Search Results for : MG 21

Just put in my first day at the show, only doing 3 days this year, plus a layover day to pick up any after-show-convenient flight reports. *** Todd Ellefson, Will Escutia and Daniel Perez and the new owners of Quicksilver, the venerable ultralight company, announced it will pursue ASTM conformation certification for two of its time-proven models, the GT-500 and Sport 2S, as S-LSA and E-LSA. Quicksilver has sold more than 15,000 aircraft over the years, and has one of the most beautiful, slam-dunk, bolt-together kits you’ve ever seen. I built several in the early 1980′s: absolutely impeccable, easy-build kits. *** The FAA verification process has already begun toward offering models as Experimentally Amateur Built kits as well, which will allow two-seat former Ultralight category Quicksilver models that were phased out when the Light Sport Aircraft category came into being to have a home again. *** Although a good percent of the many, many Piper Cubs have gone home, there is still a distinct marigold presence of dozens of the classic bird that brought civilian flying almost singlehandedly to the nation back in the ’30s and ’40s.

First Piper, now Cessna…wow, didn’t see this coming. *** Even though I’m not arriving in Oshkosh until Friday, this newsflash hot off the wire can’t wait. I just picked this up from the Wichita Eagle. In brief, it says: *** Cessna just announced they’ll move the C-162 Skycatcher into the Primary Aircraft category. It will no longer be a Light Sport Aircraft . This on the heels of news that the Wichita-based aviation giant had pulled it’s European marketing and EASA CS-LSA certification efforts because of the cost and complexity above and beyond certifying to the U.S. Light Sport category. *** The company said switching to Primary Aircraft will aid in the certification process with countries worldwide, which certainly includes Europe’s EASA CS-LSA standards, which you can think of as FAA Airworthiness Lite, or looked at another way, LSA Heavy. *** Cessna was quick to add that the Skycatcher will still be flyable by pilots with a sport pilot license.

“Situational Awareness” is one of those phrases you hear a lot when aviation safety is the topic… and when isn’t aviation safety the topic in a cockpit? *** New on the market is a device to allow pilots to keep their eyes on the skies… while also having instrument readouts right in their field of view. *** HUD, or Heads-Up Display, a military technology that allows pilots to get all the info they need without having to scan the instrument panel so often, is here for the small aircraft screen. Milan, Italy-based PAT Avionics is the maker of the new G-HULP. *** HUD displays let you keep eyes outside without missing critical readouts *** Marco Mille, Chief Technology Officer for PAT, says this about it: “After three years of research and development, (HUD) technology is finally available to make experimental and light sport aircraft pilots safer.” *** The G-HULP allows pilots to easily monitor readouts such as air speed, altitude and course data, while looking forward, since the information is projected on a transparent glass display right above the instrument panel in the pilot’s direct forward view.

Catching up from the road after 3 weeks (1 day to go) in Hamburg, Germany on family business and a laptop double-meltdown (don’t ask). *** The Sling is a South African LSA that made a splash in 2009 with a ‘round-the-world flight just received its official S-LSA Airworthiness certificate, making it #125 on the official list.The Airplane Factory in Johannesburg, and more than 60 have been delivered worldwide. Developed in 2006, and with more than 100 orders total to date, the company is hoping the Sling will compete successfully in the crowded U.S. market. *** The staff is made up of 75 full timers — no garage band airplane company here — and produces five ready-to-fly Slings per month, and even more in kit form. *** For the U.S. market, the Sling will also be offered in kit form, either as an E-LSA or Experimental Amateur-Built. *** The Airplane Factory of Torrance, CA will wrangle the U.S.

* 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.

This is pretty cool, I have to say: a flying…what, waterbike? Winged pontoon? Powered box kite? Here’s the home page for *** Flynano: and doesn’t this supremely giddy pilot in the illustration remind you of U2′s Bono? Hmmm…backer? Person of Interest? Is Lindsay Lohan going to buy one? Stay tuned… *** A year ago, I wrote about these enterprising and clever folks behind the Flynano project. They made a (cue: drum roll) big splash at Europe’s 2011 Aero show when they introduced the mockup. Frankly, I confess to a tad of private skepticism: it looked like a long shot to ever fly, let alone actually come to market. That’s why I try to curb my public expressions of criticism: it’s so easy to be proven wrong. *** I was concerned that although the boxwing concept — a joined upper/lower wing, tailless design — has been proven, (and even marketed in Europe as the Sunny Boxwing, see video at bottom), the Flynano could easily have been just another blue-sky, briefly-ballyhooed project, like so many that have come down the pike (do the name Moeller Aircar ring a familiar note?) *** Yet how cool indeed ‘twould be if this easy-fly skimmer-bug of a recreational aircraft that only operates from the water could actually fly?

Although we Sport Pilots only have to self-certify (and have a driver’s license) to legally fly Light Sport Aircraft, *** the success of the self-certification “medical” has no doubt factored into AOPA and EAA’s joint proposal to FAA to expand the concept to include Private Pilots. *** To add your comments to the FAA page about such a medical exemption, go here…the end of the comment period is near, so if you have a take on this topic, let it fly.

I’ve been a (budget) international jet setter the last couple months so figured it was time to update through an e-chat with *** Chris “Doc” Bailey, who’s heading up a hydra-like push at Renegade Light Sport to get the Lycoming IO-233-LSA engine in as many birds as possible. *** I’ve talked before about the many-pronged attack Doc and crew have been making to test and distribute the new 233 powerplant. A lot of folks who have always flown “conventional” aircraft engines and haven’t been won over by Rotax’s 2000 TBO and excellent safety record have been following Doc’s development work closely. *** As you can see, the Renegade Falcon, which also mounts the Lyc 233, is a real dazzler of an SLSA. It’s in production, a few have been delivered with more on the books, and recently Doc’s been outfitting the FK12 Comet biplane with the AE (aerobatic) version of the 233 powerplant (see my story on the nifty bipe with Rotax power in this issue of Plane & Pilot) .

Ben Sclair, who publishes General Aviation News, wrote a nicely thought out piece on the nuances of the high cost of flying, with a focus on LSA in particular. He laments the black/white thinking that permeates such discussions and makes a decent case for that time-worn truism, if you really want to do something, you’ll quit grousing and find a way to do it. *** Ben makes some worthy points, give it a look here.