Aero 2014 is history now but sorting through all the discoveries and reviewing hundreds of photos I shot will consume more time. Just to give a flavor of the diversity in the halls, I present some images below with photo captions. As time allows I will provide several articles about aircraft and concepts contained in the great halls of Aero. One topic I will not cover is the large number of radio control or other model airplanes I saw. In some years, such can take an entire gymnasium-sized hall by themselves … fascinating! Yet the image you see nearby is a shot taken by a small quad copter (photo inset) with its wide angle lens. Such tiny flying machines are surely part of our future and seeing things below is part of their mission (for better or worse). My LAMA Europe associate and friend, Jan Fridrich, asked a vendor to shoot the image you see, which would not have been possible by any means other than a hydraulic lift.
LSA Off to Sun ‘n Fun — Excitement Building!
Super Petrel LS from Edra Aeronautica — As described in our earlier article, Edra Aeronautica was nearly done with their acceptance by FAA to be able to sell their handsome biwing Super Petrel LS in the U.S. as a Special (fully manufactured) Light-Sport Aircraft. The “almost” is gone now and Daytona Beach, Florida-based importer Brian Boucher of Florida Light Sport Aviation has the pink Special Airworthiness card in his LSA to prove it (photo). Brian’s business also represents the Flight Design CTLSi, so he has two distinctive Light-Sport models he can demonstrate. Florida Light Sport Aviation is based at the Spruce Creek Fly-in (just like ByDanJohnson.com!); he and wife Jean will be at Sun ‘n Fun in space LP-38 past the LSA Mall in Paradise City. Another Super Petrel LS will be available for examination in the LSA Mall as will his CTLSi. Brian is an airline pilot but enjoys Light-Sport Aircraft when he isn’t jetting around the globe.
“Puff” and the Golf Carts; Fun in Paradise City
Less than two weeks from now, the season of recreational flying is officially set in motion with the opening of Sun ‘n Fun … the 40th year of the nation’s first major airshow. It will also be year #2 for the new and much-improved Paradise City, formerly known as the Ultralight or Lightplane Area. Alongside the curvy new paved road that loops through Paradise City will sit the LSA Mall at Show Center powered by Aviators Hot Line and this is a place many will visit throughout the week to peruse LSA, light kit airplanes, and electric aircraft. Getting to the Paradise City will be much easier and faster thanks to a pair of six-seat golf carts that will rove the grounds of Sun ‘n Fun and pick up visitors who want to check out Paradise and all the action at this airshow-within-an-airshow. Demo flights for LSA shoppers will be readily available and can be conducted all day long even during the main airshow aerobatics (except for a 1-2 hour period when military teams demand “sterile airspace”).
Super Petrel LS Is (Almost) the Newest SLSA
In the beginning … OK, a few years ago, FAA went around to a couple dozen LSA producers to evaluate the state of the then-new LSA industry. The agency teams did not conduct an audit, they emphasized. More intensive examinations, actual audits, followed in recent years. Last year the agency issued new guidance to help them and everyone else judge who really was and was not a manufacturer. If the need for such a definition surprises you, remember, the brave new world of Light-Sport Aircraft threw curves to government regulators, captains of industry, aircraft design geniuses, plus all we rank and file customers. Everyone learned a great deal as an entirely new sector of aviation was given birth … one, by the way, with a worldwide impact as more countries sign on to the ASTM standards method of assuring airworthiness. The LSA industry is now a few months away from its tenth birthday and the gears of production are beginning to mesh more smoothly than ever.
LSA Seaplanes Remain Newsworthy in 2014
Someone remarked to me recently that LSA seaplanes seem to be the topic of the week or month (or however often you check in to see). Indeed, as we approach the tenth anniversary of Sport Pilot / Light-Sport Aircraft, we can reflect with pride upon more than 130 models making their way to market. True, not all have proven successes in the market place but having choice is always good for customers even if they finally select from a limited number of brands to occupy their hangar. Therefore, thanks to all those entrepreneurial designers that brought new airplanes to the sky. Now, in the closing months of LSA’s first decade, a new focus appears turned to amphibious Light-Sport machines, with more than 20 vying for our attention. As always some are doing a better job of capturing mindshare than others. In this article I’ll talk about two from nearly opposite ends of the new spectrum.
