ByDanJohnson.com

By Jon Croke || June 6, 2024 Leave a Comment

The front fuselage with the landing gear mounted.

My objective was to build an “FAA-legal” ultralight using approved aircraft materials and techniques. This month, I will review some of the challenges encountered while building. My approach on making these videos was to show and explain to first-time builders how to take a set of plans and translate them into a series of steps for completing the project.

From a construction standpoint this ultralight design is quite unusual in some ways and very traditional in others. The designer, Dave Edwards, had a goal of making sure the aircraft could be built by an amateur with common shop tools and readily available materials. Most of the aircraft is made from round and square 6061-T6 aluminum tubing. The square tubing is used primarily for the fuselage; the round tubing is used for the wings and other flight surfaces.

Weighing the fuel tank before installation.

The fuselage is unique in appearance as it resembles a ladder turned on its side. Yes, it is a thin, flat fuselage that the pilot straddles while sitting in an attached seat. The fuselage is fashioned from a dozen various lengths of 2-inch square aluminum tubes. These straight, square tubes are joined to one another by ⅛-inch-thick aluminum gussets attached on each side of the ends where they connect to the next tube. A set of AN-4 bolts pass through each “sandwich” of tube and gussets on either side to hold them tightly together. The construction skills needed to build this fuselage consist of cutting the square tubes to proper length, along with using a band saw to shape the gussets to match the full-size templates included in the plans. As holes need to be carefully drilled through the gussets and square tubing for the AN bolts, I show a technique for match drilling these items so that everything lines up when finished. You should get the idea that there are no difficult tasks required—just some easy techniques and careful use of drills and saws.

Due to the two-dimensional ladder-type fuselage design, there can be enormous stress developed at each square tube and gusset junction. These in-flight stresses include tension, shear and twisting (torsion) between the connected tubes. The AN-4 bolts that hold these joints together provide more than enough strength to do the job. A problem that arose was that many builders inquired about substituting the AN bolts with rivets, and others wanted to just weld the gussets to the tube! It is reasonable and encouraging that builders question construction alternatives—maybe for saving weight or cost. However, I felt it was my job as a teacher to address these desires by new builders to divert from the plans so that the aircraft can remain safe and strong, as well as communicating the reasons for these decisions.

The tail end of the fuselage braced with diagonal tubes .

One of the Facebook forums used for information about the Affordaplane seems to entertain modifications to the plans. (I refuse to participate in this forum.) On repeated posts, “professional” welders explain how their welding expertise and industry experience results in an aluminum welded joint that is superior in strength compared to using AN bolts as depicted in the plans. Forum moderators have tried to explain that eliminating the bolts, regardless of how perfect a weld might be, will drastically reduce the joint strength that comes from the side-to-side load transfer that the bolts provide with their clamping strength on each side of the tube.

Simple, wire-braced landing gear with nylon wheels.

The same issue is found with substituting rivets. While most builders can understand this and respect the decision to never weld or rivet, others are vocal about not agreeing and telling the community that they know better. My concern about this forum is that future new builders will read these comments made by “professional” welders and believe that it is OK to skip the bolts. It is certainly OK to experiment with your own butt on the line, but giving life to the idea that this might work well for others is not something I want my project to be associated with! This is the nature of public forums. But when it comes to building airplanes, we should take special effort to guard the facts that ensure safety. Remember—ultralights do not get inspected by the FAA. This places a huge responsibility on the builder.

The desire to eliminate AN bolts is just one example of the many requests to modify the Affordaplane design on this forum. I am genuinely surprised at how often the topics of changing things come up—everything from making the wings longer for better performance to adding reinforcements to make the landing gear “better.” It seems like a full-time job for the moderators to explain that it is best to build the plane properly first before changing things!

Learning to respect the plans while building an aircraft seems to identify which builders will have a future for more complex aircraft projects. Desiring to make changes and questioning a design is a hallmark of Experimental aviation, but only when done responsibly by way of researching known principles first and then testing.

Some components of this design are left to the builder. For example, the pilot seat, wheels and gas tank are to be of the builder’s choosing. It is in selecting these items where too much weight can creep into the final project. Take, for example, the wheels. We know the weight and size can vary widely. I made some choices that I thought would provide a good compromise. You cannot know in advance if your choices will bust the 254-pound final weight limit. I did weigh each of these “optional” components for later reference in case I needed to choose something lighter.

The tailwheel spring is from a small utility trailer.

With the fuselage on its wheels, it was now time to construct the tail section along with the wings. Lots of round tubes of various diameters are used for these assemblies. However, these tubes need to be bent into shape following templates drawn on the table. We will discuss this building process in our next installment. Here, stainless steel rivets will now be our main choice of fastener. Plane and Simple! J

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In a previous post, introduced our video project for building the Affordaplane. To review, this is the plans-only project I demonstrated on YouTube for building an ultralight from raw materials. (You’ll find this free 50-part series here.) My objective was to build an “FAA-legal” ultralight using approved aircraft materials and techniques. This month, I will review some of the challenges encountered while building. My approach on making these videos was to show and explain to first-time builders how to take a set of plans and translate them into a series of steps for completing the project. From a construction standpoint this ultralight design is quite unusual in some ways and very traditional in others. The designer, Dave Edwards, had a goal of making sure the aircraft could be built by an amateur with common shop tools and readily available materials.

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A Seaplane You Can Afford; Aero Adventure Begins a New Chapter for the Aventura Line

By Dan Johnson || June 5, 2024 2 Comments

Here’s the backdrop of today’s update on the LSA seaplane sector as summer approaches.

According to Law360, an online legal news source, “Light-Sport Aircraft manufacturer Icon Aircraft filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware bankruptcy court with more than $170 million in debt and plans for an asset sale and liquidation.” You may have read (here) that Icon got an initial offer of $13.5 million. As an industry contact told me for the earlier report, “That would hardly make a dent in their liabilities.” The person was right, it appears. A proposed new buyer referenced in the earlier article agreed to take on Icon’s debt but the sales must still go through an auction process, I was told.

OK, let’s come back to Earth… or water perhaps …or either. Aero Adventure continues to fly as it has for three decades (though management has changed at least three times over the period). For a tiny fraction of $13.5 million, much less $170 million, Aero Adventure has built a line of aircraft, including kit versions and an SLSA version. They’ve also offered the S-17 with (for that time) extraordinary horsepower.

Looking to the Global South

Recently editor Marc Cook offered news from Aero Adventure. His article spoke to new leadership but couldn’t go into much detail as little was provided. I reached out to Alex Rolinski to fill in some blanks. He was traveling but we spoke a few days later.

The Big News — Aero Adventure is moving all production of the Aventura line to Brazil. If that sounds like a rather big move somewhat out of the blue, it’s really not.

As part of Aero Affinity — a group including several different enterprises in light aviation — one of the founding partners was Montaer Aircraft USA representing the MC series from Brazil. Aero Adventure, now in the business several decades, has made contact with people in many countries and found fertile ground in Brazil.

Alex Rolinski has been the leader of Aero Adventure for more than a decade; photo taken in 2013.

The country has been deep in aviation for many decades so it has a supply of experienced workers, engineers, and aviation-grade suppliers who work for less dollars than their counterparts in America. The so-called “global south” is rising in most standards but wages and salaries lag behind Europe or the USA. Aero Adventure is merely taking advantage of this asymmetry.

Alex Rolinski (L) partnered with Bristell importer Lou Mancuso when Lou wanted to add a seaplane. Photo taken in spring 2020 right before Covid hit.

Aero Adventure was able to snare several light-aircraft technicians due to the financial woes at Seamax (whose problems are covered in this article). A number of workers freshly employed are no doubt pleased.

They’ll be lead in Brazil by American Wesley Queiroz aided by sales manager Shawn Morgan, Alex informed me. They will manage a facility and personnel aiming for 12 kits a month in 2024, stepping up to 18 kits a year in 2025. These numbers sound very realistic and achievable yet insure a supply of much more affordable LSA seaplanes than anyone else. More on affordability below.

“We will also have a new operations person, however, we will be releasing the name at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh,” Alex finished.

The U.S. operation of Aero Affinity ranges widely through the light aircraft space and has entered somewhat larger aviation, no doubt a good direction to be going as we contemplate Mosaic LSA that require new expertise for equipment like retractable gear, adjustable props, alternate propulsion systems, and more. Last year Alex took factory training by Continental to perform service work on the Alabama company’s diesels as part of an agreement to assist Tecnam Aircraft with service for their broad lineup. The Italian company offers an aircraft with a diesel powerplant.

Meanwhile Aero Affinity also includes partner Doma Andreka of Magnus Aircraft. His Hungarian supplier this week announced a new deal to build aircraft in China though for what market these aircraft will be was not specified.

As to affordability, a regular focus of this website, Alex noted that a new Aventura fully-built SLSA model remains about $150,000, significantly modest at a time when almost everything else you buy has gone higher. As we can all see at our grocery store or a gas pump, inflation has driven everything considerably higher in the 2020s. Honestly, though may not fit your budget, $150,000 qualifies as a bargain. Seriously, go price any other seaplane anywhere. You probably know an Icon A5 lists for more than $400,000. Then we have Mosaic LSA coming, but that’s another story…

Affordability in this age of inflation is a challenge not only for the consumer but for the producer. Their material costs have gone up. The challenge of finding labor is surprisingly difficult for many American businesses. This predicament is partly why Aero Adventure made the decision they did.

To hold prices from soaring even higher, this move by Aero Adventure makes economic sense. I’d bet they can also add new sales from South America.

Regardless of price questions, Aero Adventure appears to be one of the steadiest producers in the LSA seaplane sector along with Scoda Aeronautica and their Super Petrel XP.

Perhaps we’ll learn even more about this company on the move at AirVenture in just seven weeks!

