This article follows up on an earlier one about Guy Reynolds. Yesterday, on his 100th birthday, Guy took the skies as he has so regularly, flying his Evektor SportStar with a fellow pilot along for safety. Rather than interpret, I present local journalist John McVey’s entire piece below. John also gives you a perspective on Guy, a fellow aviator we can all admire.
The following was written by John McVey and published by the Martinsburg, West Virginia Journal newspaper. Bold accents are added. —DJ
MARTINSBURG — Thomas Guy Reynolds Jr. eased back on the stick of his Evektor SportStar light sport aircraft and it lifted effortlessly off the runway at the Eastern Regional Airport. He circled the field three times, making a couple of low passes over the runway for pictures, and softly set his plane down. That would not be extraordinary, but Reynolds flew Friday on his 100th birthday.
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Van’s Announces Fully Built (SLSA) RV-12
Honestly, I didn’t expect much LSA news at AOPA’s Summit in Palm Springs, California this week. Despite several LSA on display (Kitfox, Evektor, Flight Design, Arion, Jabiru, SportCruiser, Skycatcher, and CubCrafters), the AOPA event is not a common place for Light-Sport announcements. Certainly I didn’t expect the world’s largest * supplier of kit aircraft to offer a fully built Special LSA.
Van’s Aircraft, Inc.. reported, [We are] pleased to announce a new program to build completed, fly-away, RV-12s.” The Aurora, Oregon company detailed a working agreement with Synergy Air to manufacture the airplanes in the U.S.A. Synergy Air is a well-established company providing instructional seminars, videos, and builder assistance to complete kit airplanes, located at the Eugene, Oregon airport.
Van’s noted, “Nearly 200 kit-built RV-12s have been completed and flown as ELSA and EAB aircraft, accumulating thousands of hours in the hands of typical pilots.” Under LSA rules, the company famous for their line of RV models had to fully build one RV-12 in order to sell ELSA kits.
LSA & Lightplane Highlights at Oshkosh 2012
In the near future, we’ll present fuller stories of some of the following short bits from Oshkosh 2012. With UltralightMews, we shot videos on most of the following, too, so watch for those as we can post them. Enjoy!
CESSNA & PRIMARY CATEGORY Early on in the week, Cessna announced they would transition their LSA Skycatcher to Primary Aircraft status. That requires a Type Certificate and FAA production approval but the Wichita giant can do this handily even if will add some cost. More on in a later article. However, here’s a way Cessna can recapture some 80 orders from Europeans cancelled earlier this year. On a more fun note, it was a pleasure to meet all nine of their youthful ambassadors that worked in the Discover Flying Challenge program. We shot a video featuring each participant and we’ll post that as soon as possible. (In the near future, we’ll feature a brief review of Primary Category versus LSA.)
AHOY, AKOYA!
Three LSA now EASA-legal
* REVISED June 21: Missing text at end replaced. * *** Some big news developing recently regarding the European Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) certification of the first three light sport aircraft in its new category designed to legitimize ASTM-certified LSA. *** The new category is called EASA CS-LSA. We’ve talked about it before, see below, but this is a significant step forward and here are some of the highlights. *** The three planes are names we’re all familiar with: the Flight Design CTLS-ELA, Czech Sport Aircraft PS-28 Cruiser (which is known here as the Sportruiser and was, for a year, the Piper Sport), and Evektor’s SportStar RTC (stands for Restricted Type Certificate). The Cruiser was the first to be awarded the cert, with the CTLS-ELA coming right after. Both were heralded at the recent Aero convention in Europe, while the SportStar was announced a few days ago.
Rocky Mountain LSA Expo — Opening Day
Our roving reporter offers coverage of the 2012 Rocky Mountain LSA Expo event. Thanks my erstwhile videographer on our many videos. —DJ ||||
Aero 2012: Day 2 — Rotax P-51?
