A common question from affordable aviation enthusiasts asks about four stroke engines, either for genuine Part 103 ultralights (available but somewhat more challenging) or for very light aircraft. Such inquiries are commonly for aircraft that have previously used a Rotax 582.
The last two-stroke offered by the big Austrian engine manufacturer — builder of the ubiquitous 9-series four-stroke engines — was the Rotax 582. Producing 65 horsepower and earning a good reliability rating over many years, the 582 has been a dependable powerplant for the lightest powered aircraft that are larger and heavier than genuine Part 103 ultralights.
2020 Sensation!
The one and only airshow in 2020 was the Midwest LSA Expo… about to start this week!
Two years ago, in preparation for the show, Chip Erwin lit up the blogosphere with his Merlin Lite entry (image below). Here’s more about that all-metal, weight-making Part 103 aircraft (our most-read article of 2020, which was then our strongest year ever).
It’s Almost Fall 2022 and It’s Time for Two Favorite Light-Sport Aircraft Aviation Events
As Labor Day approaches each year, pilots in the Midwest U.S. — and some from much further away — start heading to Mt. Vernon, Illinois. About an hour’s drive East of St. Louis, Missouri, Mt. Vernon is home to a dedicated sector show that has emerged as a favorite.
This is the 14th year for the Midwest LSA Expo, so airport manager and all-around good guy Chris Collins is starting to psyche up for his benchmark 15th year in 2023. Putting this in perspective, that’s as old as the Sebring LSA Expo ever got before it disbanded. I’ll bet Chris never really thought about running one of the most established shows in the country.
While I cannot speak for every attendee, I can tell you that vendors return year after year for a very good reason: they sell airplanes. Pilots can thoroughly examine an airplane and perhaps make their decision.
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.
RV-15 High Wing Debuts to Crowds at Oshkosh 2022; Does Van’s Know Something You Don’t?
Is it an LSA or is it not an LSA? Is that the question?
When Van’s broke the news that their latest RV-15 model was a high wing, plenty of pilots snapped to attention. This company has produced one winner after another; here is their latest. Its bare aluminum glistened in bright sunlight and drew crowds through every day of Oshkosh 2022.
Will the model join the long line of distinguished RV models as a kit-built aircraft or could the company’s first-ever high wing signify something else. After all, Van’s did bring in-house full manufacturing of their successful RV-12 LSA.
Does Van’s know something you don’t know? Oh, very probably they know far more than you know but the question digs at who knows what FAA is doing. Here’s one company that may have a better handle on that than most others.
Van’s president Rian Johnson is the head of the ASTM F37 committee that is working closely with the FAA to formulate standards that will be used when the new breed of LSA come on the market, which I now predict will happen in 2025.
Montaer Scores Major Flight School Order; Announces 915 Model for USA plus Electric Project
We leave the grounds of Oshkosh ghosted with images of planes that attracted major interest. From Wisconsin we fly far south to Brazil, home to Montaer and its MC-01, number 154 on our Special Light-Sport Aircraft List.
Montaer will now be represented in the USA by a new group, Aero Affinity, whose ambitions are impressive and pilots may love all the services and choices they are proposing to deliver. Actually, they’re already delivering because the entities making up Aero Affinity are free-standing groups, each functioning in the industry today. Collaborating is a way to offer even more while spreading some of the cost among the group.
This same team made a splash at AirVenture with their matching Aero Showcase logowear. Here’s their website about the inaugural event scheduled for October 21-22, 2022.
For now, however, we’re going to blast part-way around the globe to Brazil where Montaer Aircraft scored big with a large order.
FAA’s Mosaic Rule — Delayed (a Year or More); Further Information about the New LSA Regulation
One of the most-read articles from my coverage of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2022 was the news that FAA missed their deadline as originally projected and will be a year or more late with the Mosaic rule. Many were upset at that result; others thought it was “par for the course.”
The good news, as I reported in the article, is that what emerges in one year will be a regulation that might actually go forward. Let me explain a little more fully.
