ByDanJohnson.com

photo by Jan Fridrich

photo by Jan Fridrich

image courtesy ML Aviation Technology

photo courtesy ML Aviation Technology

The flying car powerfully captures the imagination of many, pilots and general public alike, despite the fact that none (yet) have ever achieved market success. For some years this field lie fallow with no introductions for several decades. Then, thanks to the creation of the Light-Sport Aircraft sector came Terrafugia and their intriguing Transition. The Massachusetts enterprise has received enormous media attention. Similarly, the I-Tec Maverick also proved popular with journalists. Lately the SkyRunner from England gained plenty of coverage from a splashy introduction at the Fort Lauderdale, Florida boat show. Now, China has its hat in the ring. Consider Carcopter from ML Aviation Technology Co., Ltd.

Terrafugia uses folding wings and a pusher Rotax engine. I-Tec uses a powered parachute held in position by a telescoping carbon fiber pole. Carcopter is, as the name implies, a rotary winged flying machine. Think of it as a gyroplane but with a folding mast and rotor blades that fold aft. In one way this seems a good solution. Terrafugia exposes its wings to road rash or that idiot who opens his car door into the side of yours. I-Tec’s solution is highly portable but you have to stop and take time to unpack and lay out the large square parachute canopy plus erect and secure the long support pole. Carcopter is very James Bond-like with blades the company said can be put in position with the touch of a fingertip. Modern materials include a carbon fiber exterior with metal rotor blades and a rotorhead built with titanium. A Rotax 914 engine with 115 horsepower drives the prop and front two-wheel drive. Like any Rotax it can use unleaded auto gasoline supplied by an 18.5 gallon fuel tank (metric figures in table below).

“The flying car can be operated easily,” ML Aviation Technology CEO Chang Jian Qin told reporters. A button push reportedly changes Carcopter from flight mode to driving state. “When going from flight to auto traffic, just press a button to fold the main bracket and rotor.” Only 10 minutes is needed for the change from flight to driving or driving to flight. Chang Jian Qin continued, “Take-off does not require a special airport runway, as long as you have 100 feet.” He said the landing roll is only 30 feet, though he didn’t specify in what wind conditions either occurs. Training was also portrayed as simple. “You can learn to manipulate Carcopter after [a few] days of flight training.” In case problems arise, an emergency parachute is available for a safe landing.

“In 2010, the Chinese State Council issued views on deepening our airspace,” said Chang Jian Qin. According to him (and confirmed by other reports), China will gradually open the airspace below 1,000 meters (3,000 feet), to allow light fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters aircraft flying by 2015. For many years only military aircraft or airliners have been permitted in the airspace. See additional thoughts about flying in China from our report by Jan Fridrich. The downside? How about a price of 2 million yaun (Chinese currency), a figure that presently equates to more than $325,000. Are you ready to buy one?

Carcopter Technical Data
Length — 15 feet (4.6 meters)
Width — 6.5 feet ( 2 meters)
Height (flying mode) — 9 feet (2.8 meters)
Height (driving mode) — 4.8 feet (1.46 meters)
Rotor Diameter — 27.5 feet (8.4 meters)
Maximum Take-off Weight — 1,320 pounds (600 kilograms)
Cruise Speed — 90 mph (145 km/hr)
Maximum Speed — 113 mph (180 km/hr)
Edurance — up to 5 hours using an 18.5 gallon fuel tank (70 liters)
Powerplant — Rotax 914 UL / 115 horsepower
Vehicle Structure — Carbon Fiber / Titanium

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The first flight: Recording for posterity. photo courtesy e-volo

A disc of discs: 18 in all, all electric.photo courtesy e-volo 

It’s premature if not off the point to say this exotic, beautiful prototype will be the death of the helicopter. I will flat out make a prediction: a whole new type of flight is here … and it will change everything … and I mean everything about how we fly.

I was musing the other day, while catching up on the latest multi-rotor RC model technology with which to populate my Christmas wish list, about how long it would take before we saw a serious effort to build a human-carrying version. Clearly I was way behind the buzz curve: talk about instant gratification! E-volo of Karlsruhe, Germany has just made a lightspeed leapfrog over pretty much every other vertical takeoff/landing design or project I’ve heard about. The gamechanger: the just-maidened VC200 Volocopter. Watch the video, then read on. This project and others like it is going to change flight as we know it, make no mistake. It would even be a legal SLSA since it carries a max two occupants and, well, look at it: no way can Volocopter weigh more than 1,320 pounds since it’s all carbon-fiber composite. There is one glitch though, or rather 18 of them: it has more than the single piston-powered engine mandated in FAA’s LSA regulation.

