Ukraine Design Meets Florida Know-How
Early in the new millennium, I took a trip to Kiev, Ukraine. My mission was to visit two companies producing
aircraft for what was to become the light-sport aircraft segment. I didn’t
know then that the A-22 I flew with designer Yuri Yakovlev would become a
U.S.-assembled special light-sport aircraft (S-LSA).
Before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Americans hardly knew Ukraine,
a large and diverse country with a rich aviation heritage that once employed
lots of skilled aviation workers and engineers building large transport aircraft
and fighters. Ukrainians spent decades toiling for the Soviet state, and
most speak Russian today despite having an indigenous Ukrainian language.
Antonov, an aerospace name Americans have come to know, had a massive
Ukraine operation under the Soviet leadership.
When the communists withdrew, tens of thousands of experienced technicians
and engineers found themselves out of work. A few ended up building
little airplanes to earn a living.
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Jabiru J-170; Trainer or Recreational Flying
The Jabiru airplanes from Shelbyville, Tennessee-based Jabiru USA are funny airplanes. I don’t mean funny like a joke and I don’t mean the name sounds funny, though it may to those unfamiliar with the Australian brand. The Jabiru models are funny because from a distance they look rather small and they don’t seem to get bigger the closer you get to them.
Despite the illusion, the three Jabiru models that have earned their Special Light-Sport Aircraft (SLSA) credentials are actually quite roomy inside, even for larger American pilots. The J250 is better described as cavernous; it has perhaps the largest interior dimension of any SLSA.
The J170 is smaller, but certainly spacious enough for most occupants. A 45-inch-wide cabin is 5.5 inches wider than a Cessna 172 and it has headroom enough for all but the tallest pilots.
Based on the 2-seat Aussie kit, the J170 is aimed at flight schools.
Tecnam’s All-Metal Italian Beauties
Announced in July ’04, the Light-Sport
Aircraft (LSA) category is still relatively new, and has
yet to celebrate its fourth birthday. But many of the airplanes
getting all the attention today were not born in
the last 3 1/2 years. Many have rather long histories,
some in Europe’s microlight category and others in countries
that have applicable standards.
Among the longest in production is the Tecnam family
of airplanes. The central Italian company reports more
than 2,000 of their light planes flying in what may be the
largest fleet in this market segment. Given this company’s
track record, these airplanes have gone through
rounds of improvement. Our subject this month, the
P2002 Sierra, came from the P-96. The numbers relate to
the year of development and show the low-wing Special
Light-Sport Aircraft (SLSA) from Tecnam has a dozen
years of history.
Costruzioni Aeronautiche Tecnam (the company’s complete
name) is 57 years old and traces its roots back to
the 1950 P48B Astore.
New Old Planes — Luscombe & Champ
Luscombes and Champs
with a New Lease on Life
Pilots of the world, meet American know-how building American airframes powered by American powerplants. This month, we offer not one but two such airplanes, the Luscombe Silvaire LSA-8, and the American Champion Aircraft Champ.
These flying machines offer not only homeland availability but homeland pricing as well. Neither is subject to constant price increases from a soaring euro, and when Europe finalizes acceptance of ASTM
standards (see “Europe, EASA, and Light-Sport Aircraft” page 36), these planes may be a compelling purchase for Europeans. An LSA-8 or Champ might seem downright cheap in Europe (approximately 55,000 euros plus shipping). Globalization works in both directions!
Two-thirds of the approximately 1,270 airplanes in today’s current light-sport aircraft (LSA) fleet (as of April
2008) were built overseas, but recent entries by American companies joining the LSA parade could change those numbers. At times of rising LSA import prices and skyrocketing
fuel costs, these are two affordable aircraft Americans ought to consider.
RANS S-19; Ready for the World
The Second SLSA from RANS
RANS Inc. continues to be a significant player in the homebuilt
aircraft market as one of the nation’s largest kit airframe
producers. In the last two years, Randy Schlitter, RANS’ designer
and CEO, added manufactured, ready-to-fly special
light-sport aircraft (S-LSA) to his enterprise; the S-7LS is
presently in production, and it will be joined by the S-19LS
in 2008. The good news for EAA members interested in building
one is that the new S-19 is also available in kit form.
Manufacturing completely built aircraft under ASTM
International standards is a diff erent work eff ort than kit
manufacturing under amateur-built standards. Even so,
several industry experts agree that RANS is a good candidate
to succeed at such a multi-tasking eff ort. (Randy and
his team already simultaneously run two companies, one
for airplanes and another for recumbent bicycles.)
