One sign that Light-Sport Aircraft have arrived is when a well-known general aviation company joins forces with a LSA leader. That’s what occurred when IndUS Aviation, producer of the Thorpedo and Sky Skooter, retained Vero Beach, Florida-based LoPresti Speed Merchants. You surely know the legendary Roy LoPresti operation that gained fame by working with major airframe builders to extract more speed from their designs. Though Roy died last August, the company continues its “brain trust” work to squeeze speed from an airplane without adding horsepower. Those speed mods are now going to quicken the cruise of a new Thorpedo LP. At the Sebring LSA Expo in just four days, you can get first-hand info on components that will make a new, faster Thorpedo. *** You may also want to ask the IndUS folks why FAA Administrator Marion Blakey paid a three-hour visit to their operation in India.
Come See Them All…at the Sebring LSA Expo
We’re down to the last week before the 2007 Sebring LSA Expo kicks off a new year in sport aviation. In attendance will be every market-leading airplane and some in the works. One of the most watched of these is the Cessna LSA. The company is still working on their “business case,” a formal plan for the Textron board to allow them to consider Cessna’s proposed entry to the world of Light-Sport Aircraft. But while the Wichita giant makes its decision key Cessna people will staff the company’s exhibit at Sebring…virtually sealing the case for the Expo being an important event on the LSA calendar. Sun ‘n Fun has also bought space to promote their full airshow in April. EAA will be hosting a whole series of forums. LAMA will holds its annual member meeting. And other groups will gather. Media people are asking for credentials.
Newest SLSA (#18) is Italy’s Sky Arrow
The count of Special Light Sport Aircraft rose another notch, to 18 certified models, with the addition on November 4th of the Italian Sky Arrow design built by Iniziative Industriali Italiane, or simply 3I. Hansen Air Group boss, Jon Hansen — well known for his promotion of the also-Italian Tecnam aircraft — reported the news while displaying the Tecnam Bravo at the AOPA Expo, which concluded today. (The big organization’s annual convention featured 15 Light Sport Aircraft in a special area arranged through LAMA.) Sky Arrow has previously achieved a tougher certification, that of FAA’s Part 23, so the SLSA achievement may be taken in stride by those who know the design. More surprising is that the Hansen Air Group, with representation on east and west coast, has now brought four aircraft into the SLSA fold…more than any other importer or U.S. manufacturer. Jon indicated that his company would put additional focus on the Sky Arrow due to its excellent value.
Clicking Down to a Deadline for Ultralight Pilots
So, you’re an ultralight pilot with many hours flying one of the great light airplanes that enjoyed the limelight long before Light-Sport Aircraft. Then FAA goes and creates a new class of pilot. Now, despite your pilot credential from USUA, ASC, or EAA, you have to go get a new one. Earning it involves a written test plus a flight check with oral exam…all of which you’ve already taken. “What sense does that make,” you ask? Point taken, but that flight has left the ground. You have to do it and you ought to do it soon. Why? Because if you act before January 31, 2007, you can at least get credit for all that time you’ve logged. What’s worse than having to pay to take tests for stuff you already know? How about having to go fly with an instructor to acquire the 20 hours it takes to qualify for a Sport Pilot certificate?
Cessna Visit; Checking Progress Toward Their LSA
Yesterday, I paid a visit to Cessna Aircraft and was generously hosted by John Doman, their VP of worldwide prop aircraft sales, Roger Martin, director of prop marketing, and Darren Jones, one of Cessna’s LSA Core Team members and a principal author of the business case being prepared to show Cessna and Textron management why proceeding with the LSA is advised. Leaders are still grappling with several challenges but one aspect has been confirmed. Through potential customer research and by talking to their 400 Cessna Pilot Centers and their dozens of STAR dealers, Cessna has become certain of the market for an LSA. You may already be convinced of this but the world’s largest airplane builder has data to prove their conclusion…such as 3,300 qualified customer surveys from those distributed at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. We were also given a tour of their jet manufacturing in one of the largest buildings in the state of Kansas.