No matter. This nicely sculpted, mechano-buglike craft not only looks right, but could lead to a wave of simplest powered flying vehicles ever … unless you’re thinking powered parachutes, which is sort of like saying beating a bowl of eggs into submission with a cement mixer is the simplest way to make an omelet. (No offense intended against PPCs; they’re a ton of fun to fly.). So while FAA must first change the LSA regulation to allow electric propulsion for LSA (or perhaps issue an exemption), industry is ahead of the game. ASTM has already finished an electric propulsion standard. However, even more significant I believe is this: No force on earth will keep this burgeoning technology out of the hands of eager pilots…and those who have always dreamed of simply flying without hours and hours of flight instruction just to get the feel of how an airplane or chopper must be controlled to fly safely. The multi-rotor flying concept will, as it evolves and is refined, be more like learning to drive a car than fly an airplane.

As such, E-volo’s impressive accomplishment signals a paradigm shift in manned flight. Similar flying machines like the eternally-in-development Moller Skycar or the recently announced Terrafugia TF-X, projected to debut in, oh, about a decade or so, riff on the vertical rotor concept by sporting tilt-rotor designs. The E-volo VC200 dismisses in one 18-brush stroke all the mechanical complexity and expense that tilt rotors are heir to, thanks to its ability to instantaneously migrate thrust to each and several – or all – of the rotors independently, entirely through electronic computer control. And how does that work, you ask? Rather intuitively I would imagine, once the control synchronization is perfected, and so easily that it should revolutionize piloting forever. Want to take off? Give it full power to climb straight up. Want to move forward? Piece of cake: Push the yoke and the rear array of motors automatically increases thrust while the forward motors decrease thrust. Result: the “nose” of the circular motor array dips down as the “tail” raises up and you slide forward. I imagine it would feel very much like accelerating in a chopper, or catching a big wave on a surfboard. Kind of exciting, in other words. Think about it a bit more and you’ll realize you can do the same thing in reverse … I mean back up just like driving a car, without changing heading first. Or slide (not bank or turn, but slide, to the left, or to the right, or in any direction). You’re not required to bank at all to turn in fact, like you would with a rudder (airplane) or tail rotor (helicopter). The same variable-thrust concept works, and rather finely nuanced I would imagine, with 18 motors each providing its increment of thrust vectors, to turn you anywhere you want to go … without adverse yaw or stalls to worry about either. As long as those props are turning, you’re flying.

Consider all this hybrid versatility: You will be able to fly the VC200 like an airplane, but also make vertical takeoffs with it like a helicopter, or hover in position and rotate around the vertical axis. Quadcopter and multi-rotor RC models have been demonstrating these traits for years now, and with excellent, refined control. It’s a hoot to fly the models … imagine flying in a full-sized one! I’ll be doing my next column in Plane & Pilot magazine on this technology simply because it’s potentially the most exciting, revolutionary flight concept to come along since possibly the first, unheralded flight of Gustave Whitehead, who flew a powered aircraft in 1901 – two years before the Wright Flyer. It’s all part of the Remote Control technology that led to the explosive development of UAV (drone) flight and huge and ongoing advances in electric powerplants, battery technology and computer control. And this is just the beginning folks. Follow the link above for more from E-volo, and look for my magazine column in the January/February 2014 issue, on sale in December.

Some quick specs on Volocopter (and remember, this is just a prototype): 6 blocks of batteries power the 18 rotorsCurrent endurance: about 20 minutes, with one hour anticipated and extended range as technology evolves.Cruising speed projected at 54 knots and max altitude of 6,500 feet. I’ve seen You Tube videos of small quadcopters flying well over 100 mph … speeds will increase as the complex aerodynamics of several simultaneously spinning propellers is better understood and refined.Redundant power wiring: three batteries power each “arm” of rotors, so two batteries could fail and the VC-200 would still be able to land safely.A ballistic parachute system will be on board for backup in case of catastrophic power failure or mid air collision. Conceptually, the rotor array would be jettisoned first: now that would make for a fun ride. Another check in the plus column over helicopters: shed a rotor blade there and you’re toast.E-Volo’s goal: to make this mode of flying safer than any air vehicle in history.More redundancy: 20 small but powerful computers are the brains of the operation … and any single computer can fly the VC-200 on its own.The several-minute maiden flight, with multiple landings and takeoffs, was held in an indoor arena. Early indications were that the craft performed better than expected, in particular with less vibration although 18 motors were doing the heavy lifting.It was also much quieter than anticipated; you can hear on the video what a nice, whirring-sans-eggbeating sound it puts out.Visionary Erik Lindbergh presented his Lindbergh Prize for Innovation to e-volo in 2012 for its single-seat experimental multi-copter, saying, “We believe that the development of the Volocopter holds significant promise to radically change short distance transportation.”

