LAMA, the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association, hosted a gathering of European manufacturers during last month’s Aero Friedrichshafen show. Van’s Aircraft President and Chief Engineer Rian Johnson accepted LAMA’s invitation and presented an update on Mosaic. As the leader of the ASTM committee working on LSA standards, he covered expected changes to help manufacturers prepare.
How can builders design for a regulation they haven’t seen? Thanks to the use of industry consensus standards, the lighter aircraft industry is more aware than you might expect.
Understandably, manufacturer interest is keen; it’s their business. At the same time, individual pilots increasingly raise similar questions.
Top-Four Questions
I’ll address some common inquiries before getting into specifics of the LAMA meeting. The following reflects questions I’ve often heard, along with my responses. As you read these, remember, I am merely one reporter describing discussions I’ve heard. Disclaimer: Information in this article is not official and may not reflect what FAA is planning.
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Aero ’23 Continued — Superpowered Niki Aviation Cruiser Gyroplane Shows Stylish Innovation
If the bright green didn’t catch your eye, the unusual placement of the propeller probably did. Or maybe it was one of a dozen other fetching attributes to this handsome rotary-winged aircraft.
What you could not easily see was the engine selection. As up-to-date as they can be, Niki is offering either a 141-horsepower Rotax 915iS or the just-released 160-horsepower 916iS. The latter with a lighter load can reportedly climb better than 2,500 feet per minute.
As I cruised the immense (basketball gymnasium-sized) halls of Aero 2023, I saw all manner of beautiful flying machines. In four days of the show, I find it unlikely you can even visit all of them much less become well informed about a majority.
When I happened across Niki, I remembered they had sent an invitation to come by and look at their engaging designs. Company co-owner Miglena Kopcheva was kind enough to show me around the green machine you see nearby.
Flying Zeppelin, Just for the Thrill or Get the Pilot Experience: Free Sample Here
Yeah, this is pretty far from my usual reporting. I’m not talking about an aircraft purchase in this story but I will tell you about a genuine piloting experience you might find intriguing.
UPDATE May 17, 2023 — Regarding the “Pilot Experience” opportunity to actually fly and log time as pilot of a Zeppelin, the company responded that no such opportunities will be available in 2023 for “a variety of reasons.“ They did provide an email for the head of operations and I will contact him to see if the future holds any better news. —DJ
Simply going aloft in an airship is relatively affordable, costing $300 for a half-hour flight. In my mind it was worth every penny. Of course, you can’t do this many places so you’d have to add the cost of getting to Friedrichshafen, Germany.
So, flying a Zeppelin. Cool, yes, but you’re only a passenger. Sure, the visibility is fantastic through panoramic (and German-clean) windows, and every seat is a window seat.
Aero ’23 Day 1 — Superveloce = Superfast… Speed Propels Porto Aviation to Records & Sales
In the last couple years a rivalry erupted among companies in Europe aiming to be the fastest LSA-type aircraft*. I have previously reported on Porto Aviation and its fast-flying ways.
Setting aside the politics of FAI-recognized record flights, no question remains that designer Alberto Porto is determined to create a very fast-flying aircraft. Check this article with more about speed attempts and to see images of a fixed-gear version called Siren.
Gear up with an adjustable prop and flown at common cruise altitudes, it’s clear that Superveloce lives up to its name.
What could the typical pilot expect while flying Superveloce? Porto Aviation lists the cruise speed at 75% power from Rotax’s 915iS at 200 knots true airspeed at 9,000 feet. Compared to other LSA I have examined, this tops the list (although some other fast designs aren’t too far behind).
Porto Aviation, previously quartered in Switzerland, is now a bit further south in Italy.
Aero Friedrichshafen Prepares to Open — Preview as Europe’s Top Show Takes Shape
Aero is open! Yesterday, after flying across the Atlantic and despite starting to run low on energy and affected by the time zone change, a small group of us eagerly took a walk through Aero’s cavernous 12 halls to get a early peek.
As I’ve observed many times, the night before, mere hours ahead of the show opening, the exhibits look chaotic. With packing boxes and parts strewn everywhere it seems impossible vendors can be ready in time. Aside from a few well-heeled organizations — those larger businesses that can pay outsiders to set up their exhibits ahead of time — most companies were scrambling furiously to be ready by opening day… which is now today.
Yet it always works, magically perhaps. Once again, late hours turned into a show by Wednesday the 19th, opening day. The show runs through Saturday the 22d. If you’re in Europe, I hope you’re coming.
