OREM, Utah — SkyCraft Airplanes began production of its SD-1 Minisport this month, which will be available for order as an S-LSA starting in July.
The SD-1 boasts a 118 mph cruise speed, 1,400 fpm climb rate, 39 mph stall speed, and 5 hours of endurance, according to company officials.
The price of the SD-1 is set at $54,850. Operational costs, including fuel, oil and overhaul, is pegged at $12 an hour, company officials note.
Every SkyCraft SD-1 Minisport comes fully equipped with the following standard features:
- Hirth F-23 Dual Ignition, Fuel Injected Engine (1,000 hour TBO)
- Dynon Glass Panel (GPS, synthetic flight, collision avoidance)
- Integrated Dynon COM Radio (2 channel monitoring, GPS based frequency)
- Digital Instrument Panel
- Fuel and Power Management Systems
- Emergency Locator Transmitter
- Navigation and Landing Lights
- Black Leather Seat
Customers can also select from the following options:
- Tri-Gear or Taildragger Configurations
- Optional Mode S Transponder
- Optional Ballistic Parachute
SkyCraft will have both Tri-Gear and Taildragger configurations on display this July at Oshkosh AirVenture. This will be the first public appearance of their completed airplanes. SkyCraft will be located in booths 92 and 93.
For more information: SkycraftAirplanes.com
An attractive canopy would boost sales. Also, have you considered the Viking (Honda) engine?
I just cant understand why jubaru,rotax and other have such tempementle coolong systems.flying is dangerous enough without a cooling system that is soo tempermentle about the coolant it uses,one wrong move and it redlines.gee,ya think maybe we could use a larger radiator,for a nickel more.
Not a bad looking airplane and maybe an alternative to the Onex. Only problem though is who knows much of anything about the Hirth engine? It’s been around for a long time without just about nil acceptance. Low TBO and lack of any institutional knowledge and/or service centers for this engine could very well doom this aircraft. I certainly would not want to be the guinea pig who finds out whether this engine is viable or not and I bet not many other people will either. The Onex is proven technology and much cheaper too if you are willing to build. You only have to look at the Jabiru versus Rotax. I’ve known several Jabiru flyers and all of them experienced problems with starting and cooling. Now we have Hirth vs VW conversions. Not much of a contest there.
It is unclear to me who “unclear” is. I find opinions of people, regardless if I concur or not, more credible if they are supported by the author’s ful name, and credentials where appropriate.
The “low T.B.O. of 1000 hrs. is about 25 years at 40 hours per year, which is the average use of privately owned aircraft. A bigger issue will likely be the need for premix fuel,and how well the engine holds up to disuse. It is great that this aircraft may be available at around $55k, when the average new production SLSA is close to $90k. With the weight of the aircraft (less than an ultralights 254 lbs) it would be nice to see the company develop a two seat model. With a climb rate listed as 1400fps. they could stand to loose some performance in trade for a second seat, if the price point stayed about the same. My background is private pilot, A&P mechanic, ultralight pilot since 1983.