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“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a pilot not in possession of a good fortune will be in want of a VW-powered aircraft.” Well, I’m not entirely sure Jane Austen would’ve put it quite like that but one thing is irrefutable: If you want to fly an affordable aeroplane then it may well have a Beetle engine! And, here’s a very interesting factoid: the most produced aero-engine ever is probably Lycoming’s O-360, with around 250,000 made. However, Volkswagen made more than 21 million Beetle engines!

An interesting facet about lightweight taildraggers such as the D9 is that they have to be ‘flown’ all the time, even on the ground. Consequently even while taxiing I’m very aware of the wind, because even with differential braking turning out of wind can be a bit tricky. Of course, such simple machines have very simple checks, and while running through my generic SEP checks (which take the form of an unwritten ‘flow check’ around the cockpit), I often get the feeling (and particularly if I’ve flown something a bit more complex the day before) that I’ve forgotten something. What about the flaps and fuel pump, or the prop lever and mixture control? I search for the relevant buttons, switches and levers in vain — none of these things exist. Apart from stick, rudder and trim, flight instruments and engine gauges, there’s not much else to check and if plenty of wire is visible from the filler cap then you’ve got gas. As for engine health, as well as checking the mags and carb heat at high rpm, I always ensure that the engine will idle satisfactorily. Remember that the prop is both small and light, and the engine doesn’t have a flywheel. If the tick-over is set too low and the engine starts to ‘run down’ the prop will not have enough momentum to keep it turning.

As the strip where Buzz is based is adequately long but not excessively so, I tend to start bringing the power in as I line up, rather than lining up and then adding power. With only around 50 German-Brazilian horses pulling, the acceleration is far from startling. It is important to pick up the tail quickly, particularly if the grass is long as the tailwheel is small. Dragging it through long grass definitely impedes acceleration, while the design of the undercarriage means that all the time the tail is down there is a braking action. This is because the aircraft was originally designed without brakes, the designers instead relying on a combination of tailskid and the camber of the wheels for retardation. With the tail up the wheels track in parallel and offer little rolling resistance, but with the tail down the camber angle provides braking.

Fortunately the elevator becomes effective quickly, as does the rudder. With the tail up acceleration is quite brisk and a little bit of rudder helps keep it straight because it will swing if you let it. Anyway, with even a bit of a breeze on the nose it soon reaches flying speed. Lift-off occurs at around 35 knots, and if I can see even the faintest indication of lift (usually thermals, but there’s always the slight chance of weak wave, while the ‘sea breeze’ sometimes moves this far inland) then that’s where I’ll head. Bebé is an aircraft that flies upon the air not through it, consequently any sort of lift can be easily exploited. Indeed, a good thermal can boost the climb rate to as much as 1,500 fpm, while the tight turning radius makes it easy to say centered in the lift. Alternatively, with the power pulled back to give zero sink in still air that little engine drinks fuel like a spinster sipping Sherry!

D9 is a lot of fun to fly and the handling is really sweet with controls that are nicely coordinated and crisp. Control harmony is also very good with light ailerons and a slightly heavier elevator, with the rudder being the heaviest, as it should be. The roll rate is reasonably quick and the turning circle impressively small. The ailerons do firm up considerably at higher speeds, but overall I find them most agreeable. The elevator is nicely weighted, while the all-flying rudder is powerful but not over sensitive. I’ve read that the rudder can be made to stall, but I’ve never managed to do it. It can only be trimmed in pitch, and if anything, it feels as if the tailplane could be fractionally bigger or the trim tab have a little more authority. This may be because the original D9 had a small 26-horsepower Poinsard engine, or it may be because I’m a bit of a ‘chunky monkey’ and really should lose some weight! An examination of the cruise speed reveals it is happiest at about 3,000 rpm, which gives 75 knot IAS. Fuel burn is around 2.5 gallons per hour, so the still-air range is approximately 225 nautical miles, with 30-minutes reserve. Slow flight is very benign, although I always ensure that I’ve selected carb heat before reducing power, as VWs are notorious ice-makers. As the speed decays the ASI becomes increasingly vague, before it reluctantly drops the nose at about 33 knots. There is just a subtle suggestion of pre-stall buffet, but on the plus side adding power and reducing pitch produces an immediate recovery.

