Those hardworking Sportair guys at North Little Rock Municipal Airport (KORK) in Arkansas are serving more notice that they intend to stay around for the long haul. *** The purveyor of fine LSA (Sting Sport, Sirius, iCub and SeaRey amphib) is now an official FAA-certificated Repair Station for the general aviation community as well. *** The company has been in the aviation biz for 20 years. Ralph Murphy, former Account Manager for a major avionics shop, just joined the party to head the avionics department, which sells, installs, upgrades, repairs and services avionics, radios, instruments, autopilots and related airframe mods. *** Sportair’s President Bill Canino, an ex-USAF and National Guard pilot who’s flown some of the great military airplanes of the 20th Century …and loves flying around in the iCub (that’s him in the rear seat)… says “We have the facilities, the staff and the experience to keep your avionics in tip-top shape.” *** Aircraft owners can get everything from GPS systems to autopilots to glass cockpits to engine monitors and more sold and serviced.
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Full-Blown Midwest LSA Expo
That title is a bit tongue-in-cheek, since the first day of the Midwest LSA Expo here in Mount Vernon, IL was what you’d call winnnnnndy! *** The big storm front grounded our flight of two Evektor SportStar MAXs two hours east of here Wednesday. That was after our long, headwind-bashing flight from Art Tarola’s Allentown, PA AB Flight center that added two extra hours to the journey (glad it was a MAX — super comfortable airplane to fly and spend time in). *** The heat and humidity (95 degrees) at least had 25 knot winds to help keep it bearable all day, but there was no flying to speak of until the last hour of the day when the wind died down. *** I took the opportunity to jump up and shoot a few landings with Bill Canino in his iCub, which was a hoot.
iCub, Meet Smart Cub
Those hard-working stalwarts at Legend, the number one U.S. producer of LSA, keep finding interesting things for folks like me to write about. • Trish Jackson is an Ohio native who flies Airbus freight carriers all over Europe. She learned flying from her mother at age 13 and still remembers a memorable quote mom made on a flight: “Look at these rivers. It’s like God carved them out with his finger.” *** Trish owned a vintage Cub at one point in her career, but a couple years ago felt the urge to own one again — a brand new one. She kicked some tires and lit some fires for a year or two, then took a Legend Cub demo flight. *** Last April she joined the annual Legend rite of spring gaggle — a trip I had the distinct pleasure of making in 2008 — to fly formation with a bunch of Legend Cubs from Sulphur Springs, TX to Lakeland, FL for the annual Sun ‘n Fun spring flyin.
Dynon Avionics Upgrades Autopilot
Powerhouse digital instrument maker Dynon Avionics just came out with software version 5.4 for its EFIS-D10A, EFIS-D100 and FlightDEK-D180 units which are in widespread use in LSA and homebuilt aircraft. The upgrade addresses refined pitch control, including some new user-adjustable parameters that optimize autopilot performance for each individual aircraft. *** The idea, explained Dynon, is to improve passenger comfort by custom-tuning the response to turbulence. Support is expanded to a wider range of airframes, too. *** Ian Jordan, Chief Systems Engineer for Dynon, had this to say about the upgrade: “The autopilot now flies just as an experienced pilot would, with crisp, appropriate inputs that really seem to understand the airplane.”
Sonex Aircraft’s Y-tailed Waiex
Pedal to the Metal
The Y-Tail Waiex combines unusual style with refreshing speed.
The airlines may be suffering and
Light-Sport Aircraft (LSA) has yet to
coalesce into a coherent industry
segment, but Sonex Ltd. is having a fine run
of business. During my visit on a beautiful
fall day in Oshkosh, Sonex said it was ready
to break ground on a new hangar, the third
building of what has become the Sonex
campus on Wittman Field. At press time, it
was nearly complete.
Sonex is clearly ready for LSA, but
the company has built its enterprise on
delivering kits to the Experimental/ Amateur-
Built community. Steadily selling kits
keeps Sonex in good business shape while
LSA comes into focus. This company is well
positioned for whatever future recreational
flying holds.
$22,260. That calculates to an amazing $148
per mph.
Most of us don’t think in terms of
dollars per mph-and the comparison
with the RV-9 ignores the fact that
the RV is larger, heavier and, as a result,
more cross-country capable-but it
certainly proves that the Monnett machine
won’t take too much of your money for the
speed it can deliver.