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Here’s the backdrop of today’s update on the LSA seaplane sector as summer approaches. According to Law360, an online legal news source, “Light-Sport Aircraft manufacturer Icon Aircraft filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware bankruptcy court with more than $170 million in debt and plans for an asset sale and liquidation.” You may have read (here) that Icon got an initial offer of $13.5 million. As an industry contact told me for the earlier report, “That would hardly make a dent in their liabilities.” The person was right, it appears. A proposed new buyer referenced in the earlier article agreed to take on Icon’s debt but the sales must still go through an auction process, I was told. OK, let’s come back to Earth… or water perhaps …or either. Aero Adventure continues to fly as it has for three decades (though management has changed at least three times over the period).

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Chip Erwin and the TrueLite Mow the Lawn — And Then Go Flying! (UPDATED AGAIN!)

By Marc Cook || June 4, 2024 2 Comments

Those of us looking for pure flying in lightweight form can’t help but be intrigued by the TrueLite ultralight, marketed here by Chip Erwin’s Aeromarine company. “The taxi test went fine. I didn’t have any airspeed reading so I’ll have to see what’s going on there,” Erwin says in the video. While the 36 hp Vittorazzi Cosmos 300 ran a bit hot during the taxi tests, he feels it was because it sat idling for 5 minutes before the test, saying that it cooled down once he got moving.

Here’s a sampling of videos related to the TrueLite.

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In our original post, we linked to video of the TrueLite performing taxi tests. Now it’s done better: flying! See the new videos below as Chip Erwin documents the first flights of the TrueLite happening now in Florida. Those of us looking for pure flying in lightweight form can’t help but be intrigued by the TrueLite ultralight, marketed here by Chip Erwin’s Aeromarine company. “The taxi test went fine. I didn’t have any airspeed reading so I’ll have to see what’s going on there,” Erwin says in the video. While the 36 hp Vittorazzi Cosmos 300 ran a bit hot during the taxi tests, he feels it was because it sat idling for 5 minutes before the test, saying that it cooled down once he got moving. Here’s a sampling of videos related to the TrueLite.

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Crystal Balling — What Will Rotax Do Next?

By Marc Cook || May 30, 2024 19 Comments

The Rotax 916 on the Carbon Cub UL (Jon Bliss photo).

My latest prognostication jag centers on what’s next for Rotax. And it’s driven by a feeling that there’s no time to waste moving up the horsepower ladder. Here’s my argument.

First, the traditional engine manufacturers have still not recovered from what they say are pandemic-related supply-chain issues, which causes huge delays in deliveries and helps drive prices quite high. In the Experimental realm, where I also live, new engines have become exceptionally more expensive, leading some builders to reassess their budgets and stop their projects where they stand.

Second, Rotax has scored a big hit with the 916. Yes, it’s also expensive, but that extra increment from 141 to 160 hp has opened the door to new performance in several designs that were good on the 915 but are significantly better with the newer engine. Some of those airplanes would be even better with more power.

Third, Rotax takes the world view that its products have to work around the globe, which means they can’t depend on 100-octane fuel. In the next slot up, which I’ll call the 200-220 hp range, we basically have traditional aircraft engines that require big octane to make power. You could, of course, run an even bigger Lyconsaurus at a lower compression ratio but the power-to-weight figures get even uglier. So a Rotax product at this power level that could use, say, the equivalent of a high-octane auto gas (as the 916 does) would be a huge win and provide owners with the option of using auto gas, the currently available 94-octane unleaded avgas that’s sparsely available or something else. Point being that any future engine should be not designed to require 100LL.

Some Perspective

It’s worth looking at where the Rotax line currently fits to help see a potential future. Of course, the 900-series engines are small four-stroke, flat-four engines with a gear reduction drive and liquid-cooled heads. The gear drive allows these small engines, which displace just under 83 cubic inches, to rev higher and make more horsepower. Our traditional engines, unburdened by gearboxes are, in effect, burdened by the inability to rev much higher than 2700-2900 rpm with any usefully sized propeller. As anyone who bases at an airport with a Cessna 185 present, as I am, you know that a big Continental spinning 2850 rpm for takeoff with a large propeller is a gloriously noisy thing. But it’s not something you’d aim for with modern sensibilities or worldwide acceptance in mind.

Continental’s IO-520: Big, slow turning.

By gearing the 900-series engines, Rotax allowed them to make more power than their displacement suggests but also to turn their propellers more slowly, which is good for noise and, to some extent, aerodynamics. The downside is weight and complexity, but the relative simplicity of the 900-series engines and their small size more than makes up for it. More advantages to the 900-series designs include modern combustion chambers—especially compared to the ancient chambers found in parallel-valve Continental and Lycoming engines, a good reason these engines need high-octane fuel to make decent power—and liquid cooling. In short, you can run a modern design harder—more compression ratio, more turbo boost—before destructive detonation begins to impact power and the liquid cooling further adds to the detonation margin.

So, What Should Rotax Build?

Let’s get back to the assumption that Rotax needs to build an engine in the 200-220 hp range. (I’ll set aside for now the need for a 300-hp-class engine but not completely ignore it.) I believe the 900 series as we know it has reached its limits. Consider this: The 912 iS makes 100 hp without a turbo on just under 83 cubic inches, which is 1.2 hp per cubic inch—itself more than double the power density of a Lycoming. It needs to make 91 pound-feet of torque at 5800 rpm to do so, and that requires a BMEP (brake mean effective pressure) in the combustion chamber of 165 psi to get there. While the horsepower-per-displacement number seems impressive, that’s actually a modest BMEP, or about what a 180-hp Lycoming runs. Clearly the 912 iS isn’t working all that hard.

Everyone’s fave: The 100-hp Rotax 912 iS.

But the 916 is. With 160 hp on tap for takeoff (limited to 5 minutes, then it’s 137 continuous), it’s working really hard. First of all, power-per-cube is a really impressive 1.93 hp/cubic inch. For that power, the engine has to make 145 foot-pounds of torque at 5800 rpm, a big jump from the 912’s figures, and that requires a BMEP of 263 psi. That is a huge number, one that really stresses the engine’s ability to resist detonation, which it surely only does through strict electronic control. If you’re old enough to remember the Cosworth DFV Formula 1 engine, you may be surprised to know it made its 500-ish-hp on a BMEP of just 230 psi. Oh, how our heroes have fallen. (And, yes, I know the DFV was not turbocharged…)

Where do we go from here if the current 916 is right on the hairy edge of power production from its displacement? Well, you make it bigger. We’ve all seen the April Fool’s photos of the 912 Photoshopped into a six-cylinder but I personally think Rotax will go with a bigger four. Why? Parts count, mainly. Yes, there are good reasons to have six smaller instead of four larger cylinders, mainly for smoothness. But the manufacturing cost difference in cylinder assemblies of different dimensions is virtually zero. So the fact that the six-banger has one-third more of them only adds to weight and cost. (Though it should be said that if you’re thinking of retrofitting aircraft originally designed for Lycoming engines, weight isn’t quite the enemy you think it is.)

The Lockwood 915-powered RV-9A required a long nose for weight and balance.

No, I think it’s going to be a bigger four. And knowing that Rotax is a naturally conservative company, I’m thinking incremental from the 900 series. Back-of-the-napkin thinking has a four-cylinder flat engine with a 4.0-inch bore and 2.85-inch stroke. Why? Because this is close to the bore/stroke ratio Rotax uses in the 912 and because the shorter stroke allows the engine to continue to be geared. And if you take the average piston speed seen in the 900-series and apply that to our hypothetical 143 cubic inch engine, you’d have to limit max rpm to 5200.

I’m already way out on the limb so I might as well continue. This hypothetical engine could make 180 hp naturally aspirated on a bit more BMEP than the 912 iS musters. But turbocharged, 220 hp seems easily achievable and even, if you ran this engine as hard as Rotax does the 916, it could theoretically make 250 hp running the same BMEP of 263 psi.

Of course, not everything scales the same way. There’s more internal friction in a larger engine even if the average piston speed is the same—you have more ring area to drag around. And there are countless other interactions that people who do this for a living know about, can predict with the help of a computer and eventually discover when they actually build and test prototypes.

It’s worth noting that Rotax is not the only player in this space. The ULPower 520T engine is impressive in its own right. It’s a 321 cubic inch six-cylinder engine with, like the Rotax, two pushrod-operated valves per cylinder. (Truly, until you decide you need high revs, a two-valve head is plenty; until then, you’re just adding weight and complexity.) The 520T uses a modest amount of boost, just 38 inches for takeoff, and makes 220 hp at 2700 rpm. To do so, it’s making a phenomenal 428 pound-feet of torque from an almost-square bore/stroke ratio of 1.056:1. Heck, even a Lycoming is more “over square” than that, with a bore/stroke ratio of 1.717:1.

The ULPower’s BMEP is a modest 201 psi, above the naturally aspirated Rotax 912’s but well short of the turbo Rotaxes. I think in part this has to do with the ULPower being air cooled. No matter how nice the fins and effective your air-cooling scheme is, it’s really hard to beat the efficiency of liquid cooling. The offset is the weight and complexity of a cooling system, of course, but you have the opportunity to make much more power from any given displacement.

All this discussion is merely educated guessing. I’m 100% sure Rotax is working on an engine in the next horsepower class up. Maybe two classes up. And for all I know they could design the next engine with a more conventional up/down intake and exhaust system that would allow them to make both four- and six-cylinder versions with the same cylinders. I’m also fairly sure Rotax will take a careful approach. The 900 series has been around for more than three decades, carefully developed and curated in that time to double the power output. I don’t see a 400-hp, fire-breathing, flat-eight breaking cover, but I’d be mighty impressed if they did it.

What are your thoughts?

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Untethered prognostication is what you do waiting for the rain showers to blow through and the sun to reemerge on your long cross country. Me? I sorta do it for a living. (Such as that is.) And I get to do it often enough in front of people who work deep in the industry to see if I’ve landed close to the truth. Like playing Battleship with engineers and PR people. My latest prognostication jag centers on what’s next for Rotax. And it’s driven by a feeling that there’s no time to waste moving up the horsepower ladder. Here’s my argument. First, the traditional engine manufacturers have still not recovered from what they say are pandemic-related supply-chain issues, which causes huge delays in deliveries and helps drive prices quite high. In the Experimental realm, where I also live, new engines have become exceptionally more expensive, leading some builders to reassess their budgets and stop their projects where they stand.