Crosswinds are best avoided if practical, and should certainly be considered with a degree of circumspection. As with most lightweight taildraggers the D9 has really been designed to be operated into wind and consequently its crosswind limits are quite low. In my experience, you would have to apply yourself to overrun the runway in a Bebé, although a strong crosswind could make it cheerfully run off the side, particularly on a hard-surface runway. Lightweight taildraggers don’t really go well with concrete and crosswinds, but as long as this is borne in mind Bebé is a delight to land. The rudder has enough authority to make directional control during the roll-out easy. Since buying the D9 I have become increasingly enchanted with this delightful little flying machine, as it is an aircraft in which the sensation of powered flight is distilled into just about its purest form. With a pair of stout wings to sustain you, the wind in your hair and a full 360° of visibility above the wings, it’s a truly fun machine in which to sail the sea of the sky.

Whether chugging along above England’s incomparable landscape on a warm summer’s evening at 501 feet, twisting and turning in a tight thermal, slaloming sinuously between billowing banks of spotless white cumulus or merely the simple pleasure of kissing the sun-warmed grass of a farm strip with a perfect three-pointer, my Bebé has reminded me why I learned to fly in the first place. One thing’s for sure. If you cost your air-time by the hour, power flying really doesn’t get much cheaper than a D9!

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MGL Avionics’ panel-mount XTreme can fit existing analog gauge holes in some aircraft.

Tecnam Director Paolo Pascale posed with aircraft designer Luigi Pascale on his 90th birthday.

Cool It! — Scott Severen of US Aviation — the central Texas general aviation dynamo — is a man on a mission. He showed an AMT FlyCool installation (video) on a Flight Design CTLS at Sun ‘n Fun that was a surprisingly clean installation considering he brought all the air conditioning parts in his airline luggage. By AOPA’s fall Summit, he had refined it considerably (photo). Now the installation features a handsome louvered right side baggage door that brings fresh air in and exhausts warmer air. The panel switches are permanent and in the warm Texas sunshine, the system had great appeal. It adds surprisingly little weight (22 pounds); cost varies by installation but is much less expensive than old style air conditioning systems for airplanes. One downside is a loss of some luggage capacity but for example, a flight school wouldn’t care. Their students could chill instead of sweating through their flying lesson. Sunbelt CTLS pilots may also be attracted to the option. Contact Severn or FlyCool for details in your LSA.

Central USA Services — Pete Krotje attended the October ASTM meeting in Jacksonville. He’s one of a few manufacturers that regularly participates in the standards-writing exercises. On a break in those deliberations he educated me on new services his company provides. Notably, Pete has started giving seminars on Jabiru engines, which his company Jabiru U.S. often sells to other airframers. However, the Shelbyville Tennessee LSA producer is also performing repairs and inspections on brands other than Jabiru. Many Light-Sport businesses have weathered the economic upheaval of past years by broadening their service work and Pete is following suit. If your LSA is based in the central states, you can consider using Jabiru U.S. for many general maintenance services. As a company with long experience and having been through the rigors of an FAA audit (to sister company Arion), the Jabiru U.S. folks know how to perform services that fully comply with regulations and standards.

XTremely Small — Dynon has generated strong interest in their tiny D2 instrument that can be attached to the windscreen or side window of any GA airplane as well as used onboard LSA and kit airplanes. It’s small, inexpensive, capable, and because it doesn’t hard mount, can be used on type certified airplanes that otherwise cannot install unapproved instruments. Given that most GA airplanes still rely on steam gauges, no wonder Dynon is selling D2s briskly. |||| Another innovative producer has an equally small instrument but it’s intended to mount in your panel. It is even more capable in some ways. MGL Avionics representative Matt Liknaitzky aided my understanding. “XTreme (photo) is dynamite in a small package,” Matt exclaimed! “It is a full primary flight instrument, with pitot/static (altimeter/airspeed/vertical speed) and full engine monitoring as an option. It also has the option of full AHRS or GPS-derived bank angle. It has a built-in GPS for basic navigation and it will control a Sandia remote transponder.” In the latest news, Matt reported, XTreme has a built-in autopilot; just add servos. The only thing it doesn’t have is a moving map, but besides that it is an impressively comprehensive flight display in a small package and at low cost. “Some people use it as a backup, but many use it as their primary instrument,” Matt added.

