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.
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Vickers Releases Another Sneak Peak at their Wave
Following our initial unveil of a new amphibian called “Wave” by Vickers Aircraft Company, more details were offered in their programmed slow-motion rollout of a new amphibian LSA candidate. In this update we hear about who will supply the prop and see some of the hardware components. I was informed that response was brisk after the last article suggesting the tempting way facts are released developed a sense of intrigue. One thing not said earlier is that principal Paul Vickers spent years in marine hull design and fabrication, addressing that aspect of engineering competency. As to the aerodynamic side, Paul wrote, “We are confident in achieving our performance figures as we have spent the pat three years producing and studying the hydrodynamics and aerodynamics needed for our particular flight envelope.” Vickers provided performance info to Catto props who developed and delivered a specific propeller to maximize to the airflow produced by Wave’s pusher configuration.
An “Ultralight” on Steroids? Alaska’s DoubleEnder
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.
Skycatcher: To Be or to Be, Not
A story posted by Daniel McCoy, a reporter for the Wichita Business Journal, claims the star-crossed Cessna 162 Skycatcher will likely not enjoy the longevity and success of other notable Cessna icons such as the C-172 and C-150/152. Skycatcher was one of the first SLSA out of the gate for the new category created by FAA in 2004. But troubles with manufacturing and two highly publicized airframe parachute deployments during flight testing, including an airframe redesign after the first one, contributed to the dark cloud that seemed to follow the once-bright promise of Cessna’s entry. The market-perceived lackluster specifications sheet and barebones/industrial interior finish relative to many other LSA entries also contributed to the steady attrition in the once-1000-plus order sheet for the Skycatcher.
The news came yesterday at the NBAA (National Business Aviation Association) confab in Las Vegas. Company CEO Scott Ernest made the remark that Skycatcher had difficulty attracting market share and had lost a sizable percentage of its multi-year back orders.
Skycatcher: To Be or to Be, Not
*** A story posted by Daniel McCoy, a reporter for the Wichita Business Journal, claims the star-crossed Cessna 162 Skycatcher will likely not enjoy the longevity and success of other notable Cessna icons such as the C-172 and C-150/152. *** The Skycatcher was one of the first SLSA out of the gate for the new category created by FAA in 2004. But troubles with manufacturing and two highly publicized airframe parachute deployments during flight testing, including an airframe redesign after the first one, contributed to the dark cloud that seemed to follow the once-bright promise of Cessna’s entry. *** The market-perceived lackluster specifications sheet and barebones/industrial interior finish relative to many other LSA entries also contributed to the steady attrition in the once-1000-plus order sheet for the Skycatcher. *** The news came yesterday at the NBAA (National Business Aviation Association) confab in Las Vegas. Company CEO Scott Ernest made the remark that Skycatcher had difficulty attracting market share and had lost a sizable percentage of its multi-year back orders.
Flying Sam; “A Warbird for the LSA Market”
To some it’s a new entry in the LSA race (Sam LS is presently selling kits while pursuing SLSA acceptance). To others the Canadian LSA is a “mini T-6” or a “mini Yak 52.” Either characterization no doubt pleases designer Thierry Zibi. During development he did a thorough job of asking airshow visitors what appealed to them. Now that Sam is flying, it is fair to say that even with the availability of 132 other Light-Sport Aircraft models, Sam LS is unique. At AOPA’s last-ever Summit event in Fort Worth, Texas, I got a chance to take Sam aloft with Thierry overseeing from the aft seat. Short tell: it may look like a miniature warbird, but flies with very solid and pleasant qualities.
As the sun-drenched photos reveal, Thierry’s airplane glistens with polished aluminum, an uncommon appearance on airport ramps loaded with brightly painted aircraft accented with jaunty striping.
Sleek & Unique: Stefan Klein’s Aeromobil
After watching the Terrafugia Transition (video) fly from on the main airshow runway at AirVenture 2013, many pilots began to view the LSA flying car as more than a media magnet. The project, which has indeed generated an amazing amount of mainstream media attention, proved itself to be a real aircraft that can indeed drive like a car. More recently the Massachusetts company amped up their game with a new model, TF-X, now in early design stage. Meanwhile, the Transition, also evolving as a design, garnered the attention of — and a $2.7 million investment from — DARPA, the U.S. government’s Defense Advanced Research Products Agency. Where some once saw a novelty product only of interest to those intrigued by a “flying car,” more began to view this as a genuine aircraft. However, Terrafugia isn’t the only company pursuing such a unique machine.
One of my favorite quotes comes from Molt Taylor, the prime mover behind Aerocar, perhaps the first “practical” flying car and one that earned certification.
Are You D2?…Tiny Instruments from Dynon & Garmin
An amazing thing happened as we all prepared to go to AOPA last-ever annual show in the sprawling Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Two top suppliers to the LSA sector came out with products bearing almost the same name. However, they’re quite different, fun, and well, yes … surprisingly practical. So, are you D2? Even the Star Wars robot of a similar sounding name might have desired these gizmos, neither of which were remotely possible back in the late 1970s when that movie franchise began.
Dynon’s D2 — The maker of the ubiquitous SkyView glass panels installed in so many higher end LSA has a smaller product that sells well in the GA world, where non-certified equipment cannot be mounted with FAA approval. So, just stick a D1 to the windscreen and you get a mini-Dynon panel for your older, round-gauges aircraft. Now, Dynon has introduced the D2, a second model to what they call their “Pocket Panel product line.” D2 adds WiFi connectivity to allow flight data to be sent to iPad, smartphone, and tablet aviation applications, and has a second screen with a G-Meter (photo).
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!
Survey Results for Reasons to Buy LSA
At the Midwest LSA Expo that concluded a few days back, I delivered a presentation called “20+ Reasons to Buy an LSA.” However, to handle the subject a little bit differently, I turned it into an audience participation exercise. As I presented each slide of one particular reason, I explained what was meant and elaborated on how each reason made LSA different from other sorts of aircraft someone might consider buying. Then, I asked the audience to raise their hand if that reason was one that might cause them to buy a Light-Sport. I advised that no one was recording their names, so they remained anonymous. Each person could raise their hand as many times as they wanted or never raise their hand if they chose. No one had to participate. About 35 people listened and somewhere between 15 and 25 answered most of the time. The following chart shows the responses.
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