Predictions of a great thinning of the herd… of a consolidation of LSA producers to a handful of leaders never came to pass. No wonder, when the new Special LSA acceptances keep piling up.
What I find quite fascinating is that the four newest SLSA were Made-in-American aircraft or seven of the last ten. The Yankees are coming on stronger after the Europeans owned the market for the first few years.
I have new SLSA airplane market share numbers for 2015 thanks to hours of work by my friend and LAMA associate, Jan Fridrich. With Sun ‘n Fun and Aero approaching I have simply been short of time to give such important info the attention it deserves. Yet, as soon as possible…
Meanwhile I am pleased to announce the latest SLSA. Welcome to Glasair’s Merlin LSA that we reported in this video with company president Nigel Mott.
AOPA crack reporter, Al Marsh reported Merlin LSA is priced at $149,950.
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Remos Roars Back with GXiS; Aero 2016 Debut
Article updated March 9, 2016 — Skybound Aviation in Cape Girardeau, Missouri has been appointed the “exclusive resource” for Remos G3 and GX parts in the USA. The company operated by Glenn “Mac” McCallister and Bev Cleair is open for service 6.5 days a week (not Sunday mornings) and is also a dealer for Remos. Contact them at 573-833-0426 or email Mac.
In our 2014 report, you read that a well-known German supplier of Light-Sport Aircraft, Remos, fell from their high perch. The company became known to nearly all Americans when the U.S. importer, closely allied with the German producer, ran a series of full page ads in the USA’s biggest aviation magazines. It brought wide awareness but cost the company dearly. As their timing coincided with the global economic downturn, Remos stumbled badly and was forced to go through reorganization.
As reported, a new investor stepped up during the process and Remos has persevered.
SuperSTOL Gets Superpower with Titan’s 180 Horses
Article updated 2/16/16 — In a freshly-edited video (see at end), Just Aircraft key fellows Gary Schmidt and Troy Townsend provide extra comments and we add additional footage of SuperSTOL climbing strongly with the Titan.
Even before Continental Motors took over the former ECi, that company’s Titan engine has been turning heads. CubCrafters was first to this party, installing the 180-horsepower engine on their Cubalike LSA, demonstrating very short takeoff rolls before climbing steeply. Since then, quite a few other producers have embraced the potent engine and more are coming. This development is sufficiently interesting that I am at work on an article about three “divisions” of powerplants for LSA, light kits, and ultralights.
However, all other users of the Titan are unlike Just Aircraft’s SuperSTOL, which itself has turned many a head at airshow demonstrations. SuperSTOL was able to rivet pilots’ attention when it performed with the 100-horsepower Rotax 912, so imagine the neck-snapping twists that will occur when people get a chance to see how this moveable-slats airplane on tall, telescoping gear performs with 180 horses doing the pulling.
Newest Special LSA Is … Rans’ S-20 Raven
The world of Light-Sport Aircraft has matured in the sense that we no longer have an airplane or two or three every month being added to the SLSA List. That may sound like a “industry slowdown” to some folks but I don’t believe that’s an accurate assessment.
A more realistic view is that the feverish rush days of 2004-2006 are over. That means not as many new SLSA are being offered though the truth is many of those 137 aircraft never found a substantial market.
Indeed, our market share list of SLSA airplanes shows the top 20 brands represent better than 85% of all sales. Regretfully, our ranking shows only airplanes as we are unable to pull good data from FAA’s database for motorgliders, weight shift trikes, powered parachutes, and other “alternative” aircraft.
All that said, I am pleased to announce one of our most solid companies — Rans — continues to introduce new airplanes like their S-20 Raven and to qualify them to be accepted by FAA as a fully-manufactured Special Light-Sport Aircraft.
Weather Threat Derails Sebring for One Day
SEBRING EXPO 2016 — Opening day Wednesday started out unseasonably cool … but true to form — Florida is called the Sunshine State for good reason — the sun warmed the day nicely. Several vendors told me they thought it was the best opening day yet for the Sebring Expo.