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Looking Back to See Ahead — Dan Johnson Recalls the Beginning of the LSA Movement

By Marc Cook || May 30, 2024 7 Comments

As we move toward MOSAIC as a new reality in the Light Sport/Sport Pilot world, it’s worth knowing how we got here. MOSAIC does, after all, leverage right off of the success of the LSA category. In this casual conversation, I chat with Dan Johnson about the early days of LSA and get some questions answered on how some decisions came to be made.

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New Buyer for Icon Reported — What Happens Now?

By Dan Johnson || May 28, 2024 Leave a Comment

How much investment has this California company attracted? Numbers I’ve been quoted vary enormously but all estimates run into many millions of dollars. If these guesses are even close to accurate, Icon has generated more investment funding than nearly any LSA producer. Only one outstrips them. That was a reported $200 million sale of Pipistrel to Textron, owner of Cessna and other aviation brands. I hope the aerospace conglomerate got all they hoped for because that is a super-premium valuation for any LSA company, even one as tech-savvy as Pipistrel.

Icon has performed reasonably well in recent years (“200 Delivered” report) but prior investments in the company require sales volumes that are difficult to reach, especially with a $400,000 price tag. The drag of all that debt caused the company to stall, financially.

This lead to Icon entering bankruptcy (see “stalking horse” article).

A Buyer Emerges

In a fairly short time, a new buyer emerged, one still headquartered in China. A $13.5 million bid was reported by Yicai Global, a Chinese news source (original article in English).

Yicai reported on May 22, 2024 that “shares of stock in Shang Gong Group soared to the exchange-imposed limit after the Chinese sewing machine maker and logistics service provider said that it will invest $13.5 million to buy insolvent US light airplane maker Icon Aircraft and take on its debt.”

Yicai reported, “Shang Gong set up a subsidiary in the US as a stalking horse bidder to negotiate an asset purchase agreement with Icon Aircraft.” The Shanghai-based stock company said that funds would be used “to acquire selected assets from the Vacaville, California-based company and its three affiliated firms.” The “affiliated” firms were not identified and the news source did not respond to an email inquiry.

“As the assets will be sold by auction, Shang Gong will bid against any other competitors and the actual transaction cost may be higher than the current offer price,” Yicai continued.

This picture gets more convoluted.

“Icon Aircraft, whose main production base is in Mexico and which employs 313 people, is owned by a shareholder of Shang Gong called Shanghai Puke Feiren,” Yicai reported. The shareholder is an investment company with a diverse portfolio.

Shang Gong Group manufactures sewing machines. Image from Yicai Global

“The takeover will help Shang Gong branch into the manufacturing of carbon fiber products … and carbon fiber structural parts,” Yicai wrote. Similar to Textron admiring the pioneering work Pipistrel had done with electric propulsion, Shang Gong may prize Icon’s knowledge of working with carbon fiber, used to fabricate most of an A5 LSA seaplane. Since it was established in 2006, Icon has designed and produced using carbon fiber to keep weight light.

Icon’s carbon fiber fabrication experience combined with Shang Gong’s “world-class technology in the stitching and cutting of carbon fiber composite materials,” allows the Chinese firm to provide “a one-stop solution integrating design, development and production,” surmised Yicai in their article.

Great, but what about Icon A5 aircraft?

Too Like Textron?
Why Conglomerates Buy…

The production and sale of Icon A5 aircraft will likely remain primarily an American activity. As I researched this story, an always-reliable contact, Chi-Tai Hsieh of AeroJones Aviation, informed me, “The whole of China is very keen on the so-called low-altitude economy at present.” However, he clarified, “China is basically focusing on eVTOL. Traditional aircraft do not really attract too much attention.”

The market for recreational aircraft like Icon A5 is very small in China. The country leans toward practical solutions like transportation rather than leisure flying, although any opening of the lower-altitude airspace might quickly change that situation.

“Since the end of last year, the Chinese government has incorporated low-altitude economy into its policies, so now almost any company wants to have something to do with aviation,” Tai explained.

In our exchange, Tai and I agreed that the idea of eVTOLs may be technically achievable now, at least to some range of operation, but public acceptance of this aircraft development may still take years.

Meanwhile… Icon and its sleek A5 will continue in operation, the company has assured. Other sources I consulted were dubious about the $13.5 million investment being enough to rescue Icon, given the weight of servicing all prior investments. Only in time will we know for sure.

Americans who own an A5 aircraft are in no jeopardy, Icon assures. Sales and service will continue.

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Icon is a global enterprise. While its headquarters remains in Vacaville, California, fabrication is done in Mexico, and ownership is in China. For some years, this American start-up has benefitted from Chinese investment. How much investment has this California company attracted? Numbers I’ve been quoted vary enormously but all estimates run into many millions of dollars. If these guesses are even close to accurate, Icon has generated more investment funding than nearly any LSA producer. Only one outstrips them. That was a reported $200 million sale of Pipistrel to Textron, owner of Cessna and other aviation brands. I hope the aerospace conglomerate got all they hoped for because that is a super-premium valuation for any LSA company, even one as tech-savvy as Pipistrel. Icon has performed reasonably well in recent years (“200 Delivered” report) but prior investments in the company require sales volumes that are difficult to reach, especially with a $400,000 price tag.

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So, You Want to Build An Ultralight?

By Jon Croke || May 23, 2024 8 Comments

Printed plans and manual with a completed ultralight on the cover.

While you may hear pilots and builders use the term ultralight to describe a small, light aircraft in general terms, the FAA has very specific rules as to what constitutes an ultralight. Full details are spelled out in Part 103 of the FARs, but here are the highlights.

An ultralight has a single seat (pilot-only capable), an empty weight of no more than 254 pounds and a maximum speed of 63 mph. So, if you ever see a small plane with more than one seat, or one that obviously weighs more than 254 pounds, that aircraft does not meet the legal criteria of an ultralight.

In addition, an ultralight does not receive an airworthy certificate from the FAA (so it is never inspected) and does not require a pilot’s certificate to fly. (Be careful with that rule!)

I think the idea of an airplane you can build without FAA involvement and fly without a license is very appealing. The ultralight regulations are truly an amazing privilege in the U.S. and allow many people to experience and experiment with flying.

Gussets are cut from aluminum sheet stock using actual-size templates included in the plans.

This brings me to how ultralights fit in with other aircraft. I contend that ultralights are a gateway for people who are toying with the idea of building and flying larger kit aircraft. Many an ultralight enthusiast has gone on to build a full-size Experimental. At the other end of the spectrum, ultralights allow experienced pilots and builders to fly inexpensively without medicals, licenses or yearly condition inspections. It’s flying—just for fun.

While there are many ultralight kits available, there are not a lot of plansbuilt choices. After some research, I settled on a design that offers a complete set of plans on paper or electronically in PDF format. It is called the Affordaplane and it was created by Dave Edwards.

You can learn about the Affordaplane at www.affordaplane.com, and more research can be done via Google. I was attracted by the evidence of more than 20 years of flying history, along with YouTube demonstrations. I admit that I did not invest too much effort in researching this choice, but the $20 cost for the set of plans allowed me to dive right in for the purchase. What followed was an order to Aircraft Spruce for some tubing and the start of a journey of building. Raw materials, along with my prior kitbuilding experience, allowed me to scratch build a flying ultralight just like the plans promised within a year.

A stack of raw materials ready for inventory.

I had a secondary purpose for taking on this build. You see, I began my own flying and building skills by way of the ultralight. I had built and flown two ultralight kits before obtaining my private pilot ticket back in the 1990s. I was aware that others could also benefit in this manner and eventually move on to bigger and more challenging avenues with Experimental planes. I felt that if I could show others how to assemble an ultralight aircraft using the same materials and techniques that an FAA-inspected Experimental aircraft needs to earn an airworthy certificate, then I would be providing others with an example that could pave the way to building larger flying machines.

For instance, as the Affordaplane is not a kit and fasteners are not supplied, it is easy for the novice builder to consider using hardware store nuts and bolts. The plans do specify AN hardware—but a new builder may not know or consider why this is critical. My experience with Experimental aircraft construction could allow me to explain and demonstrate proper parts and techniques required at each step of this ultralight build.

Gussets are bolted together on both sides of a 2×2-inch square aluminum tube.

How best to share my construction techniques and demonstrations while building this ultralight? The answer was YouTube! I made it a goal to film and explain every step of building, which created a series that anyone could follow if they also wanted to build this machine. About one video per week was my pace (I was building behind the scenes in real time) and then I summarized and demonstrated the effort needed for each step. In approximately one year, the entire ultralight was finished and flown (just a crowhop; I am not a flight instructor and that was the extent of flying demonstrations from me). This 50-part series is free of charge to watch on YouTube.

The fuselage is constructed on a table. A full-size layout is drawn on the table prior to assembly.

Perhaps the most important requirement of any plansbuilt ultralight is meeting the legal weight requirement of FAR Part 103—less than 254 pounds. It is both a building and design challenge to make sure things are created strong and light. It wasn’t easy, but I always kept this goal in mind. There was no way to know in advance if I was successful until the last part was installed and the weight and balance recorded.

In future columns I’ll discuss some of the problems I faced while building the Affordaplane. Whether you have time to watch the videos or just fast-forward through several of them, you’ll get an idea of the skills needed to complete the project. Drilling, cutting, riveting, crimping, fabric covering and lots of AN hardware assembly are all required. These tasks are no different whether building an ultralight or a complex Experimental aircraft. Plane and simple!

