Canadian-Designed Czech-Built Skylark

The T-tail was reportedly used to prevent
the Skylark from being affected by
power changes in the way a standard
tail configuration is. Designer Marsden
said, “This configuration puts the horizontal
stabilizer in the optimum position
for clean airflow.

In the minus or
reflex position, the flaps move upward
from neutral to flatten the top of the
wing and add curvature to the lower
wing surface. This sailplane-style design
feature adds a few knots of speed to the
airplane.

The Skylark’s four-position flaps deploy
from minus 10 degrees to plus 10, 20,
and 40 degrees.

The canopy slides forward on a robust rail, and operated smoothly on the aircraft
flown for this report. More canopy latches, including a locking latch, will be added
to future Skylarks.

The 43 inch-wide cockpit is available with conventional gauges, glass avionics, or a
combination.

The baggage area will hold up to 45 pounds, depending on the useful
load remaining after adding pilot, passenger, and fuel.

A T-tail and winglets set the Dova Skylark apart from most S-LSA; it’s the only
ready-to-fly LSA sporting both such features. The swept winglets are intended to
convert wingtip vortices into lift, a concept proven on faster aircraft.

A Doubly International LSA

SportsPlanes.com imports several
light-sport aircraft (LSA)
that have found ready buyers.
After researching through
several designs, SportsPlanes’ owner
Josh Foss originally settled on the
Comco Ikarus C42 and Breezer and
the U.S.-built American Flyer for its
fleet. Most recently, the company
added the Czech-built Dova Skylark
to its offerings.

However, the real story of this company
is not Josh Foss’ care in the selection
of what airplanes to sell. What
may be more important to the marketplace
is the network his company
has built to bring service and support
to SportsPlanes.com’s customers.
Currently, 15 SportsPlanes centers are
operating, with the goal to establish
25 centers nationwide.

Investigating the Skylark

My opportunity to fly the Skylark
came while attending the U.S. Sport
Aviation Expo in Sebring, Florida, in
January. I flew with Darrell Hamilton,
the SportsPlanes representative
for Florida.

Darrell retired from Northwest
Airlines four years ago. He most recently
crewed the fly-by-wire Airbus
A320, which needs only small control
movements. But he also piloted
the Boeing 747 and, before that, the
McDonnell-Douglas DC-9. The latter,
he said, took lots of control pressure
and control column movement. He
had to unlearn that experience when
he started flying the more responsive
Dova Skylark. My regular evaluation
routine put us through some paces
Darrell had never explored in his
Skylark, but SportsPlanes.com company
pilots Dale Faux and Eric Dellenbach,
who is also SportsPlanes.
com’s national sales director, have
wrung the plane out extensively.

Although the Skylark is a Czechbuilt
LSA, it was designed by David
Marsden, a professor of aeronautical
engineering at the University of Alberta
in Edmonton, Canada. Marsden
was able to use the university’s wind
tunnel, a capability not available to
many LSA designers. After completing
the design work, Marsden enlisted
Dova to be the manufacturer. Later,
in 2005, he sold the design rights
to the Eastern European company.
However, Marsden remains involved
to help with some of the problem
solving that’s inevitable with initial
production of a new design.

The Skylark is an all-metal airplane,
primarily using 2024-T6 aluminum
as its construction material. Marsden
describes the airfoil as a semi-natural
laminar flow design. That may
not mean much to some pilots, but
the goal was to keep the air attached
to the wing through as much chord
length as possible.

The Skylark’s swept winglets are
intended to convert wingtip vortices
into lift, a concept proven on faster
aircraft. Even if the gain is modest
on the Skylark, it certainly lends a
modern look to the LSA, while setting
the design apart from the others.
Since perception is paramount,
this design feature simply may be
good marketing.

A T-tail is also rather rare among
LSA, and it was reportedly conceived
to prevent the Skylark from being affected
by power changes in the way a
more common cruciform tail may be.
I can’t judge that idea, but I did note
that the T-tail is high enough to stay
effective even when doing a full-stall
landing. Some T-tailed aircraft experience
flow disturbance when in a
nose-high attitude, but I found none
of this in Skylark.

