At Aero Friedrichshafen 2023, visitors saw numerous aircraft that could qualify as Mosaic Light-Sport Aircraft or mLSA. In nearly every aisle of the several large halls of Aero, visitors and journalists could see entry after entry apparently made-for-Mosaic. Indeed, so many entries potentially qualify for this coming new segment that I ran out of time to examine all of them.
We are headed into an interesting period of aircraft development and the subject of this article is a perfect example. Welcome to TL Ultralight’s enhanced Sparker.
The model was introduced to the European 600 kilogram (1,320 pound) standard but over the last year it has gone through an extensive evaluation and upgrade to carry a 750 kilogram load (1,653 pounds). It was also revised to accommodate Rotax’s 915iS and 916iS engines.
With greater capacity and with 160 horsepower available, I’d call this a mLSA or Mosaic-ready Light-Sport Aircraft.
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Super-Efficient Electric Flight — Ego Trike with ATOS Wing Shows How E-Propulsion Works Today!
From dawn to dusk, we hear how electric propulsion is going to save the Earth. Whatever your belief about the hazards of fossil fuel, electric propulsion is coming. When is another matter.
Air taxi ventures based on multicopter designs are drinking up funds by the tens or hundreds millions of dollars, probably billions by now. I don’t have a shred of doubt that these will lead to genuine changes in transportation… but I would not hold my breath until such services become common. I suspect it will be many years yet.
However, today, electric propulsion for ultralight aircraft works quite well, especially when it serves a purpose. For soaring pilots, power is about getting to altitude where they can explore ridge, thermal, or wave lift. Those who love such flying, like me, seek out the best machine that might deliver that capability. Ultralight Design’s Ego trike can.
High-Tech Composite
Anyone who knows hang glider wings will admire both the construction and substantially higher performance of what’s called a rigid wing — more common hang gliders are called flex wings.
After Spring Airshows, Mosaic Questions Emerge — Here’s What We Know Before FAA’s NPRM Is Released
LAMA, the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association, hosted a gathering of European manufacturers during last month’s Aero Friedrichshafen show. Van’s Aircraft President and Chief Engineer Rian Johnson accepted LAMA’s invitation and presented an update on Mosaic. As the leader of the ASTM committee working on LSA standards, he covered expected changes to help manufacturers prepare.
How can builders design for a regulation they haven’t seen? Thanks to the use of industry consensus standards, the lighter aircraft industry is more aware than you might expect.
Understandably, manufacturer interest is keen; it’s their business. At the same time, individual pilots increasingly raise similar questions.
Top-Four Questions
I’ll address some common inquiries before getting into specifics of the LAMA meeting. The following reflects questions I’ve often heard, along with my responses. As you read these, remember, I am merely one reporter describing discussions I’ve heard. Disclaimer: Information in this article is not official and may not reflect what FAA is planning.
CubCrafters Votes for Rotax — New Carbon Cub UL Model Is First-Ever 916iS Installation
CubCrafters has never made an aircraft powered by Rotax. Images accompanying this article portray their very first example using the 9-series engine in a model intended for production. Most of their factory pilots or dealers have never flown behind a Rotax.
Yet Carbon Cub UL is also the first aircraft in the world to be fitted with the Austrian engine maker’s newest 916iS powerplant. Why did the Washington state company do this?
One main reason given by Brad Damm, the company’s vice president of sales and marketing, is because customers asked for it. However, Brad has several other good reasons, which he shared in the video below.
916iS Launch Customer
At Sun ‘n Fun 2023, CubCrafters introduced a new variant of its Carbon Cub aircraft line. Being developed with a special eye for international markets, the west coast company named it “Carbon Cub UL.”
“We invested in several new technologies to make the Carbon Cub UL even lighter and better performing than its predecessor, the Carbon Cub SS,” stated CubCrafters.
Sun ‘n Fun 2023, Day 3 — Four-Stroke Power for Part 103 Ultralights, Available Now
If I hear one thing over and over it is this: “I want a four-stroke engine for my Part 103 ultralight. Are any available?”
For years the answer was, “Well, brand XYZ offered one but they disappeared from the market some years ago. One such winner I flew was the Bailey four-stroke out of England. However, a visit to their website recently was not very productive. Regretfully, other four-stroke powerplants are rare (although for slightly larger airplanes, Chip Erwin’s V-Twin will soon add to the choices).
Are you out of luck trying to obtain a Part 103 four-stroke? NOPE!
Aero 1000 Engine
Fine Swiss Engineeering
Air-Tech, Inc., is one of my favorite companies. While I love the people behind this Louisiana company, it isn’t their deep expertise, long experience, or even an endearing sense of humor that surrounds the Bornes — a father and son team to envy.
George Jetson Flying Machine — Now a Reality and a Qualifying Part 103 Ultralight?
