One of the most-watched Light-Sport Aircraft is Icon’s A5 seaplane. Through savvy marketing and a splashy display and events at AirVenture (the only show where Icon Aircraft regularly exhibits), the company has clearly wowed potential buyers, the general aviation public, plus media journalists and photographers. ByDanJohnson.com has followed Icon since the beginning, actually even before the beginning, so we are pleased to continue our updates on their progress. Most observers see that it has been a long road. I first met CEO Kirk Hawkins back on the EAA Sport Pilot Tour in 2005 when he was — as he put it himself — “one guy with a business card.” Whatever you may think about the road long traveled, Kirk has taken his company from nowhere to one of the most closely tracked enterprises in the entire LSA space worldwide. His training for this lengthy exercise began at California’s respected Stanford University Graduate School of Business where he learned the Silicon Valley way to make a big impact … what the tech industry likes to call “creative destruction,” leaving behind the old ways of methodically introducing products and embracing the Internet style of taking bold leaps forward.
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Germany’s Top 10 Ultralights by Aerokurier
Much of what we hear and know about airplane populations is centered on America. Yet in the world of sport and recreational aviation, the rest of the world equates to at least a 1:1 relationship, that is, for every American aircraft flying, many experts agree another flies internationally. It may be more significant than that … consider Germany.
In mid-August, our friends at Aerokurier, Germany’s leading aviation magazine, assembled an article about the top 10 ultralights in that country. A European ultralight, as you may know, is not the same as an American ultralight that is today limited to a single seat and no more than 254 pounds of empty weight. In Germany and elsewhere around the European Union, “ultralight” refers to an airplane much like a U.S. Light-Sport but limited in weight to 472.5 kilograms or 1,041 pounds.
Originally the weight limit had been 450 kilograms or 992 pounds but because emergency airframe parachutes are mandatory in Germany the weight was increased a few years ago to cover this component.
Midwest LSA Expo 2014 Highlights
The sixth annual Midwest LSA Expo just concluded. These LSA-only events offer a more intimate setting where you can speak at length with an aircraft or other product representative. They don’t offer the dense traffic of the big shows but the valued trade off is that nearly everyone who shows is interested. People came from as far as California and I witnessed many demo flights. The Mt. Vernon airport is as good as it gets for this purpose with easy access to big broad runways and plenty of open airspace. Lead by energetic Chris Collins, a team of volunteers made it work again. When the event isn’t swallowing all their time these folks have a little fun. Don’t worry about the nearby picture; TSA and Homeland Security can calm down. This was a planned promotional venture on the side of a great new restaurant called Rare, a chop house.
Amazing LSA Seaplanes: Lisa’s Supersleek Akoya
We just passed September 1st and that date is significant in the LSA universe. It is the day, ten years ago, that the Sport Pilot & Light-Sport Aircraft rule we have been celebrating all summer officially became part of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs). If you’re thinking, “Hey, I thought it was announced in the summertime, at AirVenture!” … you’re correct. It was, but that was just the administrator’s public relations timing to get the biggest bang for the buck, at Oshkosh. As we continue the tenth anniversary celebration — looking back on the first decade — we see the astounding development of 136 models of LSA, more than one every month for ten years running. This profusion of models runs the length and breadth of aviation, from fixed wing, three axis airplanes to powered parachutes to trikes to motorgliders and from less than $30,000 to over $200,000. I fully expect designers to continue pushing the envelope in every direction but one facet of LSA development seems as energized as a Saturn V moon rocket: LSA seaplanes.
A Million Minutes (of Video) Every Month
Traffic to this website grew significantly in the last few years, starting a steep upward path in 2012 and in May this year hitting a peak of almost 75,000 Unique Visitors. First, a thank you for your regular visits! Then, a question: why is that so? It’s impossible to say why 60-70,000 people do something each month but a leading candidate reason has to be our embrace of video thanks to our partnerhip with Lightsport and Ultralight Flyer, publishing these days to YouTube under the name SportAviationMagazine.com. It seems clear … people love video! Comments we receive at airshows are now commonly related to video though we hear good things about our effort at covering all the news for Light-Sport Aircraft, light kit aircraft, and ultralights.
Recent Posts — (top left, clockwise) Sampling the AeroGlass heads-up display eyewear when visiting Levil Tech • Garmin‘s new G3X Touch • Flight Design CTLSi comparing Rotax 912ULS and 912iS plus new Dynon gear • New MVP from MVP.aero wowed the crowds at AirVenture 2014
My video partner and I create well over 100 new videos per year and I just uploaded eight new ones (images) with many, many more to follow.