Happy Birthday, Luigi! — Arguably the most prolific producer in the LSA space is Tecnam, with several SLSA models accepted by FAA and variations on those models to include the amphibious SeaSky (video), a taildragger, and a 914-powered P2008. The Italian company also makes a twin, is finishing a four seater, and has started work on an 11-seat commuter aircraft called P2012 Traveller. Every one of these designs was created by Professor Luigi Pascale, who recently celebrated his 90th birthday. He is still at work, because as nephew and Tecnam Director Paolo Pascale observed, “It keeps him alive!” Tecnam celebrated Luigi’s benchmark birthday in their Capua factory near Naples, Italy. Luigi Pascale is a significant figure in the Italian aviation industry. With his brother, Giovanni — they are nicknamed Gino and Nino — he built his first aircraft in early 1951, the P48 Astore. In 1957, the brothers created Pascale Partenavia to give birth to a line of airplanes including the Partenavia P68 light twin. In 1968, the two brothers founded Tecnam whose first model was the P92. Also known as the Echo in several variations, the P92 fleet numbers 2,500 units and counts 200,000 hours of flight, reported Tecnam. With his impressive history of creating aircraft, here’s wishing Luigi 90 more years of aircraft design!

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Dorna Aircraft’s Free Bird

The company’s Blue Bird model

Blue Bird’s interior

Iran’s countryside looks more pleasant than many images on mainstream media reports.

I wrote about Free Bird two years ago, to the surprise of many readers who thought, well … different things about Iran, most of them not very positive. We tend not to realize how media reporting and statements from government officials influence our views of a place like Iran. I don’t doubt that some of the crazy things we hear about do indeed happen. Yet I suspect the country is significantly composed of citizens that probably have little control over the direction their government chooses. So, with this update, I plan to tell you a little about what it’s like for the Dorna Aircraft Company to operate in a country like Iran. Think whatever you will, but you likely see attractive aircraft comparable to those from many countries.

“Oh, you want to see the Dorna Aircraft showroom,” a Tehran visitor might ask. “Ah, go to the Negar Tower and take the elevator to the 23rd floor.” According to marketing and business development point man for Dorna, Sajad Entesari, “I think it’s highest show room in region.” With his father Yaghoub, Dorna’s CEO, this family-run Iranian airplane producer has some struggles operating in the country, as you might expect. Sajad wrote, “Right now we have problems buying composite materials, engines, and avionics in Iran, but the main problem is because of the sanctions, which is [not] related to us because we are not a military or nuclear company! [Because of the sanctions we] can’t buy those things at an OEM price plus we have lost the global market for three years.” Still, they report selling 23 Blue Bird models and three Free Birds. The Blue Bird meets EASA’s certification specifications for a VLA (Very Light Aircraft). It is slightly faster, using the 115-horsepower Rotax 914 turbo engine but is clearly a sibling to the lighter, LSA-capable Free Bird that is powered by the 100-horsepower Rotax 912ULS.

Those economic sanctions bite and so does uncertainty … just as the latter problem causes challenges for businessmen in many western countries. “Since president Rohani [was elected] many things changed and everybody waits to see what happens next.” Regardless of the political headwinds, Dorna wants to enter U.S. and European markets. Their Free Bird (specs) is designed to meet ASTM standards used to gain acceptance for an SLSA. Dorna is aware of FAA auditing of LSA producers around the world. They indicate they can pave the way for FAA officials to come inspect their facility as needed, even arranging local cooperation as needed. They are also seeking investors for production in another country, where perhaps they would not be so restricted by the economic sanctions.

Sajad added, “In Iran many people love the American people and so many [Iranians] lived in or were educated in U.S., including our CEO. Yaghoub Antesary was educated in USA as an MBA student. He also got his bachelor of aeronautical engineering degree and Private Pilot license in America.” Put it all together and it begins to sound like any LSA company with ambitions for growth and product development. You can see more for yourself at their Facebook page; then, judge for yourself. Try as governments will to slow the pace, the spread of information is facilitated by the Internet. For companies like Dorna that are not multinational conglomerates, the Web is essential.

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The SeaRey from Florida-based Progressive Aerodyne. all photos by Jan Fridrich

TL Elektronics iDrive seen in an Atec Faeta.

Slovakia’s Tomark Viper

Tecnam had at least three aircraft on display.

A B-number (China registration) CTLS flew in demonstration.

Australia has a large exchange with China so Jabiru’s presence is hardly surprising.

Gyros like this Magni were commonplace.

