For all you smartphone and iPad users, here’s a great guide to Oshkosh from *** Sporty’s Pilot Shop. You can read all the details here, and I’m posting a couple of my own screens. *** There’s lots to like, because anybody who’s been to the Big Show (it’ll be my 32nd year this year) knows it’s totally overwhelming trying to figure out where to go to see what and figure out when, etc. *** There are several main-screen menus: *** Get Here for pilots flying into the show, with arrival procedures to follow for how to best get to your destination (Seaplane Base, parking at Wittman Field) along with NO TAMs and lots moreSchedules of daily airshow performers (they can change from day to day), Forums, Workshops, Evening Events and Daily Highlights, as well as a My Schedule for saving your own custom “to do” listFacilities which gives detailed maps of the entire grounds as well as exhibit hangar maps with individual booth numbers, which you can use to track down companies you want to visit with the menu tab…Exhibitors: This page has a complete list of every exhibitor on the field, alphabetically listed and with each company’s booth number in hypertext.
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FAA Tells LSA Industry: “Get That Paperwork Done!”
The *** Federal Aviation Administration just released a document about its assessment regarding the performance of the LSA industry, specifically in regard to LSA producer’s, shall we say, sub-par performance toward compliance with the ASTM airworthiness standard set out in the very definition of the Light Sport category. *** U.S. LAMA head and Light Sport industry Carnac the Great (for you older Johnny Carson Show fans) Dan Johnson was interviewed by Bloomberg news. The story summarizes what Dan says was over an hour’s worth of interview to make sure the reporter got the story right. Beyond a few media AlarmThink insertions, it was a fairly decent and accurate overview of, says Dan, what he told the writer. That’s always a welcome sign that journalism has not completely gone over to the infotainment dark side. *** You can read the piece here. *** Dan also has his own take on the FAA announcement, with some relevant links for you, (see nearby article titled: “FAA Clarifies Who Is a LSA Manufacturer”).
Thorp T-211
Thorp T-211 Sport E
From the world of general aviation aircraft comes an entry to the proposed Light-Sport Aircraft (LSA) category. Presently known as the Thorp T-211, the all-metal airplane will be called the Thorp T-211 Sport E when it makes its debut as a light-sport aircraft.
Famed designer John Thorp is perhaps best known for his work leading to the Piper Cherokee series and the T-18 homebuilt. His work on a design that became the T-211 started back in the 1940s before general aviation planes had transportation as their primary goal. When the T-211 was first created – as the T-11 Skooter and later the T-111 – it was intended to become competition for the Cessna 150. The T-211 is a light plane, tipping the scales at hundreds of pounds less than Cessna’s smallest model and so it was expected to perform better.
Under new management since 2003, Thorp’s design is ready to make the leap to the Sport E.
Flying the Stampe SV4-RS — Your Modern Biplane
I’d seen the full-size Stampe SV4-RS replica at AERO a few weeks previously, and it really put a hook in me. I was fortunate enough to fly a Stampe several years ago and was very impressed—it being greatly superior to the DH Tiger Moth, with which it is often confused. Of course, even the youngest Stampe is still 69 years old, and they require a lot of maintenance. Spares for the original Renault engine in particular are getting rare, the strength of the wooden fuselage can be compromised from decades of oil being splattered across it and the metal fixtures and fittings are far from the first flush of youth. These are old aircraft and they require a lot of looking after. Indeed, the reason why such aircraft (and cars and motorbikes of a similar vintage) are often referred to as “collector’s machines” is that you often need someone following along behind collecting up all the pieces that have fallen off!
Shared Ownership — A Route To “Affordable Aviation”
I was inspired to write this article by a comment made on a previous article I wrote on MOSAIC. I had indicated that MOSAIC had the potential to bring new aircraft to market at half the price of current legacy offerings. The commenter made the point that even at half the price, this would still not make it inherently “affordable” to most people.
This topic will be covered in two articles. The first will discuss how shared ownership is able to bring down the costs of accessing an airplane and thus, making it potentially more affordable to a wider pilot demographic. The second article will detail two proposals on how some form of shared ownership could be expanded into a regional or national model.
How the Numbers Add Up
Affordability is really not a single quantifiable number that can be used to judge a product. There are simply too many other factors such as income, lifestyle and geographical location that have to be taken into account while, of course, no two people see their life priorities the same way.
Sport Pilot CFI — A Potentially Less Expensive Path to a Professional Aviation Career
The journey to becoming a professional pilot has traditionally been a long and expensive one, requiring hundreds of flight hours and multiple certifications before being able to earn money. However, the FAA Sport Pilot Instructor Certificate (CFI-S) offers a potential shortcut for aspiring aviators, allowing them to start teaching and earning income with significantly fewer hours than a traditional Certified Flight Instructor (CFI).