During Oshkosh 2022, I attended three meetings where FAA spoke. I also had one-on-one discussions with several knowledgeable people. What follows is a fusion of all those conversations. While I believe this information to be accurate, the situation is changing and more questions will arise. Please consider this a snapshot in time.
The Main Question — As some commenters to the earlier article said, FAA did specify a date when the Mosaic NPRM may be released: “August 2023.” This came directly from David Boulter who was selected by the FAA Administrator to answer an audience question; the comment was made in a public forum.
Oshkosh 2022 – Day 4… TAF’s Sling HW with Rotax 915 is a Big, Comfortable Lightplane
Somewhere, it seems like a group of light plane developers must have held a meeting and decided that low wing manufacturers needed to broaden their line to include high wings. A batch of new models has been unveiled or announced this year. (Article updated 2PM – 7/29 Fri — new image of the gorgeous taildragger; see below)
Did these builders not notice the industry already has a whole slew of popular high wing models? Some, like Flight Design’s CT series, has been a market leader since the beginning. Companies in the list below didn’t follow the leader then? Why now?
Of course, no such industry agreement happened. Each company examined their lines and chose individually to go forward with their designs. Honestly, they’ve all come out so recently they could not have coordinated such a broad launch in a single year even if they tried.
Nonetheless, here they are, one after another.
Oshkosh 2022 – Day 3… Build Your Own LSA-Sized Warbird, a Stunning Eye Catcher
EAA has reported that the Warbird displays (ground and flight) are the single biggest draw at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Whatever the numbers, almost all attendees enjoy seeing World War II warbirds still flying, often in large formations. They make quite the inspiring sight.
Another point of wide agreement among pilots is that perhaps the P-51 Mustang is the most popular airplane ever …if they are baby boomers.
Archon developers and sellers Dave Hertner and Bill Canino reported that younger pilots aren’t necessarily enamored of the WWII fighters. Those aircraft flew more than half a century before they were born.
What young military aircraft enthusiasts recognize are machines like Lockheed’s F-35. Common on late-generation fighters, F-35 is all sharp edges and angled facets. It’s quite — to use a word of another generation — gnarly and vicious looking.
You can’t even afford the fuel bill to fly one of Lockheed’s big bad boys.
Oshkosh 2022 – Day 2… Electric Helicopter from Composite FX is Lean, Green Machine
A year ago at Oshkosh, I became intrigued by the way Composite FX had developed the older Mosquito into their XE line; multiple models running from a legitimate Part 103 helicopter, their XEL model, to the turbine XET model. The company builds these handsome aircraft in Trenton, Florida after acquiring the design from Canadian John Uptigrove (see image of his original).
Vertical takeoff has a special appeal, even to those of us with little or no rotary experience. Setting aside the skills to fly such machines, the cost of a helicopter is usually so high that many don’t even consider it. Maybe they didn’t look far enough.
Composite FX and their $60,000 ready-to-fly XEL model (kit for $47,000) completely changes that thought experiment. Not only does this handsome aircraft perform impressively in experienced hands but many can afford it.
Yet this article is not about the product line the manufacturer is presently delivering.
Oshkosh 2022 – Day 1… FAA Mosaic Regulation Update; No NPRM Announcement; Changes Underway
Many of you have been asking about FAA and their Mosaic regulation. Let’s jump right into it.
Following is what I’ve learned even before the “Meet the Administrator” session that has become a staple of AirVenture thanks to excellent coordination by EAA’s professional advocacy staff.
That Administrator session is on Thursday. I will attend and perhaps learn more, but here is info direct from FAA contacts, speaking about actions that are already on the public record.
We will hear no Mosaic NPRM announcement at Oshkosh.
We may hear about work on the new regulation but the rule will not yet be published in the Federal Register as an NPRM or Notice of Proposed Rule Making.
As regular readers (or YouTube viewers) know, Mosaic is not being created solely for Light-Sport Aircraft. The coming rule encompasses warbirds, homebuilts, LSA, and Unmanned Air Systems (UAS). The latter includes all manner of electric and/or hybrid aircraft.