Less than two weeks from now, the season of recreational flying is officially set in motion with the opening of Sun ‘n Fun … the 40th year of the nation’s first major airshow. It will also be year #2 for the new and much-improved Paradise City, formerly known as the Ultralight or Lightplane Area. Alongside the curvy new paved road that loops through Paradise City will sit the LSA Mall at Show Center powered by Aviators Hot Line and this is a place many will visit throughout the week to peruse LSA, light kit airplanes, and electric aircraft. Getting to the Paradise City will be much easier and faster thanks to a pair of six-seat golf carts that will rove the grounds of Sun ‘n Fun and pick up visitors who want to check out Paradise and all the action at this airshow-within-an-airshow. Demo flights for LSA shoppers will be readily available and can be conducted all day long even during the main airshow aerobatics (except for a 1-2 hour period when military teams demand “sterile airspace”).
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Last News Rush Before Sebring 2014 …
People are starting to arrive in Florida. Today, we had a pleasant lunch conversation with Dynon’s president Robert Hamilton. He observed that Dynon enjoyed their best year ever in 2013 and they continue bringing new avionics innovations at modest prices. Fellow Dynon staffer Kirk Kleinholz was in the state even earlier traveling around offering tech support. Great work, Dynon-ers! As we all enter the last-minute rush to head to the tenth Sebring, a few news items arrived and I’ll run through them so you have some idea of what will be present at the LSA event.
Progressive Aerodyne announced they received FAA acceptance for the Elite version of their Searey Amphibious LSA. Searey Elite is mightily powered with a Rotax 914 turbocharged engine; you can see a short video of it launching in this article. “This stylish aircraft offers many advanced features such as a large sliding canopy that can remain open while flying.
First Wrap-Up of Sebring 2014; Aircraft Debuts
It was cool but abundant sunshine provided good conditions for an excellent event at the tenth Sebring. Morning winds died down and allowed plenty of demo flying opportunities and even for those who didn’t go aloft, the Manufacturer’s Showcase allowed visitors to see numerous aircraft doing low fly-bys. The combination of readily available demo flights that could be conducted with a minimum of hassle thanks to great support from contract tower personnel and the display of most LSA or light kits in recreational aviation offered ample opportunity for buyers to step up … and sales action appeared quite strong, a sure sign of improving conditions after years of sluggishness.
Many exhibitors reported multiple sales, proven by deposits changing hands and orders being written. Ken Scott of Van’s Aircraft — which works closely with Synergy Air, builder of the ready-to-fly RV-12 SLSA — said it was the best show ever for his company.
Aero Adventure: Kit Seaplane Company’s New Factory
The city of Tavares, Florida ought to be feeling good about their effort to become their adopted name: America’s Seaplane City (FA1). The city built a fine facility and seaplanes are using it. Yet the strongest measure of their success may be that the city, located about 45 minutes northwest of Orlando, has attracted not one but two seaplane manufacturers. I’ve written about Progressive Aerodyne and their SeaRey several times. We’ve done video with Aero Adventure since Alex Rolinski took over the operation. Recently, we were hosted by Alex Gutierrez as we paid a visit to their new factory following a laborious move from Rockledge, Florida to Tavares.
In 2013, this a tale of two men named Alex and a familiar brand in the light kit arena. The longtime friends got together in central Florida after Alex R purchased the rights, designs, and inventory of Aero Adventure.
Planes, Cars, & More at Festivals of Speed
Festivals of Speed is not your “everyman” show tour. Aimed at wealthy folks, Joe Sabatini’s FoS extravaganza is quite different than the usual airshow fare. Some very distinctive aircraft drew plenty of attention … if you could tear your eyes away from a large gathering of magnificent supercars or scores of beautiful people. The event was based at the Orlando International Airport, which meant flying a few Light-Sport Aircraft into the Class B jetport and assembling in and around the giant hangar at Galaxy Aviation FBO. Opening night was hob-nobbing with the well-to-do types that can supposedly afford the goods on display. Via silent auction, Festival of Speed also benefits charities such as Arnold Palmer Hospital For Children.
For the first time, Light-Sport Aircraft were invited (and not asked to pay what surely is a steep price of entry). Representing the fleet were Progressive Aerodyne‘s SeaRey and Flight Design‘s CTLSi.
LAMA (Europe) Investigates the China LSA Market
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.
LSA Seaplane Companies Cluster in Central Florida
Icon Aircraft receives a high percentage of the attention paid to LSA seaplanes. They’ve worked hard on marketing and been quite successful; their Facebook page has nearly 300,000 “Likes!” Yet, as I’ve written, this is a growing subset within the LSA industry with several interesting designs already flying plus new ones to come that are really going to widen people’s eyes. However, some of that remains in the future while we have present-day success stories. If you want a seaplane you can afford and you want it soon, you have several choices, for example: Progressive Aerodyne’s SeaRey and the hot little SeaMax, both of which are SLSA approved, plus Edra Aeronautica’s Super Petrel LS, and in the world of light kits, don’t forget another longtime player, Aero Adventure. The latter Florida company recently reported news.
“Here We Come Tavares,” exclaimed a recent newsletter from Aero Adventure!
Simple Aircraft (Like LSA) Need Simple Rules
In this post I’m going to do something potentially risky. I am going to make some statements about the politics of aircraft certification. While rather dull, this subject is nonetheless something pilots and others feel rather strongly about as the safety of aircraft — for persons in or under aircraft — is involved. Doesn’t everyone except a handful of thrill seekers care deeply about safety? I certainly do yet I feel it’s time for some new directions. I fully expect not everyone will agree, but I feel strongly that these statements need to be made. So, here goes …
My term as Membership Secretary of ASTM’s F37 LSA committee will complete later this year; I will be term limited out. That’s perfectly fine … I’ve done my duty for several years. ASTM’s F37 committee is the group that wrote and updates the standards used to gain acceptance for Light-Sport Aircraft. F37 is populated by some exceptional people that are largely unsung heroes for all the hard work they’ve done with little recognition.
Oshkosh 2013 Elements, Part 1: King Paul Mather
Elements are basic components of nature. I intend Oshkosh Elements to be great ideas that are not airframes or engines. I found a few activities or ideas worthy of inclusion in this multipart series. To begin, many folks understand various forms of competitions happen at these big shows. Many aircraft are judged for their building or restoring achievements. Others participate in races or airshow routines. And, of course, all vendors compete for the dollars of visitors. In another informal competition, aircraft vendors try to deliver lots of demonstration flights. I’ve heard tales about this for years. At AirVenture 2013, Progressive Aerodyne‘s Kerry Ritcher, designer and pilot extraordinaire of the SeaRey, told me about flying so many demo flights in 2012 that his team brought him sandwiches to wolf down in the airplane while they loaded another person in the passenger seat. He didn’t even have time to get out for a stretch.
Still Expanding LSA Seaplane Development
“Isn’t it just a niche market?,” asked a reader in a recent email. The query came after he read about a flurry of new seaplanes and the writer wondered if it could be worth all the investment pouring in to these projects. Development progress in this particular sector-within-a-sector (LSA seaplanes) seems to be far outdistancing development in other parts of the aviation world. So, are efforts to develop increasingly sophisticated LSA seaplanes economically justifiable? It’s a worthy question. Another answer: “Well, why not?” An amphibious LSA seaplane can land on water or land, could fly as fast or nearly as fast as a land plane. They can look cleaner with gear that disappears. They already have another 110 pounds to work with (though admittedly much of that is needed simply to achieve an amphib seaplane and even that is not enough for all manufacturers). If you want an LSA, why not one that’s more versatile?
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