My LAMA Europe counterpart and friend, Jan Fridrich, took another trip to China in October as he attended Xi’an, said to be the largest General Aviation exhibition in the country. While the show was large with expansive, expensive exhibit stands, airplanes were sparser than events such as Aero Friedrichshafen. Like a few American events (thinking of AOPA’s just concluded Summit and NBAA’s giant show), Xi’an’s convention hall housed indoor displays while the “static” display of more airplanes was at an airport. U.S. organizers usually try to colocate these two displays. In contrast, Jan reported, “The static exhibition was at the airport in Pucheng, which is about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Xi’an! Practically speaking, it was only accessible by bus and only during one official day and the journey takes 2.5 hours … Without Chinese friends it is very complicated to get anywhere.” Jan added that viewers at the airport were unable to get within 60 feet of airplanes. “Only VIPs can get inside a ‘first zone’ around the aircraft.” Still, it is fascinating to watch this country expand its non-military, non-airline aviation sector.

In the USA, we hear about Chinese purchases of famous American aviation brands such as Continental Motors, Cirrus, Mattituck, Glasair. Icon and Lisa reportedly got Chinese investment and they aren’t the only ones. However, Chinese investors have also bought into products from European countries. Jan reported, “AT-3, a sibling of an LSA Americans know as the Gobosh, was bought by Chinese investor Jiangsu Lantian Aerospace Industrial Park with an investment of $60 million. They intend to produce up to 100 aircraft per year. Another large exhibit featured the Slovak Tomark along with their Viper thanks to Chinese investor Qingyun Group.”

A couple years ago, Adam Yang bought Progressive Aerodyne and their SeaRey, which he exhibited at Xi’an. Jan wrote that according to Adam, their Chinese Type Certification is well under way. The company earned warm remarks from FAA last fall when their first-ever SeaRey SLSA passed an audit with the best marks yet. Still more exhibited brands known to Americans included Tecnam’s Twin, P92, and Sierra; three Flight Design CTLS, of which one even flew (photo); Nynja; Magni, Apollo, and AutoGyro gyroplanes; SportCruiser (represented by a Taiwanese dealer); Zenair‘s CH-701 and 801; Jabiru‘s J230; an IndUS Thorpedo; Quicksilver‘s Sport 2S and a GT500 outfitted with ag spraying equipment (as were a few other light aircraft); a Challenger ultralight; an Apollo trike with an Aeros wing; plus a student-built Team MiniMax.

The only Czech exhibitor was TL Elektronics. Representative Martin Balda unveiled iDrive, a controller of the digital Integra. This solves a problem experienced by many pilots, where after tightening seatbelts they cannot easily reach the controls on the panel. Using iDrive connected to Integra you have seamless control of all knobs and buttons not only for instruments in front of you but on the co-pilot’s side. Jan added, “If you find this controller familiar, you’re probably a happy owner of a BMW vehicle, which originated the idea.” Of course, Rotax is present in China. Jan wrote, “The Peiport company is the distributor of Rotax with six branches in China and one in Hong Kong where the company originated.” The company also represents Woodcomp props and showed hydraulically and electrically adjustable constant-speed propellers.

Jan concluded, “The exhibition in Xi’an shows the current status of Chinese GA aviation. From a European perspective it is at the beginning of development. GA flying is considerably reduced by lower airspace restrictions with a larger opening expected in 2015. Another limiting factor for flying is very poor visibility; most of the day it is not even possible to see the sun. On rare days with a visible sun disk visibility is usually 1-3 kilometers. I cannot imagine VFR flying and especially training in this environment.” Nonetheless Jan sees promise, “In any case it is useful to watch the progress of GA in China, because in near future it could become the largest market in the world!” Thanks to Jan Fridrich of LAMA Europe and Czech Light Aircraft Association for this report.

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modified photo from Jeffrey Coolidge/Getty Images

In just-completed October, ByDanJohnson.com repeated a remarkable number: 70,000+ Unique Visitors, defined as a separate computer [IP] address, came to the website in the two fall months of September and October — after the main airshow season concluded. Before I go any further, let me say, “THANK YOU!” For a specialty website focusing on Light-Sport Aircraft plus kit airplanes and other aircraft Sport Pilots can fly to reach such a large group of visitors suggests that interest in this segment is strong. This may be despite the still-sluggish economy or perhaps it is precisely because of it. LSA and the Sport Pilot certificate are the most affordable ways to own a new airplane or to get started in aviation so I see a bright future for the sector. On this website we try to present information you want and it seems we’re succeeding. We’ll keep working hard; you can count on it.