Thursday was even more pleasant. A few of us showed sunburned faces by the end of the day, but in all, it was a second good day of the event in its 12th year (not coincidentally the same number of years for which we’ve had Sport Pilot / Light-Sport Aircraft). Several vendors reported many qualified customers and many attendees to whom I spoke seemed pleased with the depth of exhibitors and products to examine. Shows like Sebring and the Midwest LSA Expo offer more opportunity for demo flights and longer conversations with vendors who are often besieged with dense crowds at AirVenture or Sun ‘n Fun.
Sam Aircraft Snapped Up by Zenith / Zenair
Zenith and Zenair are closely-linked enterprises with different leaders in different countries. In recent years, the three Heintz brothers took different responsibilities for the business founded by dad, Chris Heintz. An aeronautical engineer, Chris founded Zenair Ltd., in Canada in 1974 and parleyed his design pedigree into a flock of airplanes that have sold by the thousand all over the world. Today, Matt, Sebastien, and Michael run the multifaceted firm.
Through 2015, the combined effort of Zenith and Zenair sought to produce light plane models called 750 STOL, 750 Cruzer, and 650B Zodiac plus four seat kits called CH 801/8000, a sport-utility plane, and the four-seat CH 640 plus a type-certified four seater called CH 2000.
That fleet recently got a bit larger when Zenith / Zenair bought the assets from the Canadian developer of Sam LS.
“Sam Aircraft assets have been acquired by the … owners and operators of Zenith Aircraft Company (U.S.) and Zenair Ltd.
Redefining Open Cockpit Flying … Sky Skiing?
For my weekend posts, I often like to check out something out of the ordinary. From the photos you see nearby, you can see I found a qualifying topic. However crazy as this activity — involving the name “WingBoard” — may look, it appears grounded in reality.
If you think of wingsuit sky diving as just “edgy,” then Aaron “Wyp” Wypyszynski‘s Wingboard could seem relatively tame.
Watching all his videos, I’d say Wingboarding was more akin to sky skiing, as in water skiing behind a boat, except a wider use of three dimensions than you get on water.
Start with the following video which gives a decent explanation of the project from the developer’s point of view.
Aaron “Wyp” Wypyszynski began flying full-scale aircraft at age 13, soloed at 16, and remains an active pilot (photo below). He was inspired by a cartoon, saying “Kit Cloudkicker [was seen by] millennials who grew up watching “TaleSpin,” and dreaming of carving through the sky like Kit on his airfoil.” Funny how something we experience as a very young person can stick with us our whole lives, eh?
Levil Is a Story of Determination and Good Timing
If you ever read newspapers or watch network news, you can hardly avoid hearing about the meltdown in Venezuela following the early 2013 death of Hugo Chavez. That Cuba-emulating country was taken over by Nicolás Maduro and things deteriorated quickly. I start the story of Levil this way as I recently visited their Oviedo, Florida facility and I had to wait until proprietor Ruben Leon returned from travel. When I arrived at Levil headquarters I found he had returned to his former home, Venezuela, to vote in the elections. The elections won by the opposition served notice on the Maduro administration that his countrymen are fed up and want change.
How this all relates to the business of Light-Sport Aircraft products is a tale of one man’s resolve and determination. I found it fascinating and hope you will, too.
After completing his education, Ruben sought work in a country where finding a good job can be a challenge.
DC Was Green Long Before It Was Trendy
Question: What do space suits and headsets have in common? I bet that few of you can answer that question but the answer is “David Clark.” Yep, this 80-year-old company, which began business in 1935, started not with the ubiquitous green ear cup headsets but with flight suits worn by pilots of some very cutting-edge aircraft and spacecraft.
David Clark Company made full-pressure suits developed for test pilots who flew the X-15 to record speeds and altitudes of Mach 6.70 and 354,200 feet. The East coast company also made Gemini space program suits including the G-4C space suit for Ed White’s first U.S. space walk
Full-pressure suits worn by pilots of various high-altitude aircraft such as the F-4, F-15, U-2, and SR-71 Blackbird and space shuttle crew escape suits were all produced David Clark.
After all that, headsets may seem a bit mundane, although not for those who care about good cockpit communications and protecting their hearing.
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?
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