Front Cabin

The Skylark has a well-braced step aft
of the wing to facilitate clambering up
onto the low wing. To further assist entry,
a sturdy rail runs laterally aft of the
seats, and I also found the aft canopy
support to be quite solid. The canopy
itself shouldn’t be used for support as it
will move toward you if you pull on it,
traversing readily in its tracks.

The canopy in Darrell’s Skylark
latched only at the upper rear. A new
canopy configuration is planned with
latches on each side and a locking
latch on the top aft to give owners a
keyed entry. The present canopy arrangement
with a latch only at the rear
is not only less secure feeling but also
provides a clothing catch point during
entry/exit, according to Darrell. Helping
secure the canopy is a robust track
on each side.

I noted the canopy produces a whistling
noise at cruising speeds. At climb
attitude the sound resembles a troubling
engine noise, but Darrell assured
me it was the canopy and not the engine.
But that would certainly unnerve
a new pilot attuned to every unusual
sound. Perhaps the new canopy setup
will silence this noise; if not, in time
owners will adapt.

The Skylark’s 43-inch-wide cabin
mimics the interior of a Cessna 172,
but it is a few inches narrower than
some LSA available. I found Skylark’s
interior adequately roomy for two average-
sized persons. Two or 3 inches separated
Darrell and me, and I was barely
touching the outside of the cabin.

Foot room is spacious whereas some
designs are cramped. A few LSA leave
no alternative but to put your feet on
the rudder pedals or awkwardly aft
of them on the floor in front of your
seat. The Skylark’s center console takes
little away from the floor space. Generally,
the cabin interior is covered with
a pleasing cloth finish (not carpeting)
that dampens noise somewhat.

The Skylark’s seats have a lot of forward
support on the bottom cushion,
providing a surface all the way to your
knees. For many pilots this assures a
comfortable seating position for longer
flights. The spar runs under your
knees rather than under your bottom,
which itself may translate to greater
safety in the event of a hard landing.

Darrell indicated the Skylark seat
structure will go through some redesign,
too. Currently the seat pans are
thin, and I can imagine some big fellows
leaning on them too hard during
entry. Also, Eric is suggesting seat
and interior design changes that will
add more padding. Though the seats
in Darrell’s Skylark had thin padding,
I survived with no sore spots, thanks
to the shape of the seats and the extended
seat cushion.

From the right seat, both trim control
and throttle take a long reach,
though they are convenient to the normal
pilot-in-command left seat. In either
seat, the joystick position is excellent.
I could rest my right hand on my
knee and operate the stick with small
motions. I observed Darrell using his
right knee (in the left seat) to support
his throttle hand. Without an armrest,
the vernier throttle proved a bit more
challenging to adjust smoothly.

As is common on many Rotax installations,
there’s no carb heat knob
on the panel, but a choke control and
a pull-for-heat/push-for-air knob flank
the throttle.

Darrell’s Skylark was equipped with
a TruTrak attitude indicator, altimeter,
vertical speed indicator (VSI), airspeed
indictor (ASI), and compass. Complementing
those gauges, I had access to
a comm radio, transponder, and a GPS
in the popular AirGizmo dock. Engine
instruments were conventionally
placed on the right, including tachometer,
single cylinder head temperature,
oil pressure, oil temp, and dual fuel
gauges. To the right of all these was a
Hobbs hour meter and the emergency
locator transmitter (ELT) controls. A
12-volt connector is available for other
accessories|within the Rotax 912S’s
ability to offer electrical power.

The Skylark has a spacious baggage
area, but it is limited to 45 pounds.
That capacity may be sufficient for
most flights, but it would be easy to
overload the area. Another change
coming to Skylark is to move the seats
about an inch, which will offset the
possibility that occupants will overfill the baggage area resulting in an aft CG
load. However, if you wanted to carry
something large but light-sleeping
bags come to mind-the space can accommodate
such gear.

The Skylark has an excellent useful
load unless you load up on weighty
equipment. With base price equipment,
the Skylark weighs only 653
pounds. Given a relatively modest
45 pounds of baggage, weight and
balance calculations appear to allow
two 239-pound occupants, though
folks that size might be snug in the
43-inch-wide cockpit. Most pilots will
likely fly at somewhat less than full
gross weight.

