The FlyEco “smart diesel” engine from Europe attracted plenty of attention at Aero Friedrichshafen in Germany. We visited with the designer of the engine as asked him numerous questions we though you might ask. Please bear with the audio amid the chatter of many visitors and keep in mind that English is not his native language. We helped by repeating and translating some metric to U.S. measurements.

In early 2013 Tecnam acquired the design rights and tooling to produce Snap, the first aircraft in the LSA space aimed specifically at aerobatic flying. It uses a special version of the Rotax 912 and we spoke to Fabio Russo, the designer of the aircraft. He is also now the chief R&D engineer for Tecnam, so the company benefits from the designer and his design. It will be sold in the USA by SportairUSA.

Zenith Aircraft CH-650 is the follow-on to the popular CH-601 with hundreds flying. Company pilot Roger Dubbert tells us about some of the differences between the predecessor and the ‘650 and he answers our questions on your behalf regarding flight controls, comfort, baggage and more. Come hear the details for this “sedan” of the line complementing the “Sky Jeep” CH-750.

Meet the boss … of the season-opening Sun ‘n Fun airshow, John “Lites” Leehouts along with longtime Paradise City chairman, Dave Piper. These two men made the “new and improved” Paradise City area — formerly the Ultralight Area and subsequently the Light Plane Area — a major hit at the 2013 Sun ‘n Fun airshow. Lites took a flight in a ultralight-like Light-Sport Aircraft and describes his enthusiasm for the new area. Hear it all on this video

The Tornado is one of a line of small-looking, hot-handling, tandem-seated light aircraft including one model that can still meet Part 103 for ultralight vehicles. Short spans of an all-metal wing and a racy fighter-aircraft look to the cabin area add to the appeal of the four Tornado models. We speak with developer and longtime company boss John Williams who tells about construction and much more.

Everybody loves the P-51 Mustang and not just pilots, but seemingly anyone who likes airplanes. However, affording one or being qualified to fly one limits any interactive fun with a Mustang to a very limited number of people. Titan Aircraft owner John Williams was another Mustang lover but he did something about it, creating the T-51, a very realistic kit that many can afford. We spoke at length with John about his favorite creation. We think you might enjoy it as well.

Not many people can be called the “father” of anything. That unofficial title has to be limited in its use. Nonetheless, John Moody is widely ascribed to be the Father of Ultralight Flying and I have to agree. I saw John fly a bi-wing hang glider to which he’d added a tiny engine way back in 1975. Even hang gliders were fairly new then and it was years before FAA created the ultralight vehicles we know today. Hear his story in this video and see a couple vintage ultralights he flies.

Paul Mather is one of the most experienced proprietors in the light aircraft space. At Sebring 2013, we had a look at his impressive turbo-HKS-powered Breese II aircraft that is presently completing its Special LSA approval. We heard more about Paul’s business which branches off in several directions of service to light plane enthusiasts. Gaining SLSA approval in 2013 and beyond is more involved than ever and Paul briefly tells us some of the tasks he’s undertaken while fitting the Japanese engine.

We have almost exclusively two place entries in the Light-Sport Aircraft space. And indeed, the SD-1 Minisport is not presently (in 2013) a LSA officially. For now it’s sold as an Experimental Amateur Built aircraft. What sets this cute little apart from dozens of others is that this is a single place aircraft. On this video we spoke with Tyler Ives, the U.S. importer of this Czech airplane and he tells us what you want to know.

Light-Sport Aircraft may only be used commercially in two ways: for paid flight instruction and aircraft rentals. However, if a LSA is bought by a municipality, the U.S. government, or the military, it may be called a “Public Use Aircraft,” and is then exempt from FAA’s prohibition of other commercial use. The Tecnam in this video is fitted with a reasonably low cost, quickly attached camera system that might be used by law enforcement officials. Watch too see how the gear works.

Anybody who organizes an airshow knows one irrefutable fact: you cannot offer these shows with a veritable army of volunteers. Indeed, the light plane area at AirVenture (almost exactly like Paradise City at Sun ‘n Fun) has 225 volunteers, just in this one area of the giant EAA AirVenture Oshkosh event. We speak with Lee Crevier, the present chairman of the light plane area. He helps us pay our respect to that army of volunteers.

