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Affordable and Capable: Merlin Lite
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Flying Germany’s Longtime Leader, the Affordable Comco Ikarus C42

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Americans have seen Comco Ikarus‘ C42 before. At least three different importers have represented C42 versions to the U.S. market. Today, Germany’s most successful light aircraft is served by a Canada-based dealer, Ikarus Flight Centre.
Yet no one can dispute that C42 — once rebadged as Cyclone for American buyers — has for many years been THE success story in Germany. This southern German company celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2020.
Our favorite British aerojournalist, Dave Unwin is back with another of his imaginatively written and thorough pilot reports. As some of us get ready to head to Sun ‘n Fun 2021, those still unable or unwilling to travel can enjoy this while I gear up for stories from Lakeland, Florida. Enjoy! —DJ

Comco Ikarus C42C
The air is like glass as the C42 accelerates into a winter sky in the United Kingdom.

DARling Light Plane (Part 103 Capable) — Coming to America 2?

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Bulgarian designer Tony Ilieff is on a mission to find new representatives for his handsome light aircraft after concluding earlier representation in Canada. Built carefully — that is, without lots of weighty options — Solo can fit the Part 103 category. Given accelerating interest in Part 103 aircraft in recent years, I’d bet someone will step up for this opportunity.
“Ho hum,” you yawn. “Don’t we already have lots of Part 103 choices?”
While candidate Bernie Sanders criticized stores selling numerous brands of deodorant, choice serves highly-individualized interests. We don’t all want the same things.
A single make of car was a poor selection for subjects of the former Communist East Germany; the state-produced Traubant was an awful vehicle, according to numerous reports. Similarly, a lone brand, or even a few Part 103 ultralights will not satisfy all pilots. Americans in particular are accustomed to an abundance of choices.

Skyranger Nynja: Economical, Proven, Agile, Tough, Simple — Now from UK

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“Nynja lifts off after a ridiculously short ground roll and soars skyward at a precipitously steep angle. I can’t help but grin. You can have a lot of fun with something like this,” writes longtime aviation journalist, Dave Unwin. 
Welcome to our favorite British writer providing in his distinctive style thoughts about flying Skyranger’s Nynja. Also thanks once again to talented photographer, Keith Wilson.
Why did I want this article even though Skyranger has no U.S. representation at present? With a base price in UK of $59,760, Nynja is affordable to many. Is it desirable? Dave helps you decide. —DJ
For far too long, the more bigoted aviators among us considered such an aircraft to be little more an overweight hang glider powered by a second-hand lawn mower engine and barely capable of flying fast enough to kill you. Noisy, slow, and smelly — they were considerably less than satisfactory.

Going, Going… Faster than Ever; Arion’s Sleek Lightning Is Ready for Blast-Off

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You’ve heard some pilot say: “That airplane is so sleek it looks fast even when sitting parked on the ramp.” This is one of those airplanes.
While most light aircraft producers concentrate on either kits or fully-built, a few swing both ways. Some builders unwilling to experiment with two very distinct business models permitted others to contract build a fully-built version while they focus entirely on kit building. Few have managed to do well with both endeavors but Arion seems to have solved the challenges.
Arguably the shapeliest and smoothest aircraft in either the kit or RTF space is Arion Aircraft’s Lightning series. Nearly everyone agrees these qualify as fast-when-sitting-still types. Even one of the many electric airplane wannabe producers, Bye Aerospace, chose Lightning as its airframe template because they needed the smoothest, most modern look they could find.
Look No Further
A Flash of Lightning
Of course, fast glass will never replace gnarly back-country airplanes on giant tundra tires.

Affordable Aircraft Kits with Genuine Vintage Appeal; that’s Airdrome Aeroplanes

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Recently I wrote about an American classic, Luscombe’s Model 8 LSA. We can go back even further in time and uncover a handsome flock of highly affordable airplanes that also check the vintage box.
Welcome to Robert Baslee‘s amazing production of vintage early 20th Century airplanes that ordinary people can build and fly.
Airdrome’s many models — five of which can be built as Part 103 ultralights — look like a page from history but fly well in the modern world.
Here is one man’s very successful mission to both preserve aviation heritage and give you the chance to participate in the fun …without having to do all the research Robert does. As a bonus, many of these kits assemble much faster than many kit designs.
Modern Pilots,
Meet Airdrome Aeroplanes
Robert is incredibly productive. In the video below, he notes he has introduced 25 new models in 25 years.

