I regularly say this website follows aircraft you can afford. Whenever I write that word, I know someone will object saying that (fill-in-the-price) is too expensive. I get that. We all have a different budget and our budget can change quickly.
How about if the aircraft was essentially free? And what if you could choose between two highly-desirable models? What if the only cost to get your “lottery” ticket was to subscribe to a popular magazine?
Gee, fellow flying fans — I’d say that sounded like the bargain of 2023. It’s the most lucrative giveaway that has been unveiled in the LSA space since it began almost 20 years ago.
Thanks, Flying!
When I was a young pilot — quite a long time ago — one of the first aviation magazines I ever read was Flying. You could buy it on any newsstand. With a 96-year history, anyone getting involved in flying ended up reading Flying magazine.
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Stealing the STOL Show — Zenith Wins Again in New Zealand (Where It’s Summertime)
A winning airshow attraction over the last few years has been STOL competitions. STOL stands for Short Takeoff and Landing. Believe me, these pilots totally obsess over “short.”
You truly need to see these performances to believe what determined pilots in suitable aircraft can do. I encourage all to come on down to sunny Florida for Sun ‘n Fun 2023 and check out the action in Paradise City (formerly the “Ultralight/Lightplane Area” and now badged as “Light Planes“).
Like its counterpart at AirVenture in the Fun Fly Zone (also the former Ultralight Area), crowds can get close enough to see the STOL performances in great detail. Usually you have to arrive early enough to get a place at the fence. I’ve seen spectators 10-deep at both events.
Paradise City hosts Sun ‘n Fun’s “other” runway, a grass strip that’s been steadily improved enough that the local Lakeland Aero Club, associated with the onsite high school, can and does conduct flight operations during the 51 weeks of the year when the show isn’t happening.
Follow the Skyleader 400 — Czech Producer Offers Wide Variety in Light Aircraft
When Light-Sport Aircraft arrived on the scene almost 20 years ago, one early model that caught my attention was Kappa KP-5. This was one of the first of several brands unknown to Americans then. Others went on to become fixtures in the LSA space: Flight Design, Tecnam, Evektor, and Aeroprakt, among others.
Over some years, light aircraft models that arrived under the name Kappa were rebadged as Jihlavan and then Skyleader. In truth, it’s been Jihlavan all along but Americans have an easier time saying Skyleader. The company has been a busy development engine lead by engineer Antonín Píštěk while the enterprise is lead by CEO Radek Filip, also an engineer.
In the center of the model lineup, Skyleader 200 to Skyleader 600 are descendants of that first Kappa KP5. Contrarily, GP One and UL-39 Albi (article) are distinct designs that do not derive from the 200-400-500-600 series.
Invasion of the Part 103 Multicopters — Surveying 5 Entries, All “No Pilot License Required”
These new-millennia flying machines have inspired multiple names. While an eventual winner is determined, a common handle seems to be the rather awkward “eVTOL” — for electric vertical takeoff and landing. A range of abbreviations are also used: UAV, UAM, UAS, autonomous aircraft, and several others. I like multicopter — because all of them involved multiple propellers doing the lifting.
Most commonly, you hear “drone.”
Yet “drone” is further confusing because we haven’t separated crewed aircraft from uncrewed aircraft and this is a major distinction. FAA has also made this separation, so for this article, I will only speak of crewed aircraft, that is, a flying machine with a pilot using controls to direct its flight. In addition, I will also stick solely to single place aircraft that can theoretically qualify as a legitimate Part 103 ultralight vehicle.
Let me first extend a quick thanks to IEEE’s Spectrum magazine for making me aware of entries I’d missed.
It Was a Very Good Year — Icon Is Back on Heading with Their A5 LSA Seaplane
Some might say Icon Aircraft has experienced a rather turbulent flight. The company came off the starting line boldly with splashy marketing including an immense, fancy tent right at the entrance to AirVenture. Each year at Oshkosh, the company hosted an annual party with special features and free drinks. It became a must-attend event for those lucky enough to get an invitation.
When A5 was finally accepted by FAA as a Special LSA, the company shrewdly arranged to get on the cover and be the lead article in the same month of American aviation’s top three magazines (by circulation): Flying magazine, AOPA Pilot, and EAA Sport Aviation. I’ve been around and observing aviation publishing for a few decades and I’d never see such a triple play before. These magazines are friendly to each other but nonetheless compete vigorously. The rarely (never?) want the same cover story as their rivals. Icon accomplished this without spending a dime advertising with the publications.
