TL Sport Aircraft offers a range of LSA including the popular low-wing Sting, high-wing Sirius, tandem Stream, and now the bold new Sparker, a Light-Sport Aircraft made for Mosaic’s new larger aircraft rules.
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Sparker to Ignite Mosaic’s Energy? New and Upgraded mLSA from TL Ultralight
At Aero Friedrichshafen 2023, visitors saw numerous aircraft that could qualify as Mosaic Light-Sport Aircraft or mLSA. In nearly every aisle of the several large halls of Aero, visitors and journalists could see entry after entry apparently made-for-Mosaic. Indeed, so many entries potentially qualify for this coming new segment that I ran out of time to examine all of them.
We are headed into an interesting period of aircraft development and the subject of this article is a perfect example. Welcome to TL Ultralight’s enhanced Sparker.
The model was introduced to the European 600 kilogram (1,320 pound) standard but over the last year it has gone through an extensive evaluation and upgrade to carry a 750 kilogram load (1,653 pounds). It was also revised to accommodate Rotax’s 915iS and 916iS engines.
With greater capacity and with 160 horsepower available, I’d call this a mLSA or Mosaic-ready Light-Sport Aircraft.
Aero ’23 Day 1 — Superveloce = Superfast… Speed Propels Porto Aviation to Records & Sales
In the last couple years a rivalry erupted among companies in Europe aiming to be the fastest LSA-type aircraft*. I have previously reported on Porto Aviation and its fast-flying ways.
Setting aside the politics of FAI-recognized record flights, no question remains that designer Alberto Porto is determined to create a very fast-flying aircraft. Check this article with more about speed attempts and to see images of a fixed-gear version called Siren.
Gear up with an adjustable prop and flown at common cruise altitudes, it’s clear that Superveloce lives up to its name.
What could the typical pilot expect while flying Superveloce? Porto Aviation lists the cruise speed at 75% power from Rotax’s 915iS at 200 knots true airspeed at 9,000 feet. Compared to other LSA I have examined, this tops the list (although some other fast designs aren’t too far behind).
Porto Aviation, previously quartered in Switzerland, is now a bit further south in Italy.
Aero Friedrichshafen Prepares to Open — Preview as Europe’s Top Show Takes Shape
Aero is open! Yesterday, after flying across the Atlantic and despite starting to run low on energy and affected by the time zone change, a small group of us eagerly took a walk through Aero’s cavernous 12 halls to get a early peek.
As I’ve observed many times, the night before, mere hours ahead of the show opening, the exhibits look chaotic. With packing boxes and parts strewn everywhere it seems impossible vendors can be ready in time. Aside from a few well-heeled organizations — those larger businesses that can pay outsiders to set up their exhibits ahead of time — most companies were scrambling furiously to be ready by opening day… which is now today.
Yet it always works, magically perhaps. Once again, late hours turned into a show by Wednesday the 19th, opening day. The show runs through Saturday the 22d. If you’re in Europe, I hope you’re coming.
George Jetson Flying Machine — Now a Reality and a Qualifying Part 103 Ultralight?
Air taxis — eVTOLs — UAVs — UASs — UAMs. I like “multicopters,” but the name game continues.
Maybe these new-fangled flying contraptions have numerous (indecipherable) names because they’re still deciding which way they’re headed?
I believe aircraft like these are nearly inevitable and I not only don’t resist, I’m rather enthusiastic about them. I’d love to get picked up from my driveway and whisked by air to an appointment across town in minutes, free of clogged roads. C’mon, UberAir!
However, that dream may be years in the future. Oh, the technology is nearly ready now. It hasn’t been proven to be in-the-field robust yet but engineers know today most of what they need to make air taxis viable. Their much bigger challenge? Gaining public acceptance and winning regulatory approval. That could take a long time. Meanwhile…
What’s Here TODAY?!
Air taxis may be fuzzy in the distance but another class of these machines is nearly ready for market.
“Ultra Petrel?” How Do You Make Super Petrel Even Better? Add Power And Call It “XP”
I have followed Super Petrel since before it went to Brazil* more than 20 years ago. I mention this to make two points.
Super Petrel has a long history; some 400 are flying around the world. In addition, the current producer, Scoda Aeronautica, has continually made changes to the design. The video below identifies some of this history.
What’s new for 2023 is the Super Petrel XP and it’s boost to big Rotax power, the 915iS fuel injected, turbocharged, intercooled engine that seems to be steadily supplanting all prior models.