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Ever consider what it might be like building an ultralight? But first, how do ultralights fit into the arena of “regular” Experimental airplanes like the ones featured in KITPLANES Magazine and other Light Sport Aircraft found on this website? For those not familiar with the technicalities of an ultralight, allow me to briefly summarize the details of what defines an ultralight. Then we’ll consider how they complement their larger brothers. While you may hear pilots and builders use the term ultralight to describe a small, light aircraft in general terms, the FAA has very specific rules as to what constitutes an ultralight. Full details are spelled out in Part 103 of the FARs, but here are the highlights. An ultralight has a single seat (pilot-only capable), an empty weight of no more than 254 pounds and a maximum speed of 63 mph. So, if you ever see a small plane with more than one seat, or one that obviously weighs more than 254 pounds, that aircraft does not meet the legal criteria of an ultralight.

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Amphib Dreams — Aero Adventure To Get New Leadership

By Marc Cook || May 22, 2024 6 Comments

Change is coming to Aero Adventure, maker of the Aventura amphibs. According to the company, “this month, our company will be under…new leadership. With a highly experienced and respected professional team, the company is about to enter a new era of innovation and expansion.”

The company has already been making progress. “Since the beginning of 2022, we have focused on solidifying and accelerating our production process, our new team has taken us to the next level. We changed the production process, adding state-of-the-art CNC equipment. Today, we have a production capacity of 18 kits per year and plan to expand to 24 kits by 2025.”

Modifications to the Aventura are on the way as well. “We will soon be launching updates such as: a new wing for the AVENTURA SLSA version, with ribs, a fiberglass leading edge, and complete covering,” the company says. “This will increase aerodynamic efficiency by reducing drag. The tail will also undergo significant modifications, as well as the windshield!”

Aero Adventure has also “expanded our operations around the world, with representatives in Europe (Poland), Asia/Oceania (Australia), and South America (Brazil).”

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Editor’s Note: This news release came across our (virtual) desks today and we feel it’s of interest to provide this update now. However, our man Dan Johnson has arranged to speak with current CEO Alex Rolinski in the next few days to get more detail on these changes and what to look for from Aero Adventure in the near future. Change is coming to Aero Adventure, maker of the Aventura amphibs. According to the company, “this month, our company will be under…new leadership. With a highly experienced and respected professional team, the company is about to enter a new era of innovation and expansion.” The company has already been making progress. “Since the beginning of 2022, we have focused on solidifying and accelerating our production process, our new team has taken us to the next level. We changed the production process, adding state-of-the-art CNC equipment. Today, we have a production capacity of 18 kits per year and plan to expand to 24 kits by 2025.” Modifications to the Aventura are on the way as well.

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Like Phoenix Rising, Belite Chipper Returns to Production by SkyKicker Aviation

By Dan Johnson || May 16, 2024 2 Comments

Welcome back to the airplane equivalent of an old friend. As you can see at the bottom of this post, Videoman Dave and I did many video interviews with Chipper creator. James Weibe (view at bottom). Pilots seemed always to enjoy hearing about his latest development.

James came to aviation from the computer business, where the pace isn’t fast — it’s furious! Over the years Dave and I covered James and his output, we’d make a new video at every airshow, it seemed, as he had moved on from the last design to the next. That’s what they do in the world of computers but it made pilots’ heads spin.

It also probably slowed sales because, as with computers, why buy this airplane when the next one will be even better?

It Began with Kitfox Lite

James started out with the Kitfox Lite single place Part 103 ultralight vehicle. Current Kitfox owners did not plan to pursue the single seater that Kitfox founder Dan Denney had created years earlier. So when James came calling, they sold that particular design.

James founded Belite and began with ideas about carbon fiber tube airframes. It was a marvelous, modern, even exotic idea but it was quite unorthodox for most builders. Plus, in those days, carbon fiber was expensive and a Part 103 aircraft needed to be affordable.

James went on to variations on the theme changing so frequently that he produced few or none of the development models. While he may not have sold large numbers, his fast progress kept the curiosity of pilots sky high. He regularly drew crowds at events.

A caffein-stimulated fury of designs finally seemed to settle down when Pipper came out.

“Pipper,” you ask? Yep, that was the original name until Piper Aircraft sent him a letter on expensive lawyer office stationery. He wisely renamed the design Chipper; problem solved (and it’s a better name, most agreed).

Even then, James kept making changes, ever improving the product like an engineer does. Images with this article reflect Chipper STOL, although Chipper 2 coming later this year will have all of James’ last refinements to the aircraft.

As Belite and James began to gear up for Chipper production, a most unfortunate fire destroyed costly inventory and lots of intellectual property while damaging tooling. It was a devastating loss. Ever the professional, James forged on for a while but the blow had been heavy. Eventually, he chose to exit the airplane business and that’s where SkyKicker comes into the picture.

Welcome SkyKicker

On my visit to Dunnellon airport (X35), I met and got to know Nick and Charlotte Jones. This attractive, young couple have merged their skill sets in an intriguing manner and got so excited about Chipper that they decided to buy not just one kit, but the whole company.

Nick and Charlotte Jones of SkyKicker Aviation

They have set up shop in one of Dunnellon’s 40 new T-hangars and are at work to prepare the design for production, sale, and kit-builder support. Although the design had been well developed, assembly manuals need work and the couple has various plans to make the builder project easier and faster.

A typical acrobatic scene from Cirque du Soleil (photo courtesy). Nick performed for 20 years, retiring at age 35.

For Cirque du Soleil, Nick performed acrobatic acts and physical feats for more than 20 years. Now that tremendous bundle of energy is being poured into aviation. His enthusiasm and broad smile are infectious.

His wife Charlotte brings strong business skills to the partnership that will set them apart from many other “mom-and-pop” enterprises in recreational aviation. No question, these two are in it together and they form a complimentary team.

The pair is at an early stage of the development in this project. SkyKicker’s website is in process. However, given a design that has already proven itself, and adding the high level of energy Nick and Charlotte are bringing to the task, I doubt it will be long before Chipper becomes a product on the market.

Until their business is fully established, you can contact them by email or phone: 352-322-4520.

Meanwhile, the video below will tell you more about Nick and Charlotte and what they plan for SkyKicker Aviation.

Just For Fun

One of the most fascinating stories from James Weibe’s efforts lead to a starring role on the Myth Busters TV show. This article tells more.

The episode discussed how an Alaska pilot had repaired his aircraft after a bear attacked it and clawed the fabric covering in several places (see simulated bear claw). The pilot made repairs with — you guessed it! — duct tape, and flew home successfully.

To test this pilot’s claim in their characteristic manner, the Myth Busters team got one of James’ airplanes and covered every cloth surface using duct tape (genuine image, not Photoshopped). James successfully flew it for them, though “not very long and not very high.”

The show generated so much interest that Belite’s website crashed for a few hours.

ARTICLE LINKS:

SkyKickerAviation, all contact info (note: website is not available as of this posting)
Send Nick Jones email or call: 352-322-4520
All coverage on Belite Aircraft, content appearing on this website; company is no longer operating
All Belite video coverage, on Light Sport and Ultralight Flyer YouTube channel

Here’s a fresh video about SkyKicker Aviation and their plans to return Chipper to production, recorded in late April 2024.

Going back to James Wiebe’s development of Chipper, following are two of the most popular videos from Light Sport and Ultralight Flyer, Videoman Dave’s YouTube channel.

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Welcome back to the airplane equivalent of an old friend. As you can see at the bottom of this post, Videoman Dave and I did many video interviews with Chipper creator. James Weibe (view at bottom). Pilots seemed always to enjoy hearing about his latest development. James came to aviation from the computer business, where the pace isn’t fast — it’s furious! Over the years Dave and I covered James and his output, we’d make a new video at every airshow, it seemed, as he had moved on from the last design to the next. That’s what they do in the world of computers but it made pilots’ heads spin. It also probably slowed sales because, as with computers, why buy this airplane when the next one will be even better? It Began with Kitfox Lite James started out with the Kitfox Lite single place Part 103 ultralight vehicle. Current Kitfox owners did not plan to pursue the single seater that Kitfox founder Dan Denney had created years earlier.

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Reorganization Approved: Van’s Emerges From Chapter 11

By Marc Cook || May 16, 2024 3 Comments

While the world of LSAs is diverse enough that the trials of Van’s Aircraft, which put itself into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late last year, aren’t quite the foundational matters they are among the homebuilt crowd, the fact that Van’s is represented with the popular RV-12 and companies that support it are also part of the LSA ecosystem suggests more than a little spillover. In the background, Van’s has been working hard to reset its business and emerge from Chapter 11. And on May 15 the company received good news in the form of an Oregon judge approving the company’s reorganization plan. While it seemed unlikely, there was always the possibility that the court would reject or modify the company’s proposal.

In the proposal, Van’s has agreed to repay unsecured creditors 55% of the money they’re owed over three years on top of an “immediate” repayment of $3350 for those in the unsecured creditor class. It’s important to note that this class of creditor mainly includes customers who had deposits with the company when it began Chapter 11 protection and who also declined revised purchase agreements that came with an increase in kit and component costs of about 30%. According to filed documents, around 82% of those affected builders agreed to the new agreement, which dramatically reduced the pool of unsecured creditors.

In the reorganization plan submitted to the court, Van’s said it “must show that it will have enough cash over the life of the Plan to make the required Plan payments and operate its business. Debtor’s [Van’s] primary revenue sources for the next three years will come from the sale of its eight different kit airplanes, one model of production ready-to-fly plane, and one future backcountry airplane kit.”

The ready-to-fly airplane is the RV-12, of course, and the backcountry model is the RV-15, which the company also feels could make an excellent MOSAIC airplane down the road. Van’s has also committed to a corporate reorganization and implementation of a scalable MRP (material requirements planning) software suite that will give it much better visibility to real costs than it had before—all key requirements of a company projecting gross revenues of $69.5 million to $73.5 million per year between now and mid-2027.

It’s interesting to note that Van’s had begun increasing the RV-12’s production rate through the 2021-23 time period (it filed for Chapter 11 in October 2023), fr

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Affordable Aeromarine Merlin LSA — What’s New?