Special Light-Sport Aircraft #154 — Welcome to Montaer’s MC01 from Brazil

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Welcome our newest entry to the Special LSA fleet: Montaer’s MC01. It’s been added to our SLSA List that so many of you visit regularly.
In a way, you already know this aircraft or at least its look-a-like predecessor, Paradise’s P1NG. As happens in every industry, a key engineer left a family airplane building business — Paradise, run by granddad, Noe de Oliveira — and started his own aircraft factory. The departure occurred eight years ago.
Now, Bruno de Oliveira has won FAA acceptance of his Special LSA model. Brazil uses ASTM standards as well so he also got approval in the South American country.
Importer Ed Ricks of Montaer USA hoped to make it to the Midwest LSA Expo in late summer 2020, but we know all-too well how strange last year was. Many hoped-for gatherings simply fell apart in the year of Covid.

Much-Loved Luscombe Has Returned — Again, Crossing the Continent

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Of all the airplanes earning rave reviews over the years, one model stands out above most others in the distinction of handling quality. Over and over I’ve heard from pilots of a certain, umm… maturity, and Luscombe is the brand often mentioned.
After flying many airplane models, I’d be hard pressed to tell you which one I thought out-handled the rest. What does that even mean?
Handling can be quite personal. Some like a docile, forgiving airplane. In all honesty, that’s probably most of us. It’s annoying (and possibly threatening) to be forced to constantly stay on top of an airplane. Other pilots prefer fast response and a light touch.
Luscombe offers a delightful combination of light forces with great response that will make most of us feel comfortable. That’s magic!
Welcome Back
to the Shiny Silvaire
From its mid-century origin in Kansas City, Missouri, Luscombe moved to Trenton, New Jersey.

New or Old? … Deluxe or Simple? … Quicksilver or Smithsilver? — Here Is Tri-State’s Falcon 503

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One of the most successful airplane designs of all time is the Quicksilver. Van’s Aircraft of RV fame has delivered more kits, yet with 10,869 RVs presently flying, Quicksilver still remains far ahead with more than 15,000 flying. Naturally, such market success spawned other builders.
Those who attempted to copy and duplicate Quicksilvers have mostly faded away but some enterprises (see at bottom) built a business out of supplying parts and components that Quicksilver itself never offered.
One of the most successful of these is Tri-State Kite Sales, based in Mt. Vernon, Indiana — and no, not Mt. Vernon, Illinois where the Midwest LSA Expo is held every September.
Andy Alldredge started his Falcon project 18 years ago when he was a lad of 20. The airplane looked good enough that I thought it was something new but, nope. This is a well flown aircraft that has been well maintained.

When Help Comes to the Rescue… FAST! Magnum Parachutes Could Save Your Life

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Aviation preaches safety long and loud. This dedication within the aviation community has made flying safer than driving despite what landlubbers believe is a risky way to travel.
Aviators know better, of course. We work hard at making flying safe. It’s not lucky or some accident of choice. We are all proud of our skill at taking an airplane aloft and returning it safely to terra firma.
Except when we cannot…
Why Parachutes?
Any way you look at it, an airframe parachute adds cost, weight, and bulk.
These systems cost real money (thousands), add “non-functioning” weight (16 to 50 pounds depending on the airplane’s weight and speed), and fill up space you might use otherwise (a BRS system for the Cessna 172 uses a substantial share of the baggage space in that model). All these things — cost, weight, and bulk — are negatives, yet pilots buy these emergency systems regularly.

Does Affordable Aviation Interest You? Then You Should Learn About Affordaplane

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This website promotes a focus on affordable aviation, but the word “affordable” means different things to different people at different times.
For some “affordable” may include Special LSA selling for more than $200,000. After all, that’s a fraction of a loaded Cirrus SR22, for example. For others, even $20,000 is more than they wish to spend.
Fortunately, you have a wide variety of choices. Our April 2020 series was composed of ten articles about used light aircraft you can buy for less than $10,000.
We also continue work on our Part 103 list. From the current count of 57 producers, most have choices that are affordable to most pilots plus you get the benefit of almost no regulatory authority over your flying activity (no pilot certificate, no N-numbers, no medical, plus you can buy ready to fly and maintain any way you wish).
So, Now…
Affordaplane
Any design so named seems to fit our mission perfectly.

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