Getting Reflexed

With its flap arrangement, Skylark
joins a limited number of LSA that
offer a reflex position. The four-position
flap lever deploys from minus 10
degrees to plus 10, 20, and 40 degrees.
When you select the reflex or “minus”
position, the flaps move upward
from neutral to flatten the top of the
wing and add curvature (though not
undercamber) to the lower side. This
sailplane-style design feature adds a
few knots of speed to the airplane.
In theory at least, it should reduce
in-flight bumps by making the wing
more symmetrical.

In a departure from many LSA that
have fuel selector levers that are off or
on, Skylark’s fuel selector sets for left,
right, and closed, but not both. While
I appreciate that this allows you to
burn one wing tank to help level the
plane, I’d prefer that a both position
be available.

Darrell’s Skylark was fitted with a
Garmin 396 and the standard six-pack
of flight instruments. SportsPlanes.
com will have other panel configurations
prepared later this spring so you
can choose a variety of steam gauges
or glass avionics.

Though it worked fine, I found the
trim control rather counterintuitive. It
is clearly labeled, but you must push
the rocker switch toward the up position
to lower the nose and toward the
down position to raise it.

The brakes in Darrell’s Skylark were
a bit weak. They have been a focus
of some maintenance work, which
explains why brake pedals were only
installed on the left side of our test
Skylark. Matco brakes are coming,
and the standard Skylark configuration
specifies toe brakes on both sides. Many LSA use a single hand-operated
brake, which most general aviation
(GA) pilots find a bit strange.

Let’s Go Cruising!

Takeoff behind the 100-hp Rotax 912S
proved rapid as is common on LSA
flying with this engine. For landings,
Darrell suggested setting power at
3000 rpm on long downwind with a
pattern speed of 80-90 knots, which
he considered a bit on the slow side.
As he turned base and final, he held
his speed at 70 knots.

Darrell advised 20 degrees of flaps
for standard operations, and my first
landings went well at this setting. I also
tried the full 40-degree setting as full
flaps on some long-gliding LSA have
presented challenges to GA pilots. In
the Skylark, 40 degrees proved manageable,
but of course, the briefer flare
window required a bit more precision.
I also experimented with forward and
sideslips on some higher approaches
and found these methods work well to
control flight path.

I found the Skylark’s stick to be
quite light in both roll and pitch-
light enough that bumpy air will require
some concentration. Darrell flew
with two GA who also reported thinking
the stick forces were on the light
side. This is a common feeling about
LSA in my experience, but once you
become accustomed to a light control
feel, you tend to prefer it. But a light
touch is something to be learned.

The day Darrell and I flew, a smog
layer hung at about 3,000 feet. Below
that in distinctly bumpier conditions
the Skylark took more effort to fly.
In the smooth air above, the plane
flew effortlessly. This suggests excellent
cross-country flying, at least in
smoother air.

Even in the lumpy air below 3,000
feet, the Skylark executed steep turns
beautifully, showing sustained banks
at sharp angles without adding any
extra power. I found it easy to maintain
the turn. By contrast, many older
GA planes require at least a 100-rpm
boost from cruise to hold a 45-degree
bank through two complete highbank
circles.

In full-power, top-speed runs upand
downwind, the tachometer reported
approximately 5200 rpm. This
max setting produced 100 knots into the wind and slightly more than 120
knots with the wind, averaging a shade
greater than 110 knots (or close to 130
mph) at maximum continuous power.
This check was done at about 4,000
feet MSL on a day slightly cooler than
standard 59 degrees Fahrenheit. The
GPS read 123 knots on the fastest leg,
and in both directions the ASI showed
a needle width over 110 knots.

Many GA pilots are accustomed
to figures like 75-percent power setting.
At that throttle position, they
may save some engine wear and tear
and gain better fuel economy, but
in Rotax 912-powered aircraft, it is
reasonable to fly at full power continuously.
In fact, if you burn 100LL
avgas, full power is better, say many
experts. When using unleaded autogas
that Rotax engines actually prefer
(92 octane in the 100-hp 912S or 87
octane in the 80-hp 912), you can use
a lower power setting as the engine
doesn’t have to burn off the lead. Eric
routinely flies the Skylark with the
throttle fully opened.

