Part 103 ultralight activity was not the news I expected to report from Sun ‘n Fun 2015, certainly not as my first report. After an intense week shooting video interviews at Sun ‘n Fun 2015, I am impressed to report that Part 103 is much more than alive and well. For those that may have missed this unique category, Part 103 ultralight vehicles (FAA’s deliberate wording) are single seat flying machines of varying description that need no medical, not even a pilot license, no N-number registration, and can be sold ready-to-fly. The entire FAA regulation for them can be printed on the front and back of a single piece of paper.
Adding to the charm of rarely having to interact with a government agency in order to have some fun in your airplane are a couple similar efforts in Europe. Germany has its 120-kilogram class (264 pounds) and England has its SSDR category (Single Seat De Regulated).
Exciting Development Projects at Aero 2015
Aero is such an interesting event for many reasons. Among the most significant of these are the large number of aircraft introductions or the newest development projects one discovers in the vast gymnasium-sized halls … eleven of them in total. It can be hard to cover all the square meters, which although not as enormous as giant outdoor American shows, are nonetheless so packed with aircraft that one gets sensory overload before you’ve seen them all.
The world premiere of BlackWing was such a project. Here is the first light aircraft I’ve seen from Sweden; others may exist but I’m not aware of them. This sleek speedster uses the ubiquitous Rotax 912 to achieve what they state as stunning speeds up to 400 kilometers per hour (250 mph or 217 knots) and this from only 100 horsepower! Of course, this won’t work as a Light-Sport Aircraft but BlackWing is LSA in size and concept other than its blazing speed.
First Flight of Flight Design’s Four Seat C4
Aero 2015 is open! The halls are full of shiny airplanes displayed with the usual European sense of style and panache. Visitors are backed up at the entry gates awaiting the official opening time. (We sneaky media journalists are allowed in earlier to get photos and begin interviews with vendors.) It is a great event, for Europe and for aviation.
I already have some airplanes in mind for reporting, both brand-new designs and the sort you never see in the USA. I will aim to prepare coverage of some of them and report as soon as time permits. Yet first, I want to talk about a project that is equally exciting.
I refer to the Flight Design project aimed at the general aviation world, that is, of airplanes with more seats than allowed in the LSA space … in addition to more speed, more weight, and other capabilities.
Glasair’s Merlin LSA Takes First Flight
What an amazing day! I heard of — count ’em — no less than three first flights. I don’t ever recall getting that kind of news in such a batch, but hooray! More airplanes to report on and more for customers to consider for their flying enjoyment. First up is the Glasair Merlin. I looked at the mockup of this new design at AirVenture 2014 (see video) and now she’s flying.
Glasair Aviation announced that their new Light-Sport Aircraft entry named Merlin “took its first flight through the skies above Arlington Municipal Airport Tuesday, April 7, 2015.” After many months of development work, the company put the new two seater through a regimen of preflight validation testing that included engine run-up, high-speed taxi, and ground roll lift off. Having completed this important set of tasks the team at Glasair watched as Merlin departed the surface with test pilot Grant Smith at the controls.
eAirplanes at Aero 2015 Plus Major Motor News
With Aero mere days away now, excitement is growing for the electric aircraft event-within-the-event. Visitors can tour around the entry foyer hall where the e-flight-expo will be located. This year offers a few highlights, provided to me from my publisher friend Willi Tacke in Germany.
One aircraft not many Europeans and even fewer Americans have seen is the Chinese RX1E made by the Liaoning Ruixiang General Aircraft Manufacturing Company. An electric motorglider, RX1E earned its CAAC Type Design Approval (TDA) earlier this year using ASTM standards (article). Willi reported, “The Chinese team lead by chief developer Professor Dr. Yang Fengtian is now seeking certification in other countries such as Germany or France.
Some companies will not be attending not because their projects have stopped but because they are at critical junctions. Among those missing will be the Volocopter from e-Volo nor any man-carrying aircraft display by Yuneec — which last year showed their eSpyder that had just won German approval.
Get Ready for 2010 … the Plane (not the Year)
Tecnam has become widely known for its extensive fleet of Light-Sport Aircraft designs (meeting ASTM standards) and for their popular twin-Rotax 912 Twin model (using traditional certification). At Sun ‘n Fun 2015, visitors can expect to lay eyes on the P2010 or as Tecnam usually calls it, “P Twenty Ten.”