Sam Aircraft Prepares for Next Phase
Hey, buddy, wanna buy an airplane company? Thierry Zibi, proprietor of SAM Aircraft, has put his company up for sale. This decision comes only a year and a half after the first flight of the prototype Sam aircraft. I flew and reported on this tandem seating all-metal airplane. Several other reporters flew the Sam LS and reviews were favorable. Some have likened the design, which Zibi spent years developing, to a Light-Sport version of a early military fighter or trainer modeled somewhat after the Ryan STA. It was done with a style that is uncommon among aircraft designers. An attention-getting image (photo) released just before AirVenture Oshkosh 2014 shows the innards of the airplane appliquéd to the fuselage exterior. Like the logo, nose art, and other aspects of the design, the effect is one reminiscent of art deco, an art fashion of the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s.
China Continues Making Deals Involving LSA
Many Americans know that other countries can adopt ASTM standards to gain approval for Light-Sport Aircraft. One of the first to enthusiastically do so was Australia. The down-under nation also has close contacts with China, which has been buying various kinds of natural resources from Australia for years. So, when you hear an aviation company has made a deal with China, you might shrug and say, “What’s new? Everybody seems to be doing it.” You’d be partly right, but for Americans, most of the action seems to be with U.S. companies plus some from Europe. How about a company you probably never heard of making the deal? Let me introduce you to Brumby Aircraft, a twenty year old aircraft producer that embraced the LSA phenomenon and recently secured what sounds like a strong opportunity.
The Aussie company announced it signed a $50 million deal with a Chinese aviation conglomerate that will see Brumby Light-Sport Aircraft (photos) used in China for primary training.
WATTsUP at Pipistrel — eTrainer Flies
Electric aircraft continue to develop rapidly and the most visible actions are on ultralight aircraft such as Zigolo, eSpyder, or Light-Sport Aircaft (Evektor EPOS) as these are the lightest and therefore most workable candidates for electric power today. At Oshkosh we heard more about the two-seat SunFlyer in development by Bye Aerospace and those who visited the Fun Fly Zone (the place formerly known as the Ultralight Area) saw electric aircraft regularly flying as they have for several years. Now, one of the leading creators of electric airplanes is making a bigger push to offer a training-capable aircraft. As with several Pipistrel models the name is a bit unusual but WATTsUp is a two-seat electric trainer based on Pipistrel’s Alpha (video). WATTsUp took its maiden flight on August 22nd. The Slovenian company unveiled the new aircraft on August 30th at a popular recreational aircraft show south of Paris called Salon du Blois.
MGL’s Discovery-Lite Unveiled at AirVenture 2014
A lot of attention is focused on the largest companies yet innovation and new price points are often led by smaller enterprises. A case in point is MGL Avionics‘ recently announced Discovery-Lite, a seven-inch electronic flight information system. “Our all-in-one EFIS is a revolution in simplicity, but harnesses the full power of the iEFIS system,” stated MGL’s U.S. representative. MGL is also one of the first glass panel makers to promote touch screen functionality in a full size system. The company based in Torrance, California has been shipping their iEFIS Explorer 8.5-inch and Challenger 10.4-inch systems that have allowed a now more common combination of touch screen and buttons. Let’s jump to the end of their announcement. “Discovery-Lite will start shipping in the next six weeks. Projected price is under $3,000 for a complete system,” forecast MGL. Imagine that! A few years ago, glass screens — albeit larger, certified versions with multiple screens — could hit $100,000 in Type Certified airplanes and now you have essentially the same capability for less than three grand … with touch control to boot.
Affordable Bearhawk LSA Quick-Build Kit at Oshkosh
Are you lusting after a Cub lookalike but can’t afford the steep price tags these popular flying machines carry? How about something much more affordable? A taildragger called Bearhawk has picked up accolades from AirVenture judges and owners appear very loyal. Sometimes those of us close to factory built Light-Sport Aircraft tend to forget about the homebuilt community. However, more pilots exercising the privileges of Sport Pilot are flying kit-built airplanes than ready-to-fly models, a trend that is likely to continue because a kit represents a lower cost option and one where the owner can more easily do all repair work. Let me clarify, though. Bearhawk is Sport Pilot eligible (using a term my longtime EAA friend, Ron Wagner, coined); it is technically not a Light-Sport. Bearhawk LSA made its debut at AirVenture two years ago as a prototype constructed by its designer, Bob Barrows. Recently a customer flew the first completed kit.
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