Sky Skooter Makes Two SLSA for IndUS
Dallas, Texas-based IndUS Aviation earned their second SLSA model approval with certification of the T-11 Sky Skooter. Powered by the four cylinder, 85-hp Jabiru 2200, Sky Skooter becomes the lighter sibling to the potent Thorpedo, which uses the 120-hp Jabiru 3300 on the same airframe. Compared to IndUS’s T-211 with the Continental O-200 engine, the smaller Jabiru saves 100 pounds. Fuel burn is stated as 4 gph at economy cruise. At the design’s birth in 1944, Sky Skooter was designed around a 50-hp Franklin engine. With the lighter engine, the 2006 Sky Skooter tips the scales at a modest “645 pounds empty,” commented Ram Pattisapu, owner of IndUS. That is less than most Light-Sport Aircraft and brings pleasant handling as I found in a short flight in the prototype Sky Skooter. I find it refreshing to see a company use a smaller powerplant and simpler aircraft. But I ask the same question as with the Skykits Savannah ADV: Is Sky Skooter a “new” model for our SLSA List?
Colyaer Amphib is Newest Floatplane SLSA
On the same day Van first flew his RV-12 LSA and on the same day AOPA’s Expo 2006 opened with a fleet of LSA on display, LSA Aero president Don Langford received #44 SLSA certification for the Freedom from Troy Hart of the Memphis FSDO (photo). The following week Decatur, Alabama-based LSA Aero delivered the first Freedom amphibian to its owner. Langford says the Freedom, part of a family of airplanes based on the design, “is the culmination of eight years of development by Colyaer of Pontevedra, Spain.” The Martin3 landplane and Gannet non-amphib seaplane share the same wing, cabin, tail, and fuselage down to the waterline, added Langford. *** Glide performance from the 40.3-foot wings is said to be 20:1 and this helps keep water runs to a reported 8 seconds. Empty weight with the amphibious gear is 854 pounds but LSA seaplanes can gross at 1,430 pounds yielding a respectable 576-pound useful load.
AMD’s CH-601 XL Tops Off a Great 2005
The newest Special Light-Sport Aircraft to win approval will help the industry close out a spectacular year. In 2005, starting only by mid-April, 23 designs have won their airworthiness certificate under the ASTM Consensus Standards. For the year, #23 goes to Aircraft Manufacturing and Development of Eastman, Georgia. The AMD Zodiac CH 601 XL is powered by the Continental engine and all of it is built in the USA. American A&P mechanics are very familiar with the O-200 engine, which assures availability of service across the country. Since the southeastern U.S. company also builds the FAA Part 23 certified Alarus four seater, they are assembling the 601 to that high standard (such process meets the ASTM standards). The all-metal design flies conventionally and has won praise for its handling and performance. The CH 601 is one of several designs by Chris Heintz, father of Mathieu Heintz, president of AMD.
Swoopy Nexaer LS1 Takes to the Air
On October 16th, Nexaer took a first flight in their new LS1, an LSA designed precisely for Sport Pilot. Lifting off at Meadow Lake Airport in Peyton, Colorado, test pilot Bill VonDane followed a conservative test plan of crow hopping just a few feet above the runway, setting back down on the far end. Nexaer boss Paul Klahn plans to show the new model in the LSA area of AOPA Expo in Palm Springs Nov. 9-11. *** LS1 grosses at 1,320 lbs., has a 750-lb. empty weight (depending on options), 27 gallons of fuel, and each seat is a generous 21 inches wide. Nexaer says engine choices include two Jabiru models, Rotax 912, Continental O-200, or Lycoming O-235 (though the latter may cut useful load). LS1 is described as a “no-flap design for…reduced pilot workload.” Dual full controls are available, but standard left-seat-only controls produce an interior more closely resembling an automobile.
Unveiling New LSA at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2006
What fascinating new airplanes might we expect at AirVenture 2006 in only a few days? Excitement surrounds Cessna‘s “proof-of-concept” entry. The company has no final determination, but they’ll reveal their PoC LSA near AeroShell Square at 9:30 on opening Monday. *** Later may come an entry from Van’s Aircraft, supplier of the most popular kit aircraft. They report, “We are now in the earliest stages of building a ‘proof-of-concept’ airplane…the RV-12. It’s an all metal side-by-side airplane with a low wing. It uses a tricycle landing gear and has a 100 hp Rotax 912S for power.” Hmmm? Cessna is also rumored to be considering Rotax. What could this mean for Rotax‘s penetration into the GA world, what with the largest GA and kit producers looking at the brand? Decisions aren’t final, though. Van’s Aircraft added, “We’d welcome written or emailed thoughts on the concept.
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