By William “Bill” Ramey Jr. || May 15, 2024 4 Comments

The Aeromarine designed and built 60-hp V-twin liquid cooled four-cycle engine now comes as the standard powerplant. This is a modern engine with electronic ignition, electronic fuel injection and an electric starter. Merlin says this engine will cut fuel consumption at cruise to an average of 2.5 gph, approximately 50% less than the Rotax 582. The Rotax engine is still available as option for those builders that prefer.

The Aeromarine Merlin LSA will also feature as standard a deluxe MGL 8.5-inch EFIS with ADS-B In and Out (FIS-B) avionics panel, elevating your flying experience to the 21st century. Aeromarine designs and builds all of the switches, circuit boards, wiring, and breaker panels; all of which are included in the build.

Even with all the updates and changes, the Aeromarine Merlin is still designed for easy assembly. Aeromarine uses precision-matched holes with their Merlin kit, which means that all aluminum skin parts come pre-drilled, so the builder simply begins pulling rivets. Additionally, you get a complete kit with everything you need to build you dream aircraft! The aircraft is designed as a quick-build kit, allowing customers to assemble it themselves in the least amount of time with the least amount of complexity. The Merlin quick-build kit (E/A-B) has already been inspected and approved by the FAA and posted to the approved kit list showing that it already meets the 51% kit build standard. This should streamline the FAA (or DAR) inspection processes.

Aeromarine also offers a builder’s assistance program that can help customers assemble the aircraft in just one week, even with all the new and exciting solid-state upgrades. This program is a great option for those who want to complete their build quickly while still getting hands-on experience, and with expert guidance and direction during construction, while still enjoying the experience and satisfaction of building their aircraft.

In terms of performance, the Merlin has a cruising speed of up to 104 kts, with a VNE of 130 knots, making it suitable for recreational flying, sightseeing trips, and even short commutes. Even with a full fuel load of 12 gallons (72 pounds), the Merlin can accommodate a reasonable-size pilot of up to 228 pounds with the standard configuration. At 2.5 gph of fuel consumption with the Aeromarine V-Twin engine, this aircraft will likely out-endure your bladder, even at less than maximum fuel load. The Merlin is even equipped with a BRS Parachute recovery system, adding an extra layer of safety and peace of mind for the pilot and their family.

Overall, the Aeromarine Merlin is an excellent choice for pilots seeking an affordable, easy-to-fly, and high-performance LSA. The combination of affordability, ease of operation, and strong performance make it a compelling option for a pilot looking for a modern and affordable aircraft.

The complete Merlin package, including the builder-assistance package, is $55,250.

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When thinking of affordable aviation, it’s impossible not to talk about the Aeromarine Merlin LSA. This aircraft is a familiar design for many, as it made its premier in 2016. We’ve talked about it here several times. There have been some exciting changes and updates, a few of which we learned about last month at Sun ’n Fun. The Aeromarine designed and built 60-hp V-twin liquid cooled four-cycle engine now comes as the standard powerplant. This is a modern engine with electronic ignition, electronic fuel injection and an electric starter. Merlin says this engine will cut fuel consumption at cruise to an average of 2.5 gph, approximately 50% less than the Rotax 582. The Rotax engine is still available as option for those builders that prefer. The Aeromarine Merlin LSA will also feature as standard a deluxe MGL 8.5-inch EFIS with ADS-B In and Out (FIS-B) avionics panel, elevating your flying experience to the 21st century.

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Summer’s Almost Here! State-of-the-Sector Report for LSA Seaplanes

By Dan Johnson || May 9, 2024 2 Comments

LSA seaplanes constitute a highly fluid market yet we can see clues suggesting what might be ahead for some of the main brands. With summertime approaching, this State-of-the-Sector article attempts to keep up with the rapidly changing landscape (or waterscape).

We’ll first look at two high-end entries that have been in the news and conclude with present LSA seaplanes and their status in the market.

Vickers Wave

Writing for AVweb (part of Firecrown, which also owns Flying and ByDanJohnson.com plus several other publications), my fellow aviation journalist Russ Niles stated, “New Zealand-based Vickers Aircraft Company says it intends to make its first delivery of the Wave two-place amphibious aircraft to a U.S. customer in April of 2025.” Its Wave LSA seaplane has been in development for more than a decade.

Russ continued, “Founder Paul Vickers said the company is now raising capital to fund the push to begin deliveries on its backlog.”

Vickers added, “The plane has finished its flight testing and shook out with a 120-knot cruise and useful load of 750 pounds with a Rotax 916 iS pushing it along.”

Paul said the company is planning to manufacture Wave in the U.S. “Most current investors are Americans,” Paul noted. A U.S. customer will receive the first Wave.

Wave has had a long development cycle but their timing with Mosaic approaching next year looks prescient.

Regulatory Alert: Rumors are flying that Mosaic may need an extension. We have nothing confirmed at this goes online but the rushed-to-market regulatory proposal needed plenty of work so a delay is hardly surprising. Nonetheless, many pilots may find this news disappointing.

Icon A5

Another colleague Meg Godlewski wrote for Plane & Pilot magazine (also part of Firecrown), “Icon selected… a stalking horse bidder” after declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy. She clarified, “A stalking horse bid is defined as an initial offer on the assets of a bankrupt company” to establish a baseline price for assets of the company. The stalking horse is SG Investment America Inc.

“The decision to designate a stalking horse bidder underscores our commitment to ensuring the long-term viability of our business,” said Jerry Meyer, CEO of Icon. “We believe that this proactive approach will help employees, partners, and customers have confidence in our ongoing operations, enabling the company to achieve the best possible outcome.”

Icon reported that during their bankruptcy process the California company will continue to build, sell, and service its amphibious A5 LSA seaplane. The company noted the bankruptcy sale is expected to continue through late May 2024.

Icon announced more promising news in February this year.

Latest Update: According to Law360, on May 8, 2024, a Delaware bankruptcy judge gave final approval to Icon Aircraft’s $9 million in Chapter 11 financing and a June asset auction.

Progressive Aerodyne Searey

In the LSA seaplane space, one brand has performed far above all other brands. I refer to Progressive Aerodyne’s Searey, with more than 600 aircraft flying and a loyal user base of pilots. Most built their Searey and until the U.S. factory ceased operations some months back, that still comprised a share of their enterprise.

However, Searey won SLSA acceptance by FAA 12 years ago and since then the Tavares, Florida builder supplied more fully-built Searey aircraft than kits, according to one former leader of the company.

Unfortunately the story began to develop cloudy skies after it was sold to a Chinese owner a few years after earning a Special LSA certificate. Like many large enterprises in the Asian country, Searey’s owner is a conglomerate with a sprawling enterprise. In fact, that may be part of the problem. This relatively small aircraft-building enterprise is hidden among the many challenges Chinese corporations face today. Regretfully, this means a revival of the operation is stuck.

According to a party I know to be reliable, new buyers are ready and have proposed to reacquire the onetime American company. Even original designer Kerry Ritcher is said to be part of the group interested in taking over from the Chinese. While plans remain uncertain, an American group could quickly breathe life back into a moribund brand. In recent years, the company’s appearance at airshows was modest and unenthusiastic. Over the last year, no one has answered the phones. Now the factory is shuttered.

Under lock without access, Progressive Aerodyne is reportedly packed into containers in their former factory, while the rent continues unpaid. It looks dire, but a moderately-well-funded investor group could get up and running fairly quickly, it was imagined. The parts business alone has sustained the company and offers a route back to normal operation; reviving that would be a relief to current Searey owners. Action will depend on current ownership making a decision; when that may happen is not known.

Yet combined with the original talent that created this popular LSA seaplane, new investors could quickly brighten those cloudy skies.

Brazil’s Seamax

This Brazilian entry made a literal splash when it first arrived in the USA at one of the first Sebring LSA Expo events almost 20 years ago. Pilots with discerning eyes admired its clean, effective engineering. Approaching 200 have reportedly been delivered worldwide.

The lightest-of-SLSA-seaplanes Seamax proved to be a strong performer, looked small yet was spacious inside, and had many clever design features that earned affirmative nods from those who examined an M-22 closely.

Unfortunately, as reported here, the skies over Brazil’s Seamax also darkened but in this business case, a fix is less certain.

“The company owes several million dollars to creditors and customers,” a reliable source told me. “Employees have voiced concerns and some are taking action.” Seamax leaders have reportedly managed to keep their core team using “informal payments.”

“In North America, the Brazilian company allegedly has more than a dozen orders to fulfill, to customers that have made substantial deposits.” The prognosis for those deliveries is unknown, though the company reportedly delivered one aircraft to America recently using unorthodox channels.

While “buyer beware” is always good advice, one thing I’ve learned from decades of reporting on this particular sector of aviation: Never write off a worthy design as dead and gone. I’ve seen many popular aircraft such as Seamax return after internal reforms or under new leadership..

Reader Notice: Seamax from Brazil is very different from Super Petrel from Brazil. The latter company has built their base steadily from operations in Florida. Super Petrel USA is alive and well, delivering aircraft including their newest XP model. They are holding events and seminars for owners. Company owner Rodrigo Scoda from Scoda Aeronautica was recently in the U.S. in support of American operations.

Aero Adventure,
Least Drama—Lowest Price

One company of the six mentioned here has experienced the least turbulence in their business. This is Aero Adventure, longtime producer of the Aventura I & II line. The two-place model is available as a kit-built aircraft or you can buy a fully-built one with Special LSA credentials. If you want more power and are willing to build a kit, they offer the S-17 Adventura.

Let’s do this up front: the price of a ready-to-ship kit is $59,900. It’s available today.

“Due to enhancements in our production capabilities,” Aero Adventure stated in a recent mailing, “we produced an additional kit beyond our standard production last month (April, 2024), which is now available for purchase!”

Compare a low price and immediate delivery to any of the aircraft above. It seems like an earlier time when people could actually afford stuff and dealers had products in-stock, ready to deliver. Of course, you’ll have to add an engine, avionics, and you might want to doll up the interior but the base price is righteous.