Dave Unwin continues daily coverage of the Aero event… wandering through the gymnasium-sized exhibit halls of Aero. All photos by Dave Unwin —DJ ||||
As I made my way through the cavernous exhibition halls I was amazed as always at how many new aircraft were showing. Aviation is a curious industry and — be it a desire to run an airline or design an aeroplane — it is obvious that logic often takes a backseat to emotion. The market is already saturated with neat little two-seat aircraft, and yet every year several more appear. *** Czech company TL Sport had a new three-blade, composite, electric constant-speed prop called the PowerMax on display, as well as its Sirius LSA on clean amphibious floats. TL also had a Rotax 912iS in a Sirius. In fact, just about every light sport type seemed to be fitted with the fuel injected engine from Rotax. *** Even some helicopters, such as the Cicare Spirit Tandem, were fitted with a Rotax.
Cessna Drops 80 Skycatcher Orders in Europe?
This article has been updated; see at end.
According to a French dealer for Cessna, 80 Skycatcher orders have been cancelled. Why? Well, possibly this… *** For many months, my LAMA Europe colleague, Jan Fridrich and others have tried to convince EASA to adopt the U.S. version of LSA rules including acceptance of ASTM standards as the means of certification for these light aircraft. EASA arrived at different rules that demand that producers meet DOA and POA regulations, which are rather expensive and burdensome. (EASA is the European Aviation Safety Agency, roughly the equivalent of FAA for the entire European Union. DOA is Design Organization Approval and POA is Production Organization Approval. In addition EASA demands a Restricted Type Certificate). EASA has accepted ASTM standards via its CS-LSA (Certification Specification [for] Light-Sport Aircraft) but layered on top of this is their DOA/POA/Type Certification requirement. *** A small number of LSA builders — Evektor, Tecnam, Flight Design, and possibly others — have reportedly gained these approvals, so it is possible for companies to comply.
Sun ‘n Fun 2012: Day Four
I caught up with a fellow hang glider pioneer from the 70s’, Scott Severen of U.S. Aviation, Denton, TX who filled me in on the latest events for his broad-based Light Sport/GA service and repair center. *** U.S. Aviation is a large, well-established aviation service center that does it all: flight training, aircraft and avionics sales, service and maintenance (for general aviation as well as LSA). *** Scott has been involved with Indus Aviation and its Thorpedo LSA aircraft for years. That project is moving to a China-based manufacturing base and “It’s a big process to pull it all together,” he says. He was just over there, assembling a couple Thorpedos to support the transition. *** “It will be a beautiful facility over there once it’s built. We’ll still do parts and aircraft sales in Dallas, and US Aviation will assist in factory support of the Thorpedo; it’s one of several LSA we do.
Rotax Launches New 912 iS (Fuel Injected) Engine
In a product launch somewhat comparable to an Apple Inc., product event, BRP Rotax drew a large group of attendees to their facility in Gunskirchen, Austria.
Update 3/12/12 — See the impressive list below for airplanes displayed at the 912 iS launch. —DJ
The occasion was the launch of their new 912 iS engine. In the tech world, “i” means Internet. In the light aviation world, or more specifically BRP Rotax’s world, “i” now means injected. *** “Pilots will appreciate the easier pre-flight check and starting procedures offering them an enhanced flight experience,” stated Rotax/BRP. They add that this removes “the need for servicing and synchronizing the carburetors every 200 hours.” Fuel injection also “eliminates” carburetor icing. Users of the engine will appreciate these improvements. *** Fuel injection is controlled by an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) similar to automotive applications. A mechanic can connect to the ECU with a laptop for easier maintenance.
2011 Market Share Info… and We Set Records
The LSA Market Share numbers are complete for 2011 and we offer them below. But first, if you will permit, I wish to say a hearty thanks to all the visitors that helped ByDanJohnson.com achieve an all-time record month in January 2012 following a strong December 2011. In the first month of the new year we broke nearly every prior record: Unique Visitors, Total Visits, and Hits. We also serve a 25% international audience in nearly every country on Earth. We appreciate the long-term loyalty of our sponsors and each of you who are Members. Your $29 annual donation to this website helps us provide lots of free information. Thank you for your support.
2011 Market Share Report Nearby, we present our standard market share numbers. Our original chart remains consistent, illustrating the “installed base,” or “fleet size.” However, we know many of you want current-year information and therefore we begin our first Calendar Year chart.
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