I have told you that ByDanJohnson.com expects to cover Light GA Aircraft — or LSA 4.0, as my journalist pal Marino Boric christened them — in addition to our on-going coverage of Light-Sport Aircraft, light kit-built aircraft, and ultralights including microlights and electric-powered aircraft. You can hardly miss the theme: “light” aircraft but the coverage is meant to be of affordable aircraft brands this website often covers — and is supported by — including all American and international producers of LSA.
As you look at the photos in this article and compare them with the P2008 (bottom photo), you see the resemblance clearly.
Exploring LSA 4.0 … & Other Tecnam Developments
Tecnam had a strong year last year with reasonable sales of Light-Sport Aircraft plus larger, certified airplanes into the U.S. market. Around the world, according to the report released by GAMA and confirmed personally by Managing Director Paolo Pascale, Tecnam shipped nearly 200 airplanes in 2014. While ByDanJohnson.com readers are focused on recreational aircraft primarily from LSA and light kit manufacturers, more of these companies are joining Tecnam by preparing to offer what my journalist friend Marino Boric has dubbed “LSA 4.0,” meaning four seat LSA-type aircraft.
I am keenly aware that regulars to this website are focused on Light-Sport, light kit aircraft, ultralights — generally, aircraft flown primarily for fun. However, an entire new legacy is being written as producers of those aircraft types are charging ahead into LSA 4.0 aircraft. Since these new aircraft are from brand names well known to me, I intend to cover what I will call “Light GA” as well.
Just Aircraft SuperSTOL “Stretched”
Boeing does it. Why not Just Aircraft? Of course, a stretched Boeing only transports more people somewhere. The experience is not more fun … maybe less so. Flying in a Just airplane will put a huge grin on your face and now it is a lot more likely to do so. Having experienced SuperSTOL with 100 horsepower, I can’t wait to get a shot at one with (trumpets blare here) 180 horsepower. Hoo-Rah!
“To accommodate larger engines,” the company announced, “we introduce our new SuperSTOL Stretch XL.” By adding an extra two feet to the aft section of the fuselage and six inches up front, the SuperSTOL Stretch XL can now accommodate the new UL Power 520 engine series or Lycoming’s O-320 engine series that outputs 150-160 hp.
A plain old — but still exciting — SuperSTOL is powered by the 100 horsepower Rotax 912 which weighs approximately 165 pounds, with accessories, or the 115 hp Rotax 914, weighing 175 pounds.
World Aircraft Features Modest Prices
This article was updated on March 24, 2015 after communication with the company.
World Aircraft Company is an international collaboration between a former Canadian, Eric Giles and Colombia-based designer Max Tedesco. The two teamed up following Eric’s successful run with Skykits. Eric relocated to impressive new facilities in Paris, Tennessee (complete with a mockup of the Eiffel Tower) where he began manufacturing aircraft created by Max. The result is a series of airplanes including Spirit, Vision (video), Surveyor, and Freedom (in development).
The airplanes have numerous design features that demonstrate Max’s long experience at this sort of thing, for example, an easy-to-maintain panel. Most are fully enclosed but enthusiasts of open cockpit flying might enjoy Surveyor.
ByDanJohnson.com is a website significantly about aircraft you can afford — even our domain name will eventually become AffordableAircraft.com — so it stands to reason that we care about airplanes you can actually, well, you know … afford.
LSA Market Shares — Fleet and Calendar 2014
As spring approaches and with major airshows like Aero Friedrichshafen in Germany and Sun ‘n Fun in Florida about to trigger a new season of recreational flying, it is time for an annual update of Light-Sport Aircraft market shares. Our well-known “fleet” chart appears nearby; this table refers to all Special LSA registered with FAA in the United States since the first aircraft was accepted by FAA almost ten years ago (on April 5, 2005).
We again post our Calendar 2014 tally that shows the success only in that year as a means of drawing attention to those brands and models performing the best in the last twelve months. We remind you that these charts use as their source the FAA registration (N-number) database, that is then carefully studied and corrected to make the most reliable report possible. However, two points: (1) this report will still have some errors as the database on which we rely has some faulty information … though we believe this to be modest and, as noted, we correct it where we can; and, (2) aircraft registrations are not likely to be perfectly in sync with company records of sales for a variety of reasons.
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