Air taxis — eVTOLs — UAVs — UASs — UAMs. I like “multicopters,” but the name game continues.
Maybe these new-fangled flying contraptions have numerous (indecipherable) names because they’re still deciding which way they’re headed?
I believe aircraft like these are nearly inevitable and I not only don’t resist, I’m rather enthusiastic about them. I’d love to get picked up from my driveway and whisked by air to an appointment across town in minutes, free of clogged roads. C’mon, UberAir!
However, that dream may be years in the future. Oh, the technology is nearly ready now. It hasn’t been proven to be in-the-field robust yet but engineers know today most of what they need to make air taxis viable. Their much bigger challenge? Gaining public acceptance and winning regulatory approval. That could take a long time. Meanwhile…
What’s Here TODAY?!
Air taxis may be fuzzy in the distance but another class of these machines is nearly ready for market.
A Tale of Two CTLSs — AeroJones Reaches a New Benchmark for LSA
Sun ‘n Fun 2023 means spring and helps kick off a season of recreational flying. As the year progresses and Oshkosh arrives, we have our fingers crossed for FAA to issue the Mosaic Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM). At AirVenture 2022, we were promised the draft proposal by August of this year.
The following month FAA’s Sport Pilot / Light-Sport Aircraft regulation will celebrate its 19th birthday. That means LSA will turn 20 years old in 2024 and by the end of the year we should have Mosaic.
It has been a fast and furious twenty years!
In those two decades, LSA have arrived and flown in nearly every country on Earth.
A few years ago, I evaluated total worldwide market size — see this article or this chart — for LSA or LSA-like aircraft and found more than 66,000 aircraft worldwide. Eight years later, that number may be 80,000 aircraft although I made no attempt to repeat that time-consuming global survey*.
“Ultra Petrel?” How Do You Make Super Petrel Even Better? Add Power And Call It “XP”
I have followed Super Petrel since before it went to Brazil* more than 20 years ago. I mention this to make two points.
Super Petrel has a long history; some 400 are flying around the world. In addition, the current producer, Scoda Aeronautica, has continually made changes to the design. The video below identifies some of this history.
What’s new for 2023 is the Super Petrel XP and it’s boost to big Rotax power, the 915iS fuel injected, turbocharged, intercooled engine that seems to be steadily supplanting all prior models.
Smoother & More Powerful
Super Petrel XP
“Eight years ago, Rodrigo Scoda and his team of engineers at Scoda Aeronautica began a secret project to redesign the aircraft from the wheels up,” started the update explanation by Roger Helton president of Super Petrel USA. “About one year into the project, they and other OEM aircraft manufactures were invited by Rotax to attend a meeting and were informed of the new 915iS engine.”
The timing was perfect as Rodrigo has always said, “You begin with the engine and build the aircraft around it.”
Besides the more potent engine, Scoda engineers have been busy.
It’s Winter, So Let’s Talk Seaplanes — Aero Adventure’s Affordable Amphibious Aircraft
It’s cold up north. So, time for a winter boat show? What’s that got to do with seaplanes? Why don’t organizers present the Minneapolis Boat Show in spring or summer? Fact: Minnesota owns 30% more boats per capita than any other American state. Wisconsin is in third while South Carolina is second. Florida leads the nation in registered boats but it has a larger population than Minnesota.
Who cares about boats (or seaplanes) in the dead of winter? Well, what better way to endure icy streets and frigid temperatures than to go look at boats and dream of using them come summer — Plan Ahead!
As with airplanes, boats can’t be built overnight, so ordering early ensures that when the lakes finally do open up, fun starts quickly thereafter.
Affordable Aventura
I know the word “affordable” is packed with meaning and that it signifies something different to each individual. Nonetheless, I think it’s correct to state Aero Adventure makes some the most affordable amphibians* on the market.
6 Mosaic High Wing Light-Sport Aircraft — FAA’s Coming Rule Will Create “mLSA” Sector
Darkest before dawn? I hear growing concern about FAA’s new Mosaic regulation and what it will or won’t do. An increasing number of comments I hear are variations of these words — “FAA is never going to get this done, and if they do, it will be a crappy rule.”
Why so glum?
Maybe pilots are frustrated because FAA has delayed the release of Mosaic. This also happened almost 20 years ago with the Sport Pilot / Light-Sport Aircraft regulation. SP/LSA was anticipated for more than three years after the first announcement.
However, Mosaic is coming and this time we know more about it than most regulations. Why? Because FAA must involve ASTM committee members along the way. (More on this? See at end.*)
Earlier FAA rule writers did not reveal their work as broadly. Yet FAA is sufficiently pleased with industry consensus standards, ASTM’s work, that they will use it on the next generation of GA aircraft (think: Cessna, Cirrus, etc.).
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