Single Place Onex — Inexpensive Aerial Fun
People tried to call it Oh-nex, but the giveaway is the single seat. I got it… One-ex. The clever name is adapted from the company name and one of its models, Sonex, and fits with the Waiex and Xenos. All are variations on a very successful theme (1,600 kits sold), and like the other models, Onex can be powered by the AeroVee engine. Along with a modestly priced airframe kit, the company’s own low-cost four-stroke engine helps to constrain the budget. *** A primary goal with Onex was to make ownership even more affordable, a challenge for a company that already boasts low prices. Onex is still in development so no performance numbers or costs have been finalized. But with a two-place Sonex at about $25,000 for all components including engine, Onex could be as low as $20,000, says the manufacturer. In 2010, that’s pretty amazing for an 80-hp single place that ought to perform like crazy and is suitable for most positive G aerobatics, says designer and general manager, Jeremy Monnett.
Big Fall Show Looms
Oshkosh is over but wait! There’s more! *** One of the surprise hits last year was the Midwest LSA Expo lead by capable Chris Collins. Held at Mount Vernon Outland Airport (MVN) in Illinois, the new show attracted 42 airplanes and 30 exhibitors and what was reported far and wide as a focused and motivated LSA crowd. *** Many sales were closed in the months following the 2009 gathering. One main factor was the psychological continuity Midwest provided after Sebring (Jan.), Sun ‘n Fun (Apr.) and Oshkosh (July/Aug). By postponing the “end of summer” flying mindset into early Fall, normally an aviation wind-down time for pilots who live in the less temperate parts of the country, potential customers got one more opportunity to refine their buying decision process. *** The Midwest LSA Expo will run a week earlier this year: from Sept. 23-25. Mark your digital calendars! *** Attendance should be strong: there’s a huge population base in the midwestern market that stretches from Chicago to New Orleans, Denver to Charlotte.
Budget Builds (Low Cost Homebuilts)
Yes! You can build and fly a “real” airplane for the cost of a new SUV.
Contrary to popular opinion,
airplanes don’t have to be outrageously
expensive-at least not
all of them. The Sport Pilot/Light-Sport
Aircraft initiative is one program that
promises to lower the cost of ready-to-fly
aircraft. But many of these Special LSAs
and Experimental LSAs will be priced
well more than $40,000 and can run
upwards of $85,000.
One way to get airborne for less
than $40K is to choose an ultralight,
powered parachute or weight-shift
trike. But if you want something more
conventional, more comfortable or
larger, you’re likely to find what you
want in the world of kit aircraft. After
all these years, building an Experimental/
Amateur-Built airplane still qualifies
as one of the least expensive ways
to get a get a great airplane into the air
on a reasonable budget.
Our $40K benchmark is designed
to narrow the field for builders on a
budget-and that benchmark means
a completed, ready-for-flight airplane.
The Lazarus Machine
Back finally from 12 days at Oshkosh and the DC-3 fly-in that preceded it, I’m cranking out images and stories gathered there but couldn’t wait to get this one to you. *** Below is a condensation of my column that will run in the November issue. It involves an airplane that caught everybody’s eye when it debuted a few years back, but languished from lack of development and promotion and seemed on its way to obscurity. *** It was called the Phantom then, when T&T Aviation brought it to America from its native Hungary. *** Cruising into the big Lycoming display at Oshkosh in search of the new 115 hp, IO-233-LSA, I was once again gobsmacked by the low-riding, beautiful Falcon LS — the name T&T certified it under back in 2008 — as number 82 on the current list of 109. *** In the interim, Renegade Light Sport and its principal go-to guy Chris “Doc” Bailey have just bought out T&T’s interest in the LSA.
Oshkosh Day 3
<> Jan Fridrich , head of Europe’s LAMA, just sent me some intriguing stats from his comprehensive data crunching of S-LSA (or overseas equivalents) official registrations up to now. *** Europe continues to lead overall numbers with just under 1850 total. The U.S. tally is now over 1200. *** Sales have been light for the majority of the 70+ suppliers but there has been some shifting of position in the ranks. The top ten U.S. sellers to date are: *** Flight Design (CTLS, MC) 316 *** American Legend (Piper Cub models) 156 *** CubCrafters (Piper Cub models) 136 *** Tecnam (P2008, several others) 133 *** Czech Sport Aircraft (SportCruiser) 126 *** Remos (Remos GX) 121 *** Jabiru (J-230, -250 etc.) 96 *** Evektor (SportStar Max) 91 *** TL Ultralight (Sting S4, Sirius) 73 *** AMD (Zodiac models) 72 *** You may be interested in how the numbers fall for country of origin of all 3-axis S-LSA registered aircraft: The U.S.
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