Steps to Becoming a Sport Pilot CFI
Private Pilot Certificate: This is the foundation for all pilot certifications. You’ll learn basic flight maneuvers, navigation, and safety procedures. A Sport Pilot Certificate will be sufficient if you do not aspire to larger standard category aircraft, or simply wish to obtain your Private Pilot Certificate at a later date.
Instrument Rating: This rating allows you to fly in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), relying on instruments rather than visual references. It’s a crucial step toward becoming a professional pilot and will be required for flight instruction in standard category aircraft as a traditional CFI.
Buying Used: The Ercoupe — We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Pedals
Few legacy GA aircraft are as easily recognizable as the Ercoupe. The twin tails and large glazed canopy are distinctive, as are its lack of rudder pedals (on most models). Ercoupe Owner’s Club Executive Director Gene Bunt says, “for lack of a better explanation…it’s got major ‘cute factor’.” But apart from its unique looks, the plane is also known for being easy to fly. It was, after all, designed with the goal of being the safest fixed wing aircraft available—one that would not stall or spin.
While the Ercoupe is a type certified aircraft, many of the variants qualify within the Light Sport category. When MOSAIC comes in all of them will qualify. That’s great news for Sport Pilots looking for something “different” to fly. And, they regularly show up for sale for comparatively little money.
Development
Fred Weick, an aeronautical engineer who would later create the Piper Pawnee and have a hand in designing the Piper Cherokee, designed the Ercoupe after joining the newly formed Engineering and Research Corporation (ERCO) in 1936.
Sport Pilot Certificate – What You Need to Know
The Sport Pilot Certificate has emerged as a popular option for aspiring pilots who want to experience the joy of recreational flying without the extensive time and financial commitment required for a Private Pilot Certificate. It’s been with us for two decades but there are still questions about the SP certificate. Here’s a rundown.
There are seven main categories of aircraft for which you can be a Sport Pilot, each with variations on training and pilot requirements specific to that Category. This article will be specific to the Airplane Category.
What is the Sport Pilot Certificate?
The Sport Pilot Certificate allows pilots to fly a Light Sport Aircraft (LSA). These aircraft are typically smaller, simpler and more affordable to operate. Key characteristics of LSAs include:
Maximum takeoff weight of 1320 pounds (or 1430 for seaplanes)
Maximum airspeed in level flight of 120 knots under standard atmospheric conditions
Maximum stall speed of 45 knots in landing configuration
Single, non-turbine engine
Fixed pitch or ground adjustable propeller
Fixed landing gear (except for seaplanes)
Note that all of these are under the current LSA/SP rules and are likely to change when MOSAIC becomes reality next year.
Taking Composites “Out Back” — TL Sport Aircraft’s Sirius Backcountry and SE Models
Metal or Fabric… that’s mainly been your choice when you look at LSA that can venture into unimproved landing strips. Composite aircraft with snugly-faired wheels and slippery, shiny exteriors usually stay on civilized airports. You’ve never seen a Cirrus land on a rocky creek bed, have you?
Czech producer TL Ultralight has started down this path and showed a mockup (using images) at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2024.
Additionally, recent years have seen several high wing models introduced by LSA manufacturers known for their low-wing designs. High wing aircraft are often considered more versatile on floats or on big tundra tires, though we’ve seen low-wing variations like Bristell’s tundra tire-equipped TDO (Tail Dragger Option).
Thanks to a well-established production facility paired with computer-aided design, importer TL Sport Aircraft will take its all-composite Sirius into backcountry flying.
Summer Celebration
Oshkosh brings out the best in new aircraft.
Where Is the World Headed with Low-Altitude Airspace Freedom?
With the excitement of EAA’s summer celebration of flight — AirVenture Oshkosh 2024 — slowly beginning to fade from headlines, this might be a good time to broaden our outlook.
AirVenture features aircraft from everywhere and of every conceivable type. It’s a veritable smorgasbord of airplane-examining pleasure and thoroughly covers nearly every aspect of aviation, from foot-launched powered paragliders to multiengine warbirds and everything in between.
Some were searching for the newest innovations, by which such attendees may mean drones, UAVs, multicopters, eVTOLs… whatever you might choose to call them. Finding these machines at KOSH was much less obvious perhaps because the truth is, Yankee pilots remain focused on aircraft they can get in and fly using their own skills.
American Dream
We live in a country of great aviation freedom and lots of wide open spaces. Those of us interested in flying light aircraft for the sheer enjoyment of it can do so in way the rest of the world can barely comprehend.
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