Website traffic has more than doubled this year and in seeking explanations, one likely reason is videos. At the many airshows we attend, we are happy to hear positive comments about this website (suggestions are also appreciated). Over the years, the share of folks referring to videos has grown rapidly. Many of you have said the videos helped you find the right aircraft to buy or identified some aviation gear — instruments, iPad software, headsets, other panel goodies, tools, and more — that you ended up buying … or maybe not buying because you learned how the product would not fit your kind of flying; either way, the website served your needs. While we cannot answer all questions for all buyers, we are pleased to help whenever possible.

My video collaborator Light Sport and Ultralight Flyer recently updated results from Google, owner of the YouTube website. This top ranked Internet destination serves a billion users worldwide every month. An amazing fact: Every single minute of the day, 100 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube. You can find just about anything you want. Another factoid: “According to Nielsen, YouTube reaches more U.S. adults ages 18-34 than any cable network,” said Google. That is a group all of aviation covets. In October 2013 all videos uploaded by Light Sport and Ultralight Flyer approached one million (881,720) minutes of viewing! I don’t know about you but I find that astounding.

About the only downside to all the traffic is that our email inbox is more full than ever and time is insufficient to answer everyone. If you didn’t get a reply, our apologies. We can only spend so many hours each day responding to email. We think it’s more important to create new content — articles, videos, photos, resource lists — so that is where our time is focused. We also must take care of the sponsors that help us provide content, most of it free of charge. With that in mind, we’ll get back on the job finding new material to maintain the stronger-than-ever interest in Light-Sport and Sport Pilot. People wanna fly!

P.S. Thanks to all of you who are kind enough to support ByDanJohnson.com by becoming a Member for $29 per year. As with public TV or radio, our members help a great deal by allowing us to offer most content for free. If you aren’t presently a member, please consider supporting us.

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e-Go performs on a early flight in late October. all photos by David Boughey (davidboughey.com)

Slim lines, cantilevered wings, and a canard contribute to e-Go singular appearance.

Chief test pilot Keith Dennison has begun the flight evaluation.

In the last days of October, another fascinating UK light aircraft took to the air after several years in development. The brainchild of Giotto Castelli and Tony Bishop takes advantage of SSDR, a British CAA initiative with the longer name of “Single Seat Deregulation,” proving as has the LSA movement that reduced government control allows innovation to blossom. The British program allows aircraft weighing less than 115 kilograms to bypass conventional certification.

A test pilot took the canard design up for its first official flight recently logging about 30 minutes up to 4,000 feet and 80 knots to conduct initial handling trials. After a post-flight inspection, data analysis, and refueling, he took it up again for its second, one hour flight to explore the envelope further, including stability, control and canard stalls. Then on October 30th, with notoriously difficult UK weather still cooperating, former BAE Systems chief test pilot Keith Dennison demonstrated e-Go to an invited audience of customers, investors, volunteers, suppliers, friends and family at Tibenham airfield in Norfolk, England.

A few specifications for e-Go: • Empty weight 253 pounds (115 kg); • span about 26 feet; • cruise speed 100 knots/115 mph; • climb rate 900 fpm; • range 330 nm on 6.6 gallons of fuel capacity; • glide angle 16:1; • takeoff and landing roll about 500 feet. A single seater, e-Go is powered by a Rotron wankel 30-horsepower engine that is prized for its light weight. Although e-Go meets the empty weight for U.S. Part 103, it’s too fast for that category. The company stated, “We plan to start in [America] with an experimental version, followed by LSA kits and complete aircraft.” They also hope to meet the German 120 kilogram class when that regulation is ready.

Company executive chairman Malcolm Bird — who flies a SportCruiser LSA and has built a Rotorway helicopter — commented: “The aircraft embodies many novel features and benefits from the aviation authority in the UK relaxing its regulation on very light aircraft. This has allowed e-Go aeroplanes to develop a completely new aircraft in a short time and with the minimum of red tape. It is good to be involved in the revival of a British aviation industry.” The company reported that interest in the product is high and they have received first deposits for aircraft which will be delivered in 2015.

Design originator Giotto Castelli, who has worked at Pilatus among other companies, described his vision for the aircraft, “I believe the canard design (small front wing) can offer great maneuverability and efficient aerodynamics. The e-Go adds to that an impressive field of view and a very compact airframe with simple lines which the air likes as much as the eye does. This also allows the weight to be kept to an absolute minimum. It is amazing to have had so many individuals and companies supporting this seemingly infectious project.” More details, specs, photos, and video are available on the e-Go website.