For not much more than $100,000 you could be airborne in a brand-new, well-proven seaplane from a stable manufacturer that is growing their enterprise. Given almost everything you buy has doubled in price during the 2020s, Aventura seems a genuine bargain in 2024.

If you believe it’s worth a closer look, contact the DeLand, Florida company for a more complete description of the still-available kit (as of post time) or learn more about fully-built Aventura choices.

If interested, here are details…

Aventura II Kit — ready to ship!
Two place
New panel (larger); factory can set it up for you and send it ready for installation.
All the composite parts go with primer PU
Dual controls
Fly doors on or off
Quick assembly time of 250 hours with basic tools
All hardware and everything needed to assemble the kit included
Electric flaps
23-gallon (87-liter) fuel tank
Sails in red; we can customize as you wish
All made from 6061-T6 anodized aluminum
Manual retract, standard; electric retract, optional
Wheels, brakes, tires, and tubes.
Printed assembly manual
Possibility to ship it as a “quick build” version
Possibility to have the factory prepare all the electrical stuff

Atol & LN-3 from Europe,
Floatplanes and More

The seaplane market is by far the strongest in America though such aircraft are used in other countries, albeit generally with less waterway access than Yankee pilots enjoy. Nonetheless, overseas producers do target the U.S. market while adding sales to other nations.

I have often written about many seaworthy aircraft and invite you to use our Advanced Search to read more

In addition to these boat-hulled seaplanes, pilots can also choose any number of land aircraft that can be fitted with floats. However, that is a whole other story… and again, you can search this website where you will find articles on almost every aircraft in this space.

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One of the most active sectors in light aviation is LSA seaplanes. We’ve seen ups and downs, arrivals and departures of LSA seaplane producers. Admittedly, these flying machines are more complex than current-day LSA. For example, amphibs need retractable landing gear and substantial boat hulls able to take water loads. LSA seaplanes constitute a highly fluid market yet we can see clues suggesting what might be ahead for some of the main brands. With summertime approaching, this State-of-the-Sector article attempts to keep up with the rapidly changing landscape (or waterscape). We’ll first look at two high-end entries that have been in the news and conclude with present LSA seaplanes and their status in the market. Vickers Wave Writing for AVweb (part of Firecrown, which also owns Flying and ByDanJohnson.com plus several other publications), my fellow aviation journalist Russ Niles stated, “New Zealand-based Vickers Aircraft Company says it intends to make its first delivery of the Wave two-place amphibious aircraft to a U.S.

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Not Bent — Whisper Sling Special Prop Breaks Cover

By Marc Cook || May 8, 2024 9 Comments

Not just any prop. This special “non-planar” three-blade prop designed by Craig Catto features an unusual bit of blade shape near the tips, all aimed at reducing noise while retaining or, even better, increasing efficiency. As tested on the Whisper Sling, the Catto prop showed strong thrust measurements (as seen in the video) and appears to have reduced noise, both on the ground and in the aircraft.

The key to reducing noise is to control the tip vortices. According to CFD analysis done by Catto, the non-planar tips split the vortex in two, which helps clear the path for the next blade as it comes around. Catto says testing showed that lift at the tip was zero, “which is what you want.”

Another interesting aspect of the Catto ground-adjustable prop is its use of shims to set pitch. There’s an internal pitch-setting pin that allows the shanks to rotate through the desired pitch range by shimming a central pitch block that contacts pins on the blade shanks. All pins ride on the same block, which is a clever way to reduce the chances of blade-to-blade differences. It also means there’s no need to use a digital protractor to set pitch as is common with other ground-adjustable props. (Sensenich uses a different kind of pitch pin to set blade angle on its two-blade ground-adjustable props.)

Sling is continuing to test the unusual prop, but early results are promising.

Craig Catto explains how the tip vortices react with the non-planar tip.

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When we last wrote about the Whisper Sling, a version of the Sling LSA used in the Sling Pilot Training Academy in Torrance, California, one teeny tiny detail was left out of the story by request. It was the next piece of the puzzle, so to speak, to reduce the airplane’s sound signature and one of the places most airframers go to help reduce noise: the prop. Not just any prop. This special “non-planar” three-blade prop designed by Craig Catto features an unusual bit of blade shape near the tips, all aimed at reducing noise while retaining or, even better, increasing efficiency. As tested on the Whisper Sling, the Catto prop showed strong thrust measurements (as seen in the video) and appears to have reduced noise, both on the ground and in the aircraft. The key to reducing noise is to control the tip vortices.

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Risen Group Plans Transatlantic Flight to OSH

By Marc Cook || May 8, 2024 1 Comment

Andreas Venturini and Alberto Porto announce “The Challenge Flight” from Italy to Oshkosh at Aero Friedrichshafen 2024.

Well, Porto and Andrea Venturini are going to find out just how well it travels this summer. They’ve announced a “unique, record breaking flight across the Atlantic Ocean.” Only this Risen will be using the latest Rotax 916 iS, the turbocharged, 160-hp engine so many airframers are now fitting in place of the 915 iS.

For Porto and Venturini, “the plan is to cover 3200 kms or about 2000 statute miles across the Atlantic Ocean with a fuel consumption of just over 50 gallons of fuel at speeds up to 230 mph. The entire route, not known to have been ever flown before, certainly not in a piston powered aircraft, will cover 3900 nautical miles over about 20 hours.” The destination, of course, is Oshkosh for AirVenture this summer.

The Risen Superveloce at AERO 2024 packs the most powerful four-cylinder Rotax, the turbocharged 916.

Porto offers more detail. “This will be a flight starting from our home base airport Voghere Rivanazzano Airport, LILH, in Milan, Italy, and complete in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. We will stop at Goose Bay, Canada for customs then will continue to Appleton, again for US customs, then ultimately into Oshkosh. My co-pilot Andrea has a deep passion for flying, that is what got us together to begin with. He has a great knowledge of aviation and is an advanced sailplane pilot. Andrea will be documenting the flight and reporting the entire flight on social media, producing content that will be live streamed.” Reported Alberto.

It won’t be the first time a Risen has crossed the pond. “Alberto and Risen are not new to this kind of adventure having already crossed the Ocean twice,” says Venturini. “First breaking every record through the ‘southern route’ from Italy to South America through Cape Verde and a second flight through the ‘northern route’ via Iceland and Greenland. We will be watching the weather closely in June and July, as we will need the right conditions to meet this challenge.”

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You’ve heard of the Risen, Alberto Porto’s sleek, fast retractable that makes the most of its Rotax 912 power. With more than 180 mph on tap with the 912 iS, the Risen seems the perfect two-person traveling machine. It’s also one, like the Sparker, that would fit well into the new MOSAIC rules. Well, Porto and Andrea Venturini are going to find out just how well it travels this summer. They’ve announced a “unique, record breaking flight across the Atlantic Ocean.” Only this Risen will be using the latest Rotax 916 iS, the turbocharged, 160-hp engine so many airframers are now fitting in place of the 915 iS. For Porto and Venturini, “the plan is to cover 3200 kms or about 2000 statute miles across the Atlantic Ocean with a fuel consumption of just over 50 gallons of fuel at speeds up to 230 mph.

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There’s a New Rotax Service Center In Town: LEAF Acquired By APS

By Marc Cook || May 2, 2024 1 Comment

Joining the Knolls will be Brett Lawton, as their technical director. Jeremy and Daniela say that they are “dedicated to maintaining the legacy of LEAF while integrating innovative solutions and expanded service offerings. Customers can look forward to a comprehensive range of Rotax engines, parts, technical support, repair, and maintenance services. Our goal is to be the central hub for Rotax services in the USA, ensuring reliability, expertise, and the highest standards of customer service.”

While the company is getting spooled up, maintenance classes are on hold until Fall 2024.

The Bush Cat, shown here at Sun ‘n Fun 2024, is no longer in production.

This is a happy turn of events after disappointment at Sun ‘n Fun this year, when the Knolls were informed by the factory that the Bush Cat was going out of production. The factory will continue to produce parts but not whole airframes.

As they say, one door closes, another opens.

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Advanced Powerplant Solutions (APS) is a new company under the new ownership of Jeremy and Daniela Knoll, who you may know of AeroSport fame, that has purchased Leading Edge Air Foils, LLC (LEAF), which, among other things, was a Rotax independent service center for the central US. APS will carry on the Rotax-oriented business from LEAF from its base in Delavan, Wisconsin. They’re based at Lake Lawn Airport (C59), about 40 miles southwest of Milwaukee and 35 miles northeast of Rockford. Joining the Knolls will be Brett Lawton, as their technical director. Jeremy and Daniela say that they are “dedicated to maintaining the legacy of LEAF while integrating innovative solutions and expanded service offerings. Customers can look forward to a comprehensive range of Rotax engines, parts, technical support, repair, and maintenance services. Our goal is to be the central hub for Rotax services in the USA, ensuring reliability, expertise, and the highest standards of customer service.” While the company is getting spooled up, maintenance classes are on hold until Fall 2024.

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Watch Three Guys Talk About MOSAIC!

By Marc Cook || May 1, 2024 13 Comments

With the MOSAIC program now through the comment phase and in the hands of the FAA, we thought it would be a good time to recap some of its key elements and use our considerable powers of observation and prognostication to provide a little context where needed. Join me, Dan Johnson and LAMA president Scott Severen for a wide-ranging talk on MOSAIC.

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Dragonfly Is Back Home in Florida — Hang Glider Tug … Working Ranch “Tractor”

By Dan Johnson || April 30, 2024 4 Comments

Throughout the ’70s, hang glider designs accelerated smartly in glide performance and sink rate, stretching from slope-hugging 4:1 triangular-shaped wings to elegantly long and slender “bladewings” that could exceed a 20:1 glide yet remain foot-launchable and still be an aircraft you could carry on your shoulder (when folded down). Passionate enthusiasts thrilled to a 5X performance improvement in a decade or so.

