Having celebrated the inventiveness of ultralight designer Wayne Ison in the last post, it seems quite appropriate to recognize another, Ernie Carlson. Does that ring a bell for you? One hopes.
Ernie was the man behind Carlson Aircraft along with his wife, Mary. This pair introduced Sparrow, a Part 103-capable single-place ultralight plus larger models like Sparrow II and XTC.
I won’t say they’ve been lost to pilots but they’ve been hiding. Now, out of the history books will return the Sparrow, thanks to David Cooper, the man behind Team Mini-Max. Our tenth of ten Vintage Ultralights featured his work and below you can see a video interview with him below talking about the Mini-Max line that he is also keeping alive and well.
Carlson Sparrow And Friends
“With the help of a couple partners we bought the Carlson Sparrow company. It will still carry the four designs they created and will be located next door to Team Mini-Max LLC in Niles, Michigan,” advised David.
“In the next couple weeks, we will get our website up and running,” he forecast, but until then David invites a call or text to 574-214-3660 or theecoop@comcast.net.
I asked about plans on the table at this early stage.
“Plan One,” David said, “is to carry on the legacy of Ernie Carlson’s designs. Production will be in kit form.”
“All welded parts will be done at the factory,” he assured. “Other fast-build kits with factory-built ribs will be part of the offering.”
In addition, for Carlson airplanes already built and flying, David and partners’ new operation will offer replacement parts. I’m sure that will be most welcome by those flying Carlson aircraft.
“We hope to keep costs low to make the price of kits affordable,” David added …music to the ears of this website that maintains a focus on affordable aviation.
To further support and build on the Carlson line, David will seek both American and overseas sales.
When Will Sparrow Debut (Again)?
“We plan to have a first kit available before Oshkosh this year,” stated David.
As I have understood, EAA is planning a go/no-go decision for Oshkosh fairly soon. Given the huge amount of effort to put on a show like AirVenture and including the gargantuan task of building the army of volunteers it takes to put on the event, a decision simply has to be made in the next couple weeks or so.
I don’t know about you, but I have all my fingers crossed for a “Go!” decision. Hope springs eternal!
Learn more about Sparrow in my pilot report from the late 1990s.
Are the Carlson Sparrow kit available as of Dec 29,20201? Your art oi LW was 2020. [I’m guessing you meant: “Your article was 2020.” —DJ] Carlson site makes no mention of kits just spars, ribs and wind extrusions.
I’d be interested in building a kit.
Thanks
As mentioned in the article you should contact Team Mini-Max about that as they bought the rights from Mary Carlson. The article also gave a phone number and email address you can use.
We want to know what’s the standard you refer to about wing structure.
I encourage you to direct your question to the new company. Links were provided in the article.
Hi Dan,
I am the re-established webmaster for Carlson Aircraft. Inc. The original URL expired in my absence and was “acquired” by a false CarlsonAircraft taking advantage of the old URL. (Unless this is you?)
Mary Carlson is excited about your acquisition and plans for the Carlson Sparrow. I want to provide a link from her new URL for this article. As you must know she intends to continue providing aluminum extruded wing and strut components. Please provide a proper link, or just use the full URL above
Carlson Aircraft Inc. – Extrusions now at https://carlsonaircraft-extrusions.com
Daniel Kautz and I exchanged email about Mary Carlson’s ongoing enterprise. We clarified some errors — about who acquired the rights and that a “fake: CarlsonAircraft URL has nothing to do with David Cooper and partners’ acquisition plans — but some may still wish to read Daniel’s comment so I will post it.
Great interviews, you do a perfect job Dan.
Looking for a 103.
Do you really think Oshkosh will go on as scheduled?
Hi Don: If you back-calendar from when EAA must order tents and so much more — and when you consider when all the volunteers need to start travelings — I think you get to a date that is pretty soon now.
This is rather frightening stuff for show producers (EAA, Sun ‘n Fun, Aero, etc.), especially when the event represents a substantial share of their annual budget (a lot for Sun ‘n Fun and Aero; somewhat less so for EAA).
I hope for the best for all these vital events but I’m concerned.