Catch a video of e-Go in demonstration flying …

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DoubleEnder offers flights in remote places. all photos courtesy of developers

Water skimming between glaciers; don’t do this in most Light-Sport Aircraft.

For most airplanes, this rock-strewn glacier fragment would not offer a comfortable landing.

Seen in flight, DoubleEnder reveals several unique qualities: front and rear turbocharged Rotax 914s, large flaps and aileron-accenting spoilers.

Hopefully DoubleEnder mechanics have no fear of heights.

Recently I became of aware of one of those “Oh, wow!” airplanes, one that can generate much the same response as Just Aircraft‘s attention-riveting SuperSTOL. At first glance, DoubleEnder intrigued me. At opposite corners of the USA, we now have twin Rotax engine sport planes: the long proven AirCam in southern Florida, and a newer sensation, Double Ender in Alaska. Some readers may believe neither fits this website’s focus on LSA, light kits, and aircraft Sport Pilots can fly; like AirCam, Double Ender weighs too much (2,500 pounds gross) and has too many engines (dual Rotax 914 turbos each modified to 130 hp) to be an LSA. However, both are sport planes powered by Rotax engines. Plus, look at the accompanying photos. They inspire by showing flight qualities similar though not identical to AirCam. So, here’s a preliminary story of this unusual aircraft.

“The DoubleEnder concept came to existence after a decade of bush flying in Africa and Alaska. It was born and bred to be the ultimate platform for flying in a wild and remote environment, one where safety, performance, and visibility are all extremely crucial.” Developers started the design in 2007 stating “safety was the single most important factor when creating the aircraft, and the rest was built around it.” Their design assured wide open visibility; instruments were “reduced to the bare necessity;” performance was maximized, geared to maneuverability; and slow flight. “With 260 horsepower available to the pilot, the power to weight ratio exceeds what is normally found in this category of airplane, giving it extreme performance in regular conditions, while retaining enough power to keep you going in the event of an engine failure.”

The prototype first flew in 2010. After initial test flights and hours accumulated at the development base, DoubleEnder headed to Alaska. The developers felt it was essential to test the aircraft in the environment for which it was designed. “[Alaska] is not a forgiving environment … any failure confronts you with the reality of the glaciers and forests.”
The designers believe that for flying in Alaska, “reliability is not a luxury, it’s a necessity.” After more than seven years the prototype airplane has reportedly used four wing configurations, three flap designs, two airfoils, three types of roll spoilers, four ailerons designs, three horizontal stabilizers, and two vertical stabilizers. “We needed a platform which enabled us to fly over any terrain, at any altitude with the comfort of knowing that an engine failure would be a non-event.” The developers report DoubleEnder can climb on one engine at several hundred feet per minute at sea level and is able to maintain altitude at 2,300 pounds at 10,000 feet. “[Double Ender] can even takeoff on one engine. In an emergency needing even more performance, and as a last resort, you can simply pull the red lever next to your seat, which will open a trap door in the auxiliary fuel pod, allowing you to dump over 300 pounds of fuel in a matter of seconds.”

Flying the airplane (video) appears a unique experience. “Stall break is gentle and the airplane mushes down. This low speed maneuverability factor is crucial and provides a margin of safety that is not commonly found in fixed wing airplanes,” pilots report. “The push-pull design was … mostly to avoid any directional instability during an engine failure. This airplane was designed to fly in tight places, where one can’t afford any kind of deviation during an engine problem.” Despite the design effort, if things still go poorly, developers said, “The roll cage [and] fuselage were designed to absorb the forces of an impact, and protect the pilot and passengers.” Performance is also eye opening. Approaching at around 35 mph, ample forward visibility allows the pilot to see and avoid the obstacles in his or her path, while giant tundra tires accommodate uneven surfaces.

“The design is constantly evolving,” the developers said. “Currently we are designing our next version, a side-by-side iteration of the DoubleEnder, where a passenger can enjoy the same view as the pilot.” I’ve been corresponding with these Alaskan frontier pilots and will update this article as more information becomes available. However, today, their website has some fascinating photos and several remarkable videos, like the one below.

Update 11/1/13 — Key people involved with this attention-getting project that has since appeared in other online publications: Alec Wild … came up with the concept and design; Doug Keller … did all the mechanical engineering; Eric Lewis … built the DoubleEnder prototype; Pete Anderson … joined the team later on and has built several wings to date in collaboration with Eric.

Experience DoubleEnder in Alaska with this video:

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