and flown in record time at the Sywell Aerodrome, United Kingdom, during the 70th Anniversary LAA Rally.” The UK’s Light Aircraft Association puts on the event.

A complete Sling 4 aircraft kit was packed in South Africa and then delivered to Sywell on August 26th. “Over a seven-day period, a 10-person build team, consisting of five TAF employees and five LAA volunteers, fully assembled the kit, ground ran the engine and test flew the completed aircraft at the show,” reported TAF USA. The build team worked 12 hours a day in the company’s airshow display.

This the second Sling 4 build of its kind. About a year ago in September 2015, the TAF South Africa team built a Sling 4 in only 4 days, with 40 workers (here’s our article on the earlier speed-build). Sling 4-4-40 was delivered to TAF USA as their Sling 4 demonstrator and has since accumulated more than 650 hours of flight time. I’ve gotten to fly Sling 4. I loved it; read more here.

Skydock Tested — Single seaters don’t get enough love, it sometimes seems. The truth be known, though, Part 103 ultralights appear to be doing fine. Perhaps the number of producers now properly matches the number of customers; whatever the explanation, companies pursuing 103 appear to be staying active. One such is Belite Aircraft.

Owner James Wiebe has been focused on his low wing cantilever Skydock and it is drawing interest. Skydock can be a Part 103 aircraft with minimal paint and an airframe parachute. Or, it can be a Experimental Amateur Built in the USA or a Single Seat DeRegulated aircraft in the United Kingdom. When James recently tested Skydock’s wing, he did so assuming the higher gross weight of a EAB or SSDR.

“We ran our negative G load test yesterday on our SkyDock prototype,” said James. Belite tested to negative 3.8 G at a gross weight of 660 pounds, 10% beyond the higher MTOW of Skydock. James consider it “an ultimate load test.”

Skydock is a single seat design with what Belite said is “an exceptionally roomy interior [that] fits long legs, broad shoulders, a large frame.” The fuselage and wing D-cells are carbon fiber; wings have integrated ailerons and flaps. A complete kit with skins is priced at $20,625.

Compress Post ...