In the beginning, most pilots launched off mountains to get enough height to catch thermals. Yet lots of America doesn’t have mountainous terrain. Florida had plenty of pilots eager to fly hang gliders but to find the best soaring, they had to load up their gliders and drive 10-12 hours to the hills of Tennessee where flight park operators like me catered to them with mountain launch sites. At home they did boat towing regularly but that rarely got them high enough to catch thermals. One Florida man dreamed of a solution.

Enter Dragonfly
by Bobby Bailey

Bobby Bailey was one of the hang gliding faithful in a large central Florida flying community. These gung-ho young guys in excellent physical condition used no-run starts to leap off the beach towed on a long line by a powerful ski boat. They had fun and it got them in the air, but extended duration flights were simple luck because boat towing generally didn’t lift the glider high enough for those early wings to effectively work the lift.

Now well-evolved, Dragonfly flies all over the world. More than 150 have been delivered, an impressive achievement for a purpose-built aircraft.

Bobby observed the parallel development of Part 103 ultralight vehicles, growing from low-powered single seaters to more powerful two seaters. He saw that with enough thrust, he might tow a hang glider into the air much like a Piper Pawnee tows a sailplane aloft. Hang gliding pioneers like Bill Moyes tried towing behind conventional aircraft but it was scarily too fast. He barely managed to keep control of the glider flying near its never-exceed speed.

Bobby knew the challenge was not to speed up the hang gliders but to slow the tow plane. He adapted a modified King Cobra* (a Quicksilver-like design of that day) with large ailerons and made other changes. It flew slowly but not enough. He realized it needed to be a clean-sheet design, made purpose-built to tow hang gliders.

Note the tail structure (tube rising vertically) built to allow a V-line bridle for towing hang gliders. This method greatly lessens the impact of the glider on the tug aircraft, a significant safely improvement along with weak links on each of the tether line.

Towing from a point under the tailplane like a Pawnee does is not optimal either. The hang glider is weight-shift controlled and needs more control flexibility than a single tow point allowed. Notice the tube extending from the rudder stabilizer. A V-line from that high point to a low point lets the hang glider rise or descend with minimal impact on the towplane. All this needs to happen at 30-35 miles per hour, even with two persons on board the towed aircraft. A Pawnee stalls at 62 miles per hour even with full flaps. That’s way too fast for any hang glider. Dragonfly would eventually fill the need perfectly.

Within a couple years (about 1991, I believe) Wallaby Ranch hang gliding air park operator Malcolm Jones invited me out to a open field where I watched Bobby fly an early Dragonfly.

Right then, I knew the hang gliding game had changed forever.

Hang gliding could now happen almost anywhere. In combination with the rapid performance increases, Dragonfly could efficiently haul a hang glider up to 2,500 feet — typically it takes only 5-8 minutes even if the towed glider has two persons on board. At that height a skilled pilot can catch thermals and fly for hours. Flights in unpowered hang gliders have successfully run the north-south length of Florida into Georgia, all after release at 2,500 feet from a Dragonfly. Mountain launch sites continue to have appeal but Dragonfly made everywhere a hang gliding site.

Back Home In Florida

New Bailey Moyes Dragonfly owner Randy Dorsey purchased the business from Ed Pitman‘s estate after he passed away (unrelated to the aircraft). Ed had broadened Dragonfly’s appeal by getting approval as “farm equipment” (article link below). Over the years deliveries climbed beyond 150 aircraft, an impressive achievement thanks to Ed’s efforts. From California Randy and helpers brought inventory and tooling in a school bus to set up shop at Marion County Airport, X35, in Dunnellon, Florida.

This central-northwestern area is home to fancy equestrian ranches and the spacious airport has begun to thrive from light aircraft operations. Airport manager Mike Grawe supported by industry expert Roy Beisswenger and airfield entrepreneur Troy Townsend welcomed Randy Dorsey along with another business setting up to build the former Belite Chipper 2, the latter operated by husband-and-wife team Nick and Charlotte Jones. Along with two powered parachute operations and 40 brand-new T-hangars (sorry, already fully booked), X35 looks alive and thriving.

Learn more about plans for Dragonfly back home in Florida in the video below. You can also read several articles below from my earlier reporting.

ARTICLES ON DRAGONFLY:
Listed oldest to newest

Is It Affordable? — In early 2024, a factory-built Dragonfly Special LSA with 100 horsepower Rotax 912ULS lists for $99,995. If you have the time, skills, and facililties to assemble an Experimental LSA version, the price with that same engine is $69,995.

“The ELSA is a great deal, but so is the SLSA. For $30K more, you get a factory-built Special LSA, saving over 200 hours of build-time labor. SLSA buyers will have the ability to use their Dragonfly for hire as well as qualifying for a tax write-off,” said Randy. “SLSA owners also get factory support and will have priority for factory service and annuals.”

Potential buyers can shave off another ten grand by choosing a Rotax 582 Dragonfly ELSA for $59,995. An Experimental Amateur-Built version can save even more but for details on any of these choices please contact…

BaileyMoyesDragonfly, company website, or
Go direct to pricing guidelines

With prices of everything you buy up 50% or more in the 2020s, those costs to own a Dragonfly may be considered reasonable (though I clearly understand everybody’s budget is different). Only you can decide if one of those descriptions above is truly affordable for you.

* Earlier I reported an Advanced Aviation Hi-Nuski was the proof-of-concept aircraft. I was corrected thanks to Barb and Steve Flynn, who along with several other local pilots, were involved in the development of that first tug.

Recorded in late April 2024, this Dragonfly update has the latest information about the ongoing manufacture of this popular aircraft.

A Tribute to
Bobby Bailey

Barely a week before I visited Dunnellon to record the video above, Bobby Bailey, 71, was killed while flying a Dragonfly. No official evaluation has been released but the loss of this talented designer is tragic and will be deeply felt in the hang gliding community.

A man of highly innovative design but very few words, many knew Bobby for years yet learned little about him. He was rarely one to talk about himself in public settings. I always figured that much of the time he was designing the next aircraft in his mind.

A celebration of his life is planned for Sunday, May 26th, 2024 at 6548 Groveland Airport Rd, Groveland, FL 34736 — the airport Bobby called home for decades.

Florida and southeastern U.S. pilots who knew him can gather to share personal details and tell tall stories of Bobby’s numerous flying exploits. Learn more here.

Bobby is survived by his wife Connie Bailey; his siblings, Marlene and Michael; his nieces, Ginger and Mira; his nephew Chick; and his close friend Logan Harris.

So Long, Bobby — Forever Soaring…

Never Forgotten

One of Bobby’s other creative designs made use of a single float intended for a larger aircraft. It ended up making a beautiful shape (at least to my eyes). My old friend Gregg Ellsworth dubbed it “The Flying Float.”

Bobby named it after his wife.

The Flying Float — Connie by Bobby Bailey

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Dragonfly was born in Florida in the early 1990s. Back-of-the-napkin sketches started in the 1980s following the dynamic 1970s when hang gliding swooped into national awareness. What one designer did with Dragonfly would become one of the most celebrated developments in hang gliding. Throughout the ’70s, hang glider designs accelerated smartly in glide performance and sink rate, stretching from slope-hugging 4:1 triangular-shaped wings to elegantly long and slender “bladewings” that could exceed a 20:1 glide yet remain foot-launchable and still be an aircraft you could carry on your shoulder (when folded down). Passionate enthusiasts thrilled to a 5X performance improvement in a decade or so. In the beginning, most pilots launched off mountains to get enough height to catch thermals. Yet lots of America doesn’t have mountainous terrain. Florida had plenty of pilots eager to fly hang gliders but to find the best soaring, they had to load up their gliders and drive 10-12 hours to the hills of Tennessee where flight park operators like me catered to them with mountain launch sites.

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MOSAIC Update & A Call For Questions

By Marc Cook || April 25, 2024 41 Comments

Since the comment period closed in January, there’s been plenty of industry talk and one major airshow where MOSAIC was definitely a topic of conversation. With that in mind, Dan Johnson, Scott Severen (LAMA’s president) and I are meeting next week (virtually) to catch each other up on the program—video of this meeting will post here next week.

As we prepare for it, I’d like to invite you to submit questions you have and we’ll take them up during our chat. Pop ‘em into the comments section below and we’ll include them in our discussion.

Back to Timelines

Recent reporting (for example, on AVweb) helps clarify a few things. First of all, the timeline. It was understood early on that the FAA was planning on taking 16 months to review public and industry comments, starting from the close of comments. As you probably remember, that was extended from October 2023 to January of this year. Then there was another shorter extension to fix a few “technical” issues with the original proposal, mainly relating to rules around noise and noise testing. My sources say that the FAA is unlikely to add that additional delay to the overall timeline.

There was chatter early on that the FAA might have some kind of announcement at AirVenture this year, but anything beyond “yes, we’re still working on it” seems unlikely. The FAA tends not to do rulemaking in public (after the comment period, anyway), so it’s likely that we won’t hear much until we get the final rule.

But that’s not the end of it. Once the FAA has published its final rule on MOSAIC, the ASTM committees may have to refine their standards based on the final rule and the FAA will need to approve it. Of course, this back-and-forth is already going on, so it’s not like the ASTM committees are working in a vacuum and no one I’ve talked to is predicting massive rewrites. But, according to sources, the approval process on the airframe side could take from 2 to 6 months after the rulemaking is made final. So even if the FAA and the ASTM committees are in close agreement, it still won’t be an instant-on situation.

Where does that get us? According to EAA’s Dick Knapinski, “It is correct that early to mid-2025 is expected to be the announcement of the final rule. We’ve been telling those who ask that, based on our conversations with the FAA, most recently at our annual winter summit in Oshkosh in early March.” But if the approval process stretches out, it could be December of 2025 before the new rules are widely in effect.

Which means the biggest challenge we face with MOSAIC is mustering patience.