Clearer Picture(s) of the new Vickers Wave
After a rush of interest owing to earlier reports (see here and here), the team at Vickers Aircraft went head down and began pushing even harder on their fascinating new amphibious LSA seaplane entry called Wave. As you can see by the photos, they’ve now unveiled the overall appearance though additional details of this rather distinctive creation will be released as components are fitted and evaluated. Meanwhile, for those who want more, principal designer Paul Vickers added, “I am pleased to inform that our Vickers Aircraft website is now live. We invite pilots around the world to come have a closer look and to observe which companies we are engaging as partners.
“We have achieved our production weights on completed assemblies,” noted Paul, including wings, tail stabilizers, controls, and composites structures such as the cockpit and sponsons.” Vickers says they achieved this by strategically combining aluminum and carbon fiber.
New SeaRey Exhibits Plenty of Get Up & Go
One of the several reasons I like living in Florida (besides no snow this time of year) is the close proximity of all kinds of aviation businesses. The central Florida town of Tavares, about 45 minutes northwest of Orlando, is home to not one but two light seaplane factories. The city named itself “America’s Seaplane City.” Last Friday, we visited both manufacturers ending our tour at the SeaRey Open House (photo). Owner Adam Yang said they had 13 SeaRey aircraft fly in despite windy conditions. Their handsome facility was full of people including many owner/builders, potential customers, friends, and the media (me). The day turned out to be pleasant and we got to watch several SeaRey aircraft taxi down the launch ramp into the lake and take off not 50 yards away. One of these was the new 914 SeaRey SLSA; more on that below.
A couple years ago Progressive Aerodyne took the plunge and elected to pursue Special Light-Sport Aircraft acceptance so they could address a part of the market they never could seek: fully built SeaRey aircraft.
Vickers Releases Another Sneak Peak at their Wave
Following our initial unveil of a new amphibian called “Wave” by Vickers Aircraft Company, more details were offered in their programmed slow-motion rollout of a new amphibian LSA candidate. In this update we hear about who will supply the prop and see some of the hardware components. I was informed that response was brisk after the last article suggesting the tempting way facts are released developed a sense of intrigue. One thing not said earlier is that principal Paul Vickers spent years in marine hull design and fabrication, addressing that aspect of engineering competency. As to the aerodynamic side, Paul wrote, “We are confident in achieving our performance figures as we have spent the pat three years producing and studying the hydrodynamics and aerodynamics needed for our particular flight envelope.” Vickers provided performance info to Catto props who developed and delivered a specific propeller to maximize to the airflow produced by Wave’s pusher configuration.
“Cool and Sexy” Describes New LSA Amphibian
I’ve written a number of articles about LSA seaplanes … about the several we already have in the fleet (Aventura news), and about new designs to come (quick tour of many new LSA and Ultralight seaplanes). One of new ones is called Wave from Vickers Aircraft Company and the new entry is starting to peek from behind the dark curtain. Along with other designs in development, the Vickers project merits close attention as it offers genuine out-of-the-box thinking. Previously I agreed not to say more, governed by a non-disclosure agreement. However, at AirVenture 2013 I ran into Director and principal designer Paul Vickers. After talking about his sponsorship of EAA’s Young Eagles program Paul told me he was finally ready to make some announcements about his project. Following are a couple glimpses.
Another man with inside knowledge said, “This is the coolest, sexiest aircraft coming to market.
X-Ray Views of Icon’s Amphibious LSA
If you traveled to Oshkosh for AirVenture 2013, you got to see a lot of airplanes and other aviation gear. EAA reported a very substantial crowd of more than 500,000 attended. As this might translate to 150-200,000 pilots, the big figure nonetheless means that more than 400,000 American pilots did not go to AirVenture. That majority of flying enthusiasts missed a lot but recently Icon Aircraft sent out news about their X-Ray View of their Light-Sport entry. This impressive display was shown in their big tent and many examined the details. If you missed AirVenture 2013, we’re happy to show you a little of what you missed.
Icon circulated photos of what the company informally terms its “three-dimensional CAD drawing” of the company’s A5 amphibious Light Sport Aircraft (LSA). “The full-scale 3D model employs automotive vinyl wrap technology,” explained Icon, “printed with an adapted projection of the Computer Aided Design (CAD) virtual model depicting the location and layout of key structures and systems of the aircraft, which provides an unprecedented level of technical detail about the production A5.” If you’ve been wondering what’s under the skin of the handsome LSA amphib, the special graphics were very helpful.
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