RANS hopes to have the S-19LS manufactured model in
production by fall 2008, for those who want to buy and fly.
Cumulus
Authorship Note: Although most pilot reports on ByDanJohnson are…well, by Dan Johnson, this one is not. Our great friend, Dave Higdon, created this flight review and we appreciate his willingness to let us portray it.
The article represents the Cumulus originally made by the first US Aviation, whereas today, the kit is being supplied by Ultralight Soaring Aviation LLC. [Nov. 2008]
Sailplanes, hang gliders and motorgliders suffer in “demonstration mode.” They can’t do what rivets the attention of the crowds: roaring takeoff runs that transition into steep best-angle climbs to pattern altitude before crossing the runway’s departure end.
Published in Light Sport and Ultralight Flying
A Second Opinion; The Man from TruTrak Flies the ‘
Jim Younkin is the man behind TruTrak Flight Systems, a source for autopilot
devices in recreational aircraft. He’s also an experienced pilot of his RV-9
and other aircraft. Here is his report of the S-19.
“I found myself comparing the S-19 with our RV-9, a highly regarded
aircraft. The aileron response or feel is comparable to it. When slow flying
at the edge of a stall, directional control is positive, and even in the stall it
remained so.
“The large flaps are very eff ective so as to permit a steep approach
without excessive speed buildup. Finally, I was pleased to note that both
the brake and a free-swivel nose gear were employed. This is much better
in crosswinds than the combination of a hand brake and steerable nose
gear found in most of the LSA I have flown. Another feature of value in the
crosswind situation is that it has sufficient cross-control response (slip).
260 Air Academy Kids Fly a Remos LSA
At EAA’s Gathering of Eagles fund raiser at AirVenure 2008, movie stars Harrison Ford, John Travolta, and Cliff Robertson plus golf legend Arnold Palmer took the stage. With their encouragement, EAA raised a ton of dough that night. Young Eagles is a great program, having flown more than 1.4 million kids. But it isn’t the organization’s only youth-in-aviation initiative *** Some 260 kids aged 12 to 18 attended summer sessions in Oshkosh this year. Programs varied, said EAA, but every student got to fly a Remos G-3 for 20 to 30 minutes. “The Remos is fun to fly and easy to control,” said Bob Campbell, Director of the Air Academy. “Students held the controls until it was time to land and were able to log the time. It’s our hope that it will be the beginning of a Sport Pilot [certificate] for each one.” *** Remos Aircraft benefits from having a dealership based right on Wittman Field, the airport that plays host to AirVenture each summer.
A Sleek Mystique
But this airplane offers no mystery …
Most pilots will find
nothing mysterious
about the Mystique. In
fact, many readers already
know its manufacturer,
Interplane Aircraft, which
also manufactures the
Skyboy that achieved early
success before light-sport
aircraft (LSA) were given
official status.
Yet to American pilot
eyes, the Mystique is a
new bird on the horizon.
It earned its special lightsport
aircraft (S-LSA)
airworthiness certificate
shortly before the U.S.
Sport Aviation Expo in
mid-January 2007. This is
the second S-LSA approval
for Interplane; Skyboy won
approval in October 2006.
Let’s Meet the Distributor and Manufacturer
Many LSA pilots have come to
know Doug and Betty Hempstead,
the proprietors of several aviation
companies based at the Sanford-Lee
County Regional Airport in North
Carolina. Doug and Betty operate a
flight school, two import enterprises,
and plan to embark on final assembly
of airplanes in the United States.
The Hempsteads import the Allegro,
manufactured in the Czech
Republic by Fantasy Air, under the
Fantasy Air USA name.
SkyLeader’s Wide-Body LSA
Update Note (2021) — This article published in 2008. The aircraft was then referred to as Skyleader 500. Later this was further upgraded and became the Skyleader 600. Obviously, some information presented below will be dated but much of the flight qualities reporting is still useful. —DJ
Sky Leading KP-5
First, Americans became aware of Kappa. This corporate identity was more easily pronounced than the next company name,
Jihlavan (roughly, “YEE-lah-von”) Airplanes. Now, after new investment and with new global ambitions, the company will be known a “Skyleader Aircraft.” American tongues can relax with this easy reference.
Unchanged are a common owner and the same skilled Jihlavan Airplanes
technicians building the elegant KP-5/Skyleader 500 from the Czech
Republic. It may not be the biggest seller among light sport aircraft (LSA),
but I find it to be one of the finest flying machines in the fleet. Skyleader
plans to standardize the brand around the world and will rename the KP-5
the Skyleader 500.
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