AERO Wrapup: Dave Unwin Concludes His Coverage of AERO Friedrichshafen 2024

By Dave Unwin || April 22, 2024 5 Comments

Dave in a Dingo

The AERO team produced a show that they could justifiably be proud of for the 30th anniversary, and although the weather was unseasonably cool, the action in the halls was as hot as ever, and with more than 270 aircraft in the exhibition halls and in the static display, show-goers were not short of mouth-watering machines to tempt their wallets.

Among the aircraft debuting at the show were the electric DA40 aircraft from Diamond Aircraft in Austria, two electric aircraft and a hydrogen powered one from China and the Integral E from French manufacturer Aura Aero.

The two Chinese RX-1E-A machines from Rhyen Aircraft Industry Co. Ltd were particularly interesting, as they were fitted with batteries that could be quickly and easily removed and exchanged for freshly charged ones. Of course, there’s always a downside: Quickly replaceable batteries are a great idea, until they get dropped. That could be a very expensive mistake! Secondly they can’t be liquid-cooled and having flight-tested two electric aircraft I’m very aware just how important monitoring the temperature of the batteries is. Air-cooling lithium-ion batteries really doesn’t cut it in my experience. Or does the Rhyen Aircraft Industry Co. Ltd know something I don’t?

Even the seminars were interesting (if you could drag yourself away from all the wonderful aircraft on show) and LAMA’s President Scott Severin gave an excellent presentation, which included a fine precis of the MOSAIC programme. I enjoyed it very much, although I suspect that EASA’s Jannes Neumann probably didn’t enjoy some of the tricky questions he had to field from some of the European manufacturers!

In the final summing up, the show had 680 exhibitors from 38 nations and 31,500 visitors from 81 countries. Even more impressively, more than 53 percent of AERO visitors indicated that they held a pilot’s license. Furthermore, the diverse demographic of attendees emphasized the relevance of the event to the global GA community. With beautifully designed, spacious exhibition halls, good transport links (I can especially recommend the scenic ferry trip across the Bodensee from Romanshorn) and – always of tremendous importance to your correspondent – excellent food and fine German beer, it was another vintage AERO.

The Dragonfly 120.

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With my feet failing fast, and the lederhosen beginning to chafe in a most disagreeable fashion, I viewed the end of AERO 2024 with mixed emotions. My legs said enough is enough, but my head, heart and eyes still wanted more—because what a show it was! From replica rocket-powered fighters to jet packs, LSAs fitted with turbines and paramotors for paraplegics and finally to biplane pusher SSDRs, it was a fabulous event. The AERO team produced a show that they could justifiably be proud of for the 30th anniversary, and although the weather was unseasonably cool, the action in the halls was as hot as ever, and with more than 270 aircraft in the exhibition halls and in the static display, show-goers were not short of mouth-watering machines to tempt their wallets. Among the aircraft debuting at the show were the electric DA40 aircraft from Diamond Aircraft in Austria, two electric aircraft and a hydrogen powered one from China and the Integral E from French manufacturer Aura Aero.

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Day 4 at AERO: A Few More Conventional Aircraft But Also a Few Surprises!

By Dave Unwin || April 21, 2024 4 Comments

I’ll take the opportunity in this installment to take a look at some of the lighter aircraft to be seen at AERO Friedrichshafen this year.

ICP Ventura 2 and Ventura 4

Italian airframer ICP had several aircraft on display including the Ventura 2 ultralight powered by various permutations of Rotax, and also the Experimental, which as well as being fitted with a Rotax can also be powered by a Lycoming of up to 180 hp. The Venture 2 is a side-by-side two-seater, while the Ventura 4 is, as the name suggests, a four-seater specifically designed to meet the requirements of amateur construction and suitable for the Experimental category. ICP claims that a first time builder can reasonably expect to finish the aircraft in between 700 to 800 hours, while a more experienced builder with practical build experience can complete the aircraft in around 400 hours, excluding paint and upholstery. ICP also had the Savannah SR on show, and this machine bore quite a strong resemblance to the Zenith 701. Powered by Rotax 912 and 914 engines, Savannah SR has, according to the company, a cruise speed of 100 knots and an endurance of up to eight hours.

GoGetAir G750

Slovenian company GoGetAir was also offering a show deal on its very attractive G750. With optional 2+2 seating, a high-end car-like interior and a whole airframe parachute recovery system which is capable of saving the airframe up to the 152 knot VNE, the three-blade CS prop is turned by either the 100-hp Rotax 912 iS, the 114-hp 914 or the 141-hp 915 iS. The 915-powered model can cruise at 138 knots IAS, climb at 1450 fpm and reach almost 15,000 feet. Takeoff over a 50-foot obstacle is a very impressive 140m (460 feet). Priced at €249,900 ($267K) the show price included two years or 200 hours of free maintenance if the aircraft was ordered at AERO.

In common with many of the other aircraft at the show avionics options were primarily either Garmin or Dynon, while prop options were either Woodcomp or MT. Unusually in this class, it was also available with two extra seats in the baggage bay, although this configuration did look rather snug. A two-axis digital autopilot comes as standard, while both the exterior and interior could be individually designed at extra cost. They also had a turbine-powered prototype on display, again using the TurboTech engine.

JH Aircraft Corsair

Remaining at the very light end of the sport flying spectrum, German airframer JH aircraft had its electrically powered Corsair e-motion on show. Looking a little like the classic Vought F4U Corsair of World War II and Korean War fame, this machine has a span of 24 feet 6 inches. But just like a real Corsair the wings fold, reducing the span to only 9 feet—not un-trivial if hangarage at your airport is expensive. Powered by an electric motor that can produce a maximum of 30kW/40 hp (20kW/26 hp continuous) it can carry up to 136 pounds of batteries, which the company claims will provide a flight time of up to two-and-a half hours. Compliant with FAR Part 103, it stalls at 24 knots, cruises at 54 knots and climbs at 1200 fpm. Takeoff over a 50ft obstacle is less than 400 feet.

Atol Amphibian

Finnish company Atol Aviation had the cockpit section of its very attractive two-seat side-by-side amphibian on display. Powered by a Rotax 912iS mounted on a pylon in a pusher configuration, this fun looking seaplane features folding wings, a glass cockpit and claimed very low operating costs. It cruises at 86 knots, stalls at 40 and has a range of 450nm. As a seaplane pilot myself I must admit I was very keen to test this particular machine, and hope to visit the manufacturers in Finland later this year.

Avio SMA Stratos Sports

Two particularly unusual designs were the Avio SMA Stratos Sport 400 and AS993 Extreme. The Stratos 400 is powered by a 388cc two stroke engine of 50 hp and is configured as a taildragger. It has an empty weight of 110kg (243 pounds) and a maximum takeoff weight of 300kg (661 pounds). With the maximum speed of 54 knots it’s no speedster, but the massive wing means a very low wing loading and it stalls at only 18 knots! This very low wing-loading and excellent thrust-to-weight ratio (a claimed 1:2) means that the takeoff run is around 20, (60 feet).

The Extreme is a similar looking design but is powered by a 993cc two-stroke producing 135 hp. It is a slightly heavier empty weight (the max takeoff weight of both the Sport and Extreme is the same at 300kg) and has the same impressive takeoff and landing distances. This intriguing looking Italian design is very competitively priced with the basic Sport kit costing €35,000 $37K) and the basic Extreme kit €40,000 ($43K). Then factor in another €10,000 ($11K) for the 50 hp engine, and €20,000 ($21K) for the 135 hp motor.

Tomark Aero SD4 Viper and GT9 Skyper

Slovakian company Tomark Aero had two machines on display, the SD4 Viper, which is a low wing machine, and the Skyper GT9, which features a strut-braced high-wing. The Viper is available in several different types, including LSA, glider towplane and even a version aimed at training Air Force pilots, while the GT9 is claimed to have good STOL performance . Both are of all-metal construction and mostly powered by the 100 hp Rotax 912 engine, although the towplane SD4 is powered by a ULPower UL305iS. Avionics options include Dynon SkyView and Garmin.

JMB Parachute Training Program

Many, if not most, modern LSAs feature whole airframe parachute recovery systems, and JMB aviation were offering what they claimed to be the first ultralight parachute training programme. This consists of a three hour course, which they claim is essential for ultralight pilots operating aircraft equipped with a ballistic rescue system.

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I’ll take the opportunity in this installment to take a look at some of the lighter aircraft to be seen at AERO Friedrichshafen this year. ICP Ventura 2 and Ventura 4 Italian airframer ICP had several aircraft on display including the Ventura 2 ultralight powered by various permutations of Rotax, and also the Experimental, which as well as being fitted with a Rotax can also be powered by a Lycoming of up to 180 hp. The Venture 2 is a side-by-side two-seater, while the Ventura 4 is, as the name suggests, a four-seater specifically designed to meet the requirements of amateur construction and suitable for the Experimental category. ICP claims that a first time builder can reasonably expect to finish the aircraft in between 700 to 800 hours, while a more experienced builder with practical build experience can complete the aircraft in around 400 hours, excluding paint and upholstery. ICP also had the Savannah SR on show, and this machine bore quite a strong resemblance to the Zenith 701.

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Looking to the Global South

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A Buyer Emerges

Too Like Textron? Why Conglomerates Buy…

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It Began with Kitfox Lite

Welcome SkyKicker

Just For Fun

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Vickers Wave

Icon A5

Progressive Aerodyne Searey

Brazil’s Seamax

Aero Adventure, Least Drama—Lowest Price

Atol & LN-3 from Europe, Floatplanes and More

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Enter Dragonfly by Bobby Bailey

Back Home In Florida

A Tribute to Bobby Bailey

Never Forgotten

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Back to Timelines

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ICP Ventura 2 and Ventura 4

GoGetAir G750

JH Aircraft Corsair

Atol Amphibian

Avio SMA Stratos Sports

Tomark Aero SD4 Viper and GT9 Skyper

JMB Parachute Training Program

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Too Like Textron?
Why Conglomerates Buy…

Aero Adventure,
Least Drama—Lowest Price

Atol & LN-3 from Europe,
Floatplanes and More

Enter Dragonfly
by Bobby Bailey

A Tribute to
Bobby Bailey