Do you think this is one handsome-looking aircraft? Many folks at AirVenture sure did and so did we. In this video we speak with Claudius Klimpt who tells us about the European gyrocopter under the brand name Arrow Copter. Because FAA can decide how to do it, you cannot buy a ready-to-fly gyrocopter but you can build a kit in a reasonably brief time. If it can look this good when you’re done, perhaps you need to watch this video and see if you can become a “rotor-head.”

On our mission to debunk the idea that Light-Sport Aircraft will not hold up to flight instructional use, we spoke with Darin Hart of American Legend. He tells us of some impressive results from American Legend models being used in flight schools, including one with more than 20,000 landings on it while performing tailwheel instructions. This airplane has more than 2,000 hours and Darin relates that few parts have been replaced. Hear all the details.

World Aircraft continues its pace of rapid development in concert with Columbian designer Max Tedesco. Company boss Eric Giles announced that all manufacturing will now take place in Paris, Tennessee, and that includes their newest Vision LT. The LT model focuses on keeping the cost remarkably low, only $85,000 for a quite well equipped Light-Sport Aircraft. We speak with Dan Miller, rep’ for World at Sebring 2013.

We all know the Aventura line of formerly ultralight-based amphibious light aircraft, dating back 20 years. Recently, Alex Rolinksi took over the company as the new owner and he details some plans as the company becomes re-enegized. Alex, an A&P and longtime pilot, gives us some general ideas about prices and they are to be celebrated as the costs are about as low as an seaplane can be. Hear and see the line on this video.

We spoke with John McBean of Kitfox Aircraft to hear first about his new installation of the Rotax 912 iS engine on a Kitfox flown from Idaho to Florida. But we also spoke about the durability of the Kitfox in a flight training environment. Hear about one airframe with more than 1,700 hours and more than 5,000 landings, all in flight instruction. At Sebring we examined several LSA to dispel the mistaken rumor that LSA can’t hold up in flight instruction.

You may think you know the Rally but what you probably don’t know is the ambitious plans of Phil McCoy who “bought the company” he says. He also reported buying space at the Barstow, Florida airport and he plans to fully build the Rally and an all-metal model called the Century, both designed by Storm Aircraft in Italy. Both Rally and Century, currently approved as SLSA, will also be available as kits. Hear about all the plans.

We cover the Top-20 LSA in the USA and more in this video adaptation of Jim Lawrence’s article appearing in the LSA-friendly Plane & Pilot magazine. Join us as we run through all the top-selling models as well as highlighting some up and comers. Thanks to Jim and P&P for allowing us to use their work. We’ll show you video on most models to accent the narrative. — TRT: 46 minutes

In the works for many months, the Sebring 2013 event saw the finished installation of the Lycoming AEIO-233 aerobatic-capable powerplant installed on the nose of the FK12 Comet (which itself can handle up to 9 Gs of positive loading). Aerobatic legend Patty Wagstaff is considering doing a routine in a Light-Sport Aircraft and it could be this one after a period of suitable trials. Watch this video and learn more about the project.

At Sebring 2013, we found something that we haven’t seen before. Oh, we know about gyros and have reported earlier on the AutoGryo company. Here we feature an amphibious float-equipped gyroplane or gyrocopter. Represented in the USA by Soaring Concepts, let’s have a look at what UltralightNews has tagged the “gyrophibian.” Lot’s to learn here; join us.

One of the most unusual Light-Sport Aircraft in the fleet is also the most powerful, with its new 190-hp engine. ITEC’s Maverick is both powered parachute and up to a four-seater car. More than just a sedan, Maverick is a hot rod that can truly dash around on the ground. Hear from factory representatives to hear what has changed and how novel this machine appears to be.

In 2012, Rotax brought out their new fuel-injected 912 iS engine. The leading supplier of Light-Sport Aircraft engines worked hard on this computer-controlled engine as they prepared a replacement for the venerable carburetor 912 (which remains in production). We spoke with LSA guru John Hurst who flew a twin-engine AirCam from Sebring Florida to Oshkosh and he tells about flying one of each 912 engine versions.

Most aviators already know the name Patty Wagstaff from her many aerobatic performances at major airshows while flying her powerful Extra 300. The three-time National Aerobatic Champion performed at Sebring 2013, which gave us the chance to conduct an interview with her. Come watch and see if Patty will consider doing a routine in a Light-Sport Aircaft.

Recently some aviation industry leaders — people who reach pilots through magazines, websites, and videos — have suggested the LSA industry is “in critical condition.” We could not disagree more and have assembled this video to confront these unworthy negative messages. Our preferred message: Is it not better to work together as aviators to share the joy we find in flight?