A lot has been written about the contents of the MOSAIC NPRM and many people and organizations have been able to comment on it to the FAA. Much of the commentary has been around the extension, or in some cases, curtailing of existing privileges for Sport Pilots, aircraft that can fit into the Light Sport definition and Light Sport Repairman certifications. I don’t plan to re-hash any of that here. This article will focus on what some of these changes could mean, in practical terms, to the market for Light Sport Aircraft and its customers. As you will see, it has the potential to be highly disruptive which not everyone will be happy about but will do so in a way that also opens up opportunities to a wider audience.
Before delving any deeper, let’s dispel the myth held by some in general aviation that Light Sport has been a “failure”.
Search Results for : Flight Design
Not finding exactly what you expected? Try our advanced search option.
Select a manufacturer to go straight to all our content about that manufacturer.
Select an aircraft model to go straight to all our content about that model.
Grassroots Success Story — Dunnellon’s X35 Attracts New, Younger Aviation Businesses
If I’ve heard one lament repeatedly over a long career, it is that current pilots don’t see enough new pilots coming into aviation. Are you one who worries a little or a lot about that? If not, you are a rare pilot.
Is it any wonder, though? The price of aircraft is way, way up. This applies to used aircraft and new — just like it does with your groceries or gasoline. The cost of maintenance is high and rising. Insurance is very expensive (for airplanes as well as cars or houses). Hangars are unavailable with years-long waiting lists at many airports.
More than ever it can seem, aviation is an activity for those with fairly thick wallets. The squeeze on modest budgets has rarely been this demanding.
Yeah, all that, but this website nonetheless discovers the affordable end of aviation. In that pursuit, I was drawn to an airport with an encouraging twist on the affordability squeeze play.
Building the Affordaplane, Part 2
In a previous post, introduced our video project for building the Affordaplane. To review, this is the plans-only project I demonstrated on YouTube for building an ultralight from raw materials. (You’ll find this free 50-part series here.)
My objective was to build an “FAA-legal” ultralight using approved aircraft materials and techniques. This month, I will review some of the challenges encountered while building. My approach on making these videos was to show and explain to first-time builders how to take a set of plans and translate them into a series of steps for completing the project.
From a construction standpoint this ultralight design is quite unusual in some ways and very traditional in others. The designer, Dave Edwards, had a goal of making sure the aircraft could be built by an amateur with common shop tools and readily available materials.
New Buyer for Icon Reported — What Happens Now?
Icon is a global enterprise. While its headquarters remains in Vacaville, California, fabrication is done in Mexico, and ownership is in China. For some years, this American start-up has benefitted from Chinese investment.
How much investment has this California company attracted? Numbers I’ve been quoted vary enormously but all estimates run into many millions of dollars. If these guesses are even close to accurate, Icon has generated more investment funding than nearly any LSA producer. Only one outstrips them. That was a reported $200 million sale of Pipistrel to Textron, owner of Cessna and other aviation brands. I hope the aerospace conglomerate got all they hoped for because that is a super-premium valuation for any LSA company, even one as tech-savvy as Pipistrel.
Icon has performed reasonably well in recent years (“200 Delivered” report) but prior investments in the company require sales volumes that are difficult to reach, especially with a $400,000 price tag.
So, You Want to Build An Ultralight?
Ever consider what it might be like building an ultralight? But first, how do ultralights fit into the arena of “regular” Experimental airplanes like the ones featured in KITPLANES Magazine and other Light Sport Aircraft found on this website? For those not familiar with the technicalities of an ultralight, allow me to briefly summarize the details of what defines an ultralight. Then we’ll consider how they complement their larger brothers.
While you may hear pilots and builders use the term ultralight to describe a small, light aircraft in general terms, the FAA has very specific rules as to what constitutes an ultralight. Full details are spelled out in Part 103 of the FARs, but here are the highlights.
An ultralight has a single seat (pilot-only capable), an empty weight of no more than 254 pounds and a maximum speed of 63 mph. So, if you ever see a small plane with more than one seat, or one that obviously weighs more than 254 pounds, that aircraft does not meet the legal criteria of an ultralight.
Like Phoenix Rising, Belite Chipper Returns to Production by SkyKicker Aviation
Welcome back to the airplane equivalent of an old friend. As you can see at the bottom of this post, Videoman Dave and I did many video interviews with Chipper creator. James Weibe (view at bottom). Pilots seemed always to enjoy hearing about his latest development.