Smoother & More Powerful
Super Petrel XP
“Eight years ago, Rodrigo Scoda and his team of engineers at Scoda Aeronautica began a secret project to redesign the aircraft from the wheels up,” started the update explanation by Roger Helton president of Super Petrel USA. “About one year into the project, they and other OEM aircraft manufactures were invited by Rotax to attend a meeting and were informed of the new 915iS engine.”
The timing was perfect as Rodrigo has always said, “You begin with the engine and build the aircraft around it.”
Besides the more potent engine, Scoda engineers have been busy.
Come Back… Cleanly! MySky Returns with Plans to Make Flying Friendlier
Once upon a time, I was able to report three or more new Special Light-Sport Aircraft every month. That was more than a decade back when the pace of new arrivals seemed faster than a rocket parachute deployment. Lots of airplane developers from all over the globe wanted a piece of this promising LSA action with its greater freedoms and breathtaking pace of innovation. New models were announced with regularity.
For the past few years that torrid pace slowed… just as it has in every other industry I’ve examined. However, in aviation it is uncommon for a good airplane to actually disappear forever. Designs worth their avgas often manage a come-back, a term meant to show a return to market for a flying machine some may have written off earlier.
Here is such a story.
MySky MS-One
From the day I laid eyes on it, I liked the tandem seating, comfortable cockpit, and sturdy construction of MySky’s MS-1 or MS-One.
Jabiru Engines Approaching 8,000 Engines Produced — Plus, Our List Reporting Every LSA Engine
When I was a kid, I was a New York Yankees baseball fan. Why? I’d never been to New York; I lived in the midwest. I loved the baseball team because they won a lot. The saying way back then was, “The American League battle isn’t to determine who wins, but which team might come in second.” Everybody knew the Yankees would win again. (As I said, this was some time back in history.)
In light aviation, we have a roughly similar situation. Rotax provides somewhere around 70-80% of all engines for aircraft in the light aircraft space globally. The remaining 20-30% is divided between Continental or Titan, Jabiru, ULPower, and a growing collection of converted auto engines (though the latter, without ASTM approval, are used only on kit aircraft or ELSAs).
US Sport Planes owner Scott Severen, who represents Jabiru in America, declared for the Australian manufacturer, “The 4,000th Jabiru 2200 four-cylinder, 81-horsepower engine [was] recently produced at the Jabiru facility.” And, he added, “The 3300 engine [series is] fast approaching this number, too.”
So, Jabiru may not be #1, but the “down-under” company achieved a significant benchmark when they shipped number 4,000 of the 2200 series.
First-Ever Montaer MC01 915iS to Debut at Season-Finale Aero Showcase This Weekend
When I asked “Mosaic LSA?” in the lead image of this article, was I simply being provocative? Or, is the soon-to-be-debuted Montaer MC01 with Rotax 915iS a forecast of what is to come with Mosaic?
Hopefully the title did get your attention but it asks a legitimate question for buyers of new potentially-Mosaic-compliant Light-Sport Aircraft.
The reason I feel this way is not merely the 141-horsepower engine Montaer designer Bruno Oliveira installed on the nose of his three-door LSA (see earlier review, before 915).
A more significant reason is that this airplane is one of several that may be able to re-declare compliance and get a substantial weight increase. It will already have a powerful-enough engine to lift a heavier load.
So, buyers of this airplane (and I repeat, MC01 will not be the only such choice) may be able to acquire a present-day 1,320-pound LSA and later get it bumped to perhaps 1,600-1,700 pounds, maybe more.
While FAA Reworks Mosaic, Other Nations Are Moving Ahead — Is USA Falling Behind?
Capitalism and competition are one thing. Government policies and actions are quite another. You already know this.
Sometimes, however, these two seemingly-opposite concepts aren’t so different. What does this have to do with Light-Sport Aircraft?
American pilots, like aviators in other countries, must obey regulations in the nation where they operate their airplanes. Yet the same requirement is not necessarily true for those who produce the airplanes we enjoy. Producers, it turns out, have choices.
Under an arrangement called reciprocity, manufacturers in certain nations (Note 1; see at bottom) can meet their local regulations and FAA will then accept such aircraft without them going through the American certification system. What results is a form of competition between government regulatory agencies.
European builders may be early users and beneficiaries but American companies could use reciprocity as well.
Readers may remember that when Cessna was still promoting their ill-fated Skycatcher SLSA, they considered pursuing 1990’s-era Primary Category.
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