Aero Friedrichshafen 2023 — JH Aircraft’s Popular Corsair Debuts e-Motion at Europe’s Best Show
OK, I admit it. I’m a huge fan of Aero Friedrichshafen. This show packs a lot of delight into four days and 12 gymnasium-sized exhibit halls.
In 2023, many of the aircraft on display are known to Americans. However, Europe tends to produce more proof-of-concept projects than we see in America. This is partly as European governments subsidize certain developments, such as when a designer engages a national university. The builder gets technical assistance. The students get real-life experience.
Help with these costs yields many interesting designs but few make it to market. However, novel ideas can find their way into other, marketed designs.
Other projects are carried, just like in America, by entrepreneurs that simply will not stop until they reach their goal. Jörg Hollmann of JH Aircraft is a driven engineer who has steadily developed and improved his super-light Corsair lookalike. For Aero 2023, he has something new… again!
GONE FLYING! — Affordable Aviation to Spread More Widely via Flying Magazine Channels
For a long time, my entire focus has been recreational aviation news. Normally, the news is about an aircraft, a new engine, or some innovative flying product. The news is rarely about the messenger, ByDanJohnson.com.
As many who attended Sun ‘n Fun 2023 learned and even more discovered via online news — Flying Media has acquired the ByDanJohnson aviation brand and all of the written, photographic, or video content created under the tagline, “By Dan Johnson.”
This content dates to 1976. Since the mid-1990s, much of this work migrated from print to the web. Work on the website began in 1999… a mere four years after the World Wide Web was birthed by the Netscape browser.
Building a website was very challenging then — we called it “stick-built,” as every line of code to make it work had to be written essentially from scratch. WordPress, which today delivers ByDanJohnson.com and about one-third of all websites worldwide, did not exist in 1999.
Magical Merlin Motorglider Goes Both Ways: Part 103 or Motorglider; Gas or Electric
Regular readers know I have closely followed the Merlin developments. I use plural because developer Chip Erwin has steadily built this single seat flying machine into a whole fleet of its own. At Sun ‘n Fun we saw a display of three airplanes in different variations.
Let’s begin with a focus on the modest cost of Merlin. I promote affordable aviation all day long. That word “affordable” means something different to every single pilot so every time I use the word someone is going to tell me, “It’s still too expensive.”
Look I get it. I’m a consumer, too. Plus, who doesn’t enjoy a deal? So here’s the short answer: “Finished Price: $34,000.” That’s a direct quote from Aeromarine-LSA. I know some may say that doesn’t work for them but in this day and age, that is a bargain for a ready-to-fly aircraft. When that buys an airplane built like Merlin Lite, one equipped the way Chip has configured it, I consider that one of the great values in aviation.
CubCrafters Votes for Rotax — New Carbon Cub UL Model Is First-Ever 916iS Installation
CubCrafters has never made an aircraft powered by Rotax. Images accompanying this article portray their very first example using the 9-series engine in a model intended for production. Most of their factory pilots or dealers have never flown behind a Rotax.
Yet Carbon Cub UL is also the first aircraft in the world to be fitted with the Austrian engine maker’s newest 916iS powerplant. Why did the Washington state company do this?
One main reason given by Brad Damm, the company’s vice president of sales and marketing, is because customers asked for it. However, Brad has several other good reasons, which he shared in the video below.
916iS Launch Customer
At Sun ‘n Fun 2023, CubCrafters introduced a new variant of its Carbon Cub aircraft line. Being developed with a special eye for international markets, the west coast company named it “Carbon Cub UL.”
“We invested in several new technologies to make the Carbon Cub UL even lighter and better performing than its predecessor, the Carbon Cub SS,” stated CubCrafters.
Sun ‘n Fun 2023, Day 3 — Four-Stroke Power for Part 103 Ultralights, Available Now
If I hear one thing over and over it is this: “I want a four-stroke engine for my Part 103 ultralight. Are any available?”
For years the answer was, “Well, brand XYZ offered one but they disappeared from the market some years ago. One such winner I flew was the Bailey four-stroke out of England. However, a visit to their website recently was not very productive. Regretfully, other four-stroke powerplants are rare (although for slightly larger airplanes, Chip Erwin’s V-Twin will soon add to the choices).
Are you out of luck trying to obtain a Part 103 four-stroke? NOPE!
Aero 1000 Engine
Fine Swiss Engineeering
Air-Tech, Inc., is one of my favorite companies. While I love the people behind this Louisiana company, it isn’t their deep expertise, long experience, or even an endearing sense of humor that surrounds the Bornes — a father and son team to envy.
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