James came to aviation from the computer business, where the pace isn’t fast — it’s furious! Over the years Dave and I covered James and his output, we’d make a new video at every airshow, it seemed, as he had moved on from the last design to the next. That’s what they do in the world of computers but it made pilots’ heads spin.
It also probably slowed sales because, as with computers, why buy this airplane when the next one will be even better?
It Began with Kitfox Lite
James started out with the Kitfox Lite single place Part 103 ultralight vehicle. Current Kitfox owners did not plan to pursue the single seater that Kitfox founder Dan Denney had created years earlier.
Summer’s Almost Here! State-of-the-Sector Report for LSA Seaplanes
One of the most active sectors in light aviation is LSA seaplanes. We’ve seen ups and downs, arrivals and departures of LSA seaplane producers. Admittedly, these flying machines are more complex than current-day LSA. For example, amphibs need retractable landing gear and substantial boat hulls able to take water loads.
LSA seaplanes constitute a highly fluid market yet we can see clues suggesting what might be ahead for some of the main brands. With summertime approaching, this State-of-the-Sector article attempts to keep up with the rapidly changing landscape (or waterscape).
We’ll first look at two high-end entries that have been in the news and conclude with present LSA seaplanes and their status in the market.
Vickers Wave
Writing for AVweb (part of Firecrown, which also owns Flying and ByDanJohnson.com plus several other publications), my fellow aviation journalist Russ Niles stated, “New Zealand-based Vickers Aircraft Company says it intends to make its first delivery of the Wave two-place amphibious aircraft to a U.S.
Dragonfly Is Back Home in Florida — Hang Glider Tug … Working Ranch “Tractor”
Dragonfly was born in Florida in the early 1990s. Back-of-the-napkin sketches started in the 1980s following the dynamic 1970s when hang gliding swooped into national awareness. What one designer did with Dragonfly would become one of the most celebrated developments in hang gliding.
Throughout the ’70s, hang glider designs accelerated smartly in glide performance and sink rate, stretching from slope-hugging 4:1 triangular-shaped wings to elegantly long and slender “bladewings” that could exceed a 20:1 glide yet remain foot-launchable and still be an aircraft you could carry on your shoulder (when folded down). Passionate enthusiasts thrilled to a 5X performance improvement in a decade or so.
In the beginning, most pilots launched off mountains to get enough height to catch thermals. Yet lots of America doesn’t have mountainous terrain. Florida had plenty of pilots eager to fly hang gliders but to find the best soaring, they had to load up their gliders and drive 10-12 hours to the hills of Tennessee where flight park operators like me catered to them with mountain launch sites.
AERO Wrapup: Dave Unwin Concludes His Coverage of AERO Friedrichshafen 2024
With my feet failing fast, and the lederhosen beginning to chafe in a most disagreeable fashion, I viewed the end of AERO 2024 with mixed emotions. My legs said enough is enough, but my head, heart and eyes still wanted more—because what a show it was! From replica rocket-powered fighters to jet packs, LSAs fitted with turbines and paramotors for paraplegics and finally to biplane pusher SSDRs, it was a fabulous event.
The AERO team produced a show that they could justifiably be proud of for the 30th anniversary, and although the weather was unseasonably cool, the action in the halls was as hot as ever, and with more than 270 aircraft in the exhibition halls and in the static display, show-goers were not short of mouth-watering machines to tempt their wallets.
Among the aircraft debuting at the show were the electric DA40 aircraft from Diamond Aircraft in Austria, two electric aircraft and a hydrogen powered one from China and the Integral E from French manufacturer Aura Aero.
Day 4 at AERO: A Few More Conventional Aircraft But Also a Few Surprises!
I’ll take the opportunity in this installment to take a look at some of the lighter aircraft to be seen at AERO Friedrichshafen this year.
ICP Ventura 2 and Ventura 4
Italian airframer ICP had several aircraft on display including the Ventura 2 ultralight powered by various permutations of Rotax, and also the Experimental, which as well as being fitted with a Rotax can also be powered by a Lycoming of up to 180 hp. The Venture 2 is a side-by-side two-seater, while the Ventura 4 is, as the name suggests, a four-seater specifically designed to meet the requirements of amateur construction and suitable for the Experimental category. ICP claims that a first time builder can reasonably expect to finish the aircraft in between 700 to 800 hours, while a more experienced builder with practical build experience can complete the aircraft in around 400 hours, excluding paint and upholstery. ICP also had the Savannah SR on show, and this machine bore quite a strong resemblance to the Zenith 701.
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 44
- 45
- 46
- 47
- 48
- …
- 148
- Next Page »