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Continental Motors Absorbs Titan X-340 Production
Coming up in just over two weeks! — September 8-9-10, 2016 — is the Midwest LSA Expo. I hope your plans include going. Plenty of aircraft are available and taking a demo flight is no easier anywhere. I will look for you on site! More info: Midwest LSA Expo.
Engines have changed a lot over the life of Light-Sport Aircraft. FAA’s new regulation became effective in September 2004. A hard working industry has brought 140 Special LSA models to market …in less than 12 years, one per month for every month (on average) since the rule emerged.
Engines have been similarly prolific.
In the beginning, Rotax‘s 65-horsepower two-stroke 582 was a often selected to power the lighter aircraft of the pre-LSA period. The 9-series engines had gained acceptance much earlier but as LSA got bigger and heavier, their success gave a tremendous push to the popular Austrian engine and it dominates to this day.
Belite Aircraft — UltraCub 4-Stroke (2013)
Belite Aircraft rarely sits still. This company,. operated by a man former in the computer industry, knows that constant development of an idea stimulates interest. The latest from James Weibe is the UltraCub and it has two main differences: (1) the main fuselage is of notably different construction and (2) it has a four-stroke engine up front. You can hear the engine and hear more about all the changes to the newest model from Belite on this video.
Green Sky Adventures — Micro Mong
We speak with Jerry Olenick of Green Sky Adventures about his Micro Mong, a sweet little biplane that can meet Part 103. This one is powered by the HKS engine, another product Green Sky represents. Sold only a kit, this Ed Fisher design can deliver great savings in return for a little sweat equity. Even with the four-stroke HKS and instruments, Micro Mong costs barely over $20,000 in 2012.
Aeroalcool — Quasar Lite
All the way from Brazil comes a sharp little airplane called the Quasar, which will remind some visitors of an earlier American design of a similar name. Designers are creating carbon surfaces to replace dope & fabric coverings and will then complete their SLSA approval. Powered by the HKS four-stroke engine, Quasar Lite feels like a sports car.
Pssst! Want a Deal? How About Merlin PSA?
Are you intrigued by an affordable yet well-performing single-seat Personal Sport Aircraft? In a time when so many claim light aircraft have simply become too expensive, one aircraft is coming to challenge that belief. Some rather grudgingly acknowledge that, yes, you can buy a low-cost aircraft but that it won’t satisfy your desires … that it will have an open cockpit, or is too slow, or uses an engine you don’t know, or that it lacks the right instruments, or it will be a weight shift aircraft or a powered parachute … or something that disqualifies it for them.
Well, even our friends at Flying magazine — thanks to popular writer Pia Bergqvist, who also covered such aircraft as Quicksilver‘s wide-open Sport 2 SE — gave recent prominent coverage to what importer/developer Chip Erwin is doing with his Merlin PSA.
Does the name Chip Erwin ring a bell?
Gutsy-Looking SkyRunner Turned Heads at AirVenture
To many eyes, Icon stole the show at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2015. Many other newsworthy announcements were made — several of which I reported on this website — yet Icon’s splashy marketing probably drew the most eyes, just as it does on Facebook. However, thanks to fellow journalist Roy Beisswenger, I was introduced to the high-energy gang at SkyRunner.
I don’t know if “radical” fits the marketing designs of SkyRunner LLC, but their take on the flying ATV or dune buggy takes the genre to a whole new realm. I find myself searching for the right words to describe SkyRunner. Imagine I-Tec’s Maverick but with an attitude. Then wrap your mind around two powerful engines to make this baby go. Maverick looked vaguely like a mild-mannered road car where SkyRunner abandons that image for a Ninja motorcycle look crossed with the baddest four-wheeler ATV you ever saw.
PSA: An Affordable Aircraft?
The following article is a guest editorial by Chip Erwin, a name many rightfully associate with the highly successful SportCruiser LSA. A restless entrepreneur, Chip has been working behind the curtain for several years. He emerged with the Zigolo and is now proposing a fresh name for a segment that seems to have energy behind it. I have reported on England’s new SSDR 300 category and I have observed the rejuvenation of Part 103 vehicles. So, on our recent travels to China, I encouraged Chip to express what he has in mind.
Article Update 6/15/15 — At the end of this article see our video shot at Sun ‘n Fun 2015 regarding Chip’s electric motor and plans.
Is “affordable aircraft” an oxymoron? For most people, probably yes. One answer could be a class of aircraft I like to refer to as a PSA, or Personal Sport Aircraft.
Wings from the North Lift Many Trikes
I’ve been writing about very affordable aircraft•, specifically about Part 103 ultralight vehicles. I know some readers prefer speedier or fully enclosed aircraft. Those people are fortunate as many choices are available and, of course, I will continue writing about them frequently. However, many pilots in the USA and around the world do not have a budget for a magnificent carbon fiber personal aircraft that costs $150,000. Even among those who can afford such aircraft, I’m amazed at the renewed interest in these simplest of aircraft.
In addition, aircraft as shown in the nearby photos have seen considerable development since the early days of weight shift trikes. In my view, America invented these aircraft back in the late 1970s but as three axis ultralights developed, interest from American pilots drew away from weight shift and the best new ideas seemed to come from Europe, Australia or other countries. However, I now see the freshest developments coming from U.S.
Sun ‘n Fun 2015: Part 103 Ultralights Are Hot!
Part 103 ultralight activity was not the news I expected to report from Sun ‘n Fun 2015, certainly not as my first report. After an intense week shooting video interviews at Sun ‘n Fun 2015, I am impressed to report that Part 103 is much more than alive and well. For those that may have missed this unique category, Part 103 ultralight vehicles (FAA’s deliberate wording) are single seat flying machines of varying description that need no medical, not even a pilot license, no N-number registration, and can be sold ready-to-fly. The entire FAA regulation for them can be printed on the front and back of a single piece of paper.
Adding to the charm of rarely having to interact with a government agency in order to have some fun in your airplane are a couple similar efforts in Europe. Germany has its 120-kilogram class (264 pounds) and England has its SSDR category (Single Seat De Regulated).
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