By Susan Parson
Photos by H. Dean Chamberlain
It may seem like it started only yesterday, but the Sport Pilot/Light-Sport Aircraft
rule (SP/LSA) celebrates its fifth “birthday” this summer. In many families,
making a “how-tall-are-you-now” mark on the wall is a time-honored birthday
tradition. In keeping with that concept, this article reviews and celebrates the mark
SP/LSA has made since it joined the aviation family back in 2004.
My, How You’ve Grown!
In developing the SP/LSA rule, FAA’s intent
was to increase safety by closing gaps in existing
regulations, accommodate advances in technology,
provide for the manufacture of light-sport aircraft
that are safe for their intended operations, and
several other purposes. A key idea was to make it
possible for more individuals to experience sport
and recreational aviation in a manner that is not
overly burdensome, but still safe.
Today, more than 2,000 individuals have
earned sport pilot certificates, and numerous
others have earned sport pilot privileges.
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Able Flight LSA Team Crosses U.S. in 17 Hours
Cross this big country east to west in a day? …in a Light-Sport Aircraft? Yup!
On June 8, pilots Matt Hansen and Jessica Scharle successfully completed a transcontinental flight in Peregrine FA-04, dashing 1,813.5 nautical miles from Florida to California. After making five stops along the way the duo touched down at Gillespie Field near San Diego at 10:22 PM, marking an elapsed time of 19 hours and 21 minutes, which includes time for fuel stops. Total flying time was just over 17 hours.
They may have accomplished the feat to help nonprofit Able Flight in its mission to assist disabled folks learn to fly, but I think these twentysomething pilots showed they have the right stuff. That’s even more obvious when you hear Jessica Scharle courageously overcame a rare medical condition that fused almost every joint in her body. Nearly immobilized at one time, numerous surgeries, years of physical therapy, and personal determination helped Jessica become completely independent.
Lightning Fast; Arion Earns SLSA Before Sun ‘n Fun
After selling 40 aircraft under the Experimental Amateur Built (EAB) rule, Arion has now completed their SLSA approval just in the nick of time before the season-launching Sun ‘n Fun starts. Welcome to Lightning — SLSA #96 — from Arion Aircraft, which is our 69th company to enter production of Light-Sport Aircraft. *** Lightning got its start back when Jabiru-man Pete Krotje, his son Ben, plus Nick Otterback were dealers for the Spanish Esquale. That lead to the lovely low-wing Lightning though the design borrows from several light aircraft. It may sound like an organic development but the results are definitely worthy. I was highly impressed with a flight in an earlier EAB model, which did not have the speed limitations of LSA. “Extra wing area was added to bring wing loading and stall speeds into compliance with the applicable standards,” said Nick. *** Arion won approval on April 15, 2009.
Modestly-Priced, Easy-Flying Challenger Series
For 21 Years, Quad City’s Challenger has proved a good choice.
It’s enough to create a serious case of envy among producers vying for the market the Challenger seems to own year after year. Even in 2003, a slow year for all aircraft manufacturers, Quad City Ultralight Aircraft pumped out another 120 kits. Most light-sport aviation companies would consider that an excellent performance. For Quad City, it was a down year!
The venerable company from the Quad Cities area of Iowa, near the Illinois border, has put more than 3000 aircraft in the air. Van’s Aircraft has done even better, and Quicksilver has more than 10,000 ultralights flying, but the Challenger is clearly one of the industry’s leaders. And the company has enjoyed the same leadership since it was founded more than two decades ago.
Despite this success, Quad City maneuvers rather quietly. Last year the company celebrated 20 years of operation, yet many ultralighters and most aviators were unaware of the accomplishment.
Enroute to Sebring! Leaving 2008, Arriving 2009
Agreement is widespread welcoming a new year; 2008 was hard on almost everybody…around the world. The new year may bring continued turbulence, but a feeling that things are starting to change is prevalent, based on my conversations with dozens of LSA professionals in preparation for this year’s Fifth Annual Sebring LSA Expo. From various locations around the country, vehicles and airplanes are headed to Florida — where, by the way, 60-degree temperatures are expected to warm those from the deeply cold north. *** In this SPLOG, I present year-end information which completes the report posted earlier. We hope for a better 2009 and a much-improved 2010; nonetheless, the LSA fleet continued to expand in 2008, with a net increase of 36% (though growth slowed sharply from the 98% pace achieved in 2007 — as the fleet enlarges, it becomes harder to maintain the high percentage growth).
Savage Cub-like Taildragger
As we near the fourth anniversary of the introduction
of the first special light-sport aircraft
(S-LSA) in April 2004, notable successes have
been achieved. With approximately 1,000 fixed-wing
LSA-plus several hundred flex wings-in the national
fleet, and with the entry of Cessna and Cirrus into the
LSA marketplace, LSA have clearly become part of the
aviation scene.