The standard 24 gallons of fuel onboard
should fly the Skylark beyond
500 miles, even holding some fuel in reserve.
Fuel consumption rates are similar
to other Rotax 912S-powered LSA.

It appears designer David Marsden
did his homework when assuring
the Skylark was stable to fly. To
verify this, I made my standard series
of stability profile evaluations.
Slow flight proved very satisfying
with flight just above stall requiring
only 3600 rpm (less than 50 percent
power) with a full 40 degrees of flaps.
The GPS showed 47 knots in a level
flight, this number being perhaps 2 to
3 knots above stall. I sat in the right
seat (an old flight instructor preference),
and correcting for visual parallax,
I estimate the ASI was showing
a shade under 40 knots. But at these
speeds I’ve found ASIs to have some
error. In slow flight, the Skylark still
showed plenty of control authority
at 50 knots. As we neared stall (indicating
about 45 knots), control forces
got rather soft, as you’d expect.

In all stalls-power on, power off,
and accelerated in each direction-
the left wing tended to drop. This was
significant enough that in power-on
stalls at 4000 rpm (about 50 percent
power), I nearly exhausted the right
stick range to offset the wing drop. In
the interim this might be remedied
by adjusting the fixed aileron tab on
the right aileron. That tab is currently
angled up, and it struck me perhaps
that was too much angle and was
overworking to lift the right wing. But
Marsden and the Czech factory engineers
are preparing a larger aileron at
this writing, according to Josh.

In my evaluation of longitudinal
stability, I seek a trim position where
the airplane holds altitude without pilot
input. Then, in separate checks, I
disturb the stick fore and aft by pushing
or pulling gently and letting go of
the stick. I found the Skylark positive
in that the amplitude of up and down
pitch motions did not grow, but neither
did it slow to a stop when I let it
go back and forth a few times. Perhaps
that means it has the ideal amount of
pitch stability, though most certificated
aircraft will eventually come to
level flight again.

In another longitudinal stability
test, I again assure a trim condition
and then add or subtract power to see
how the airplane responds without
input. When I added power, Skylark’s
nose actually dipped down somewhat;
when removing power, the nose
raised. These are slightly counterproductive,
but in both cases the result
was very modest. For comparison,
seaplanes with an engine mounted
high will often exhibit an exaggerated
response to power input.

Some earlier Skylarks had a vibration
at the joystick when flying at
higher speeds. A service bulletin (the
ASTM consensus standards equivalent
of an airworthiness directive) was
issued to address a gap seal that fixes
those Skylarks showing this tendency
(not all did), and aircraft in production
now already have a different gap
seat arrangement.

A Skylark and You?

Like many imported LSA, the Skylark’s
price has risen as the dollar sank
compared to the euro. Currently, but
subject to change, a 100-hp Skylark
has a rather well-equipped base price
of $114,900 before delivery charges.
SportsPlanes.com has a variety of aircraft
to provide lower costs if your budget
requires. For example, the Comco-
Ikarus C42 starts at $75,900 and the
100-hp made-in-the-USA American
Flyer lists at $69,900, though it doesn’t
yet have special LSA (S-LSA) approval.

For the Skylark’s base price you get
a basic panel plus the 100-hp Rotax
912S (often an additional charge of
$3,500 on some LSA), plus strobe and
landing lights and more. Owners who
want to add radios, nav gear, and options
like autopilots add to that price.
At this range, the Skylark is in the upper
range of LSA, though it has plenty
of company.

To help buyers personalize their
Skylark, SportsPlanes.com’s series of
sample panels will soon give customers
an idea of the appearance of a full glass
panel or whatever other options they
may desire. The advantage to buying
from SportsPlanes.com is that you may
find a representative in your geographical
region. Each representative offers
different services, but you have more
resources than smaller organizations.
To find a SportsPlanes.com center near
you, visit www.SportsPlanes.com.

After you compare Skylark’s sharp
design-many pilots love the modern
winglet look-with other LSA
and add up the relative values, you
may join other American pilots who
selected this machine from the evergrowing
LSA fleet.