Come Back… Cleanly! MySky Returns with Plans to Make Flying Friendlier
Once upon a time, I was able to report three or more new Special Light-Sport Aircraft every month. That was more than a decade back when the pace of new arrivals seemed faster than a rocket parachute deployment. Lots of airplane developers from all over the globe wanted a piece of this promising LSA action with its greater freedoms and breathtaking pace of innovation. New models were announced with regularity.
For the past few years that torrid pace slowed… just as it has in every other industry I’ve examined. However, in aviation it is uncommon for a good airplane to actually disappear forever. Designs worth their avgas often manage a come-back, a term meant to show a return to market for a flying machine some may have written off earlier.
Here is such a story.
MySky MS-One
From the day I laid eyes on it, I liked the tandem seating, comfortable cockpit, and sturdy construction of MySky’s MS-1 or MS-One.
JMB Aircraft Delivered #500 of their Blazing-Fast VL3 Light Aircraft + Evolution News
Fifteen years ago, in 2007, Guisset brothers Jean-Marie and Jean-Baptiste were dealers in France and Belgium for a company then known as Aveko. Driven by a passion for flying that started when they were only fourteen years old, the brothers were successful enough that at one point they could claim to have sold more than 85% of the aircraft produced by Aveko.
Aircraft seen in nearby images is the VL3, a plane formerly designed by Vanessa Air and produced by Aveko. Americans first came to know a variation of this model as the Gobosh G700S although that faded about the time JMB took over production. Some years went by with no U.S. presence for the European low-wing aircraft.
Five years later, in 2012, the Guisset brothers’ acquired Aveko. Shortly after, they started to upgrade the aircraft, pushing the aircraft to fly faster (article). They also upgraded the interior; see current state-of-design in a nearby image.
Rebirth — LSA Market Leader Overcomes the Tragedy of War
Web stats showed a strong response to my article about Ukraine-based light aircraft builders continuing on even as the missiles fly and the bombs fall around them. The situation is terrifying and the future uncertain but the stories we don’t hear sometimes involve courageous people in the recreational aircraft industry.
In the middle of the last decade, long before Putin’s aggression, LSA market leader Flight Design went through a German-imposed reorganization. While difficult, the company emerged stronger and more stable.
In development through this challenging time, Flight Design unveiled their new F-series, starting with their two-seat LSA F2 model at Aero Friedrichshafen 2019. They also displayed an F2e powered by electric motor. Those who examined these displays could readily see the spacious fuselage was built with a four seater in mind for the future. Things were progressing well…
Then, WAR!
Some experts believe ample signs existed that Russia might invade Ukraine yet to ordinary individuals busy living their own lives, hostilities seemed to erupt suddenly.
Jabiru Engines Approaching 8,000 Engines Produced — Plus, Our List Reporting Every LSA Engine
When I was a kid, I was a New York Yankees baseball fan. Why? I’d never been to New York; I lived in the midwest. I loved the baseball team because they won a lot. The saying way back then was, “The American League battle isn’t to determine who wins, but which team might come in second.” Everybody knew the Yankees would win again. (As I said, this was some time back in history.)
In light aviation, we have a roughly similar situation. Rotax provides somewhere around 70-80% of all engines for aircraft in the light aircraft space globally. The remaining 20-30% is divided between Continental or Titan, Jabiru, ULPower, and a growing collection of converted auto engines (though the latter, without ASTM approval, are used only on kit aircraft or ELSAs).
US Sport Planes owner Scott Severen, who represents Jabiru in America, declared for the Australian manufacturer, “The 4,000th Jabiru 2200 four-cylinder, 81-horsepower engine [was] recently produced at the Jabiru facility.” And, he added, “The 3300 engine [series is] fast approaching this number, too.”
So, Jabiru may not be #1, but the “down-under” company achieved a significant benchmark when they shipped number 4,000 of the 2200 series.
Big, Beautiful, Powerful — The Highly Finished Montaer MC01 with Rotax 915iS
Pilots love airplanes (duh!). Pilots also love engines, especially when they are truly powerful. So, perhaps Brazilian manufacturer Montaer made a market-savvy move by moving quickly to incorporate Rotax’s most potent engine, their 915iS producing 141 horsepower in a turbocharged and intercooled package. The result of Bruno de Oliveira‘s design work is MC01 915 as seen in the nearby photos and in more detail in the video below.
Other powerful engines are available, for example, the even-higher-horsepower Titan from Continental Aerospace. These powerplant designs are sharply different because the Rotax uses a smaller displacement and is physically more compact. The 9-series is also significantly less noisy and it boasts the latest technology from an engine builder cranking out thousands of engines a year (when counting the many non-aircraft engines the Austrian company makes).
I wrote that Bruno moved quickly. That’s because this is a new model, first introduced to Americans only last year.
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