Whatever the soothsayers predict for the future
of LSA, one fact has been established: Pretty yellow
taildraggers generate a solid following. Combining
the sales of American Legend Aircraft’s Legend Cub,
CubCrafters’ Sport Cub, and European supplier Zlin’s
Savage, nearly one in five S-LSA registered in the FAA’s
database are yellow taildraggers.
American Legend currently leads in market share, but
CubCrafters steadily rose through the ranks during 2007.
Well down the list, but with mounting registrations, is the
Zlin Savage. Though it more closely resembles the RANS S-7
Courier than the traditional J-3 Cub, the Zlin taildragger has
much to offer.
Luxurious Gobosh G-700S LSA
To Gobosh, LSA Means “Luxury Sport Aircraft”
Are luxury and light-sport aircraft (LSA)
compatible terms? Why shouldn’t they be? Some
automobiles are basic transportation machines
while others are luxurious, high-end cruisers.
That same variety can and should exist in the
world of aircraft, offering owners choices in
both price and “finish” of an airplane.
With luxury in mind,
one of the newer
entrants into the LSA
field, Gobosh Aviation,
introduced the Gobosh
G-700S to the U.S. market at EAA
AirVenture Oshkosh 2007. Built in
Poland by Aero Ltd. (see sidebar)
the G-700S is modified from Aero’s
AT-3, which has been produced
under European Joint Airworthiness
Requirements-Very Light Aircraft
(JAR-VLA) since 1999. About 30 AT-3s
are flying in Europe
What’s with Gobosh? What kind of
company name is that, you ask? Well,
Gobosh stands for “go big or stay
home.” One of Gobosh’s investors
hails from the high-tech computer
industry, and that’s his slogan in that
fast-paced, breakthrough-focused
world.
FPNA’s Roomy A-22 Valor
Ukraine Design Meets Florida Know-How
Early in the new millennium, I took a trip to Kiev, Ukraine. My mission was to visit two companies producing
aircraft for what was to become the light-sport aircraft segment. I didn’t
know then that the A-22 I flew with designer Yuri Yakovlev would become a
U.S.-assembled special light-sport aircraft (S-LSA).
Before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Americans hardly knew Ukraine,
a large and diverse country with a rich aviation heritage that once employed
lots of skilled aviation workers and engineers building large transport aircraft
and fighters. Ukrainians spent decades toiling for the Soviet state, and
most speak Russian today despite having an indigenous Ukrainian language.
Antonov, an aerospace name Americans have come to know, had a massive
Ukraine operation under the Soviet leadership.
When the communists withdrew, tens of thousands of experienced technicians
and engineers found themselves out of work. A few ended up building
little airplanes to earn a living.
Tecnam’s All-Metal Italian Beauties
Announced in July ’04, the Light-Sport
Aircraft (LSA) category is still relatively new, and has
yet to celebrate its fourth birthday. But many of the airplanes
getting all the attention today were not born in
the last 3 1/2 years. Many have rather long histories,
some in Europe’s microlight category and others in countries
that have applicable standards.
Among the longest in production is the Tecnam family
of airplanes. The central Italian company reports more
than 2,000 of their light planes flying in what may be the
largest fleet in this market segment. Given this company’s
track record, these airplanes have gone through
rounds of improvement. Our subject this month, the
P2002 Sierra, came from the P-96. The numbers relate to
the year of development and show the low-wing Special
Light-Sport Aircraft (SLSA) from Tecnam has a dozen
years of history.
Costruzioni Aeronautiche Tecnam (the company’s complete
name) is 57 years old and traces its roots back to
the 1950 P48B Astore.
RANS S-19; Ready for the World
The Second SLSA from RANS
RANS Inc. continues to be a significant player in the homebuilt
aircraft market as one of the nation’s largest kit airframe
producers. In the last two years, Randy Schlitter, RANS’ designer
and CEO, added manufactured, ready-to-fly special
light-sport aircraft (S-LSA) to his enterprise; the S-7LS is
presently in production, and it will be joined by the S-19LS
in 2008. The good news for EAA members interested in building
one is that the new S-19 is also available in kit form.
Manufacturing completely built aircraft under ASTM
International standards is a diff erent work eff ort than kit
manufacturing under amateur-built standards. Even so,
several industry experts agree that RANS is a good candidate
to succeed at such a multi-tasking eff ort. (Randy and
his team already simultaneously run two companies, one
for airplanes and another for recumbent bicycles.)
RANS hopes to have the S-19LS manufactured model in
production by fall 2008, for those who want to buy and fly.
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