Aerolab, the Italian company that introduced its beautiful LoCamp kit at Sun ‘n Fun last year, has announced that the kits are in production and being shipped.
A new Light Sport Aircraft, the LoCamp looks for all the world like an airplane from the early years of aviation, sporting two open cockpits, fabric covering and a radial engine – but it’s so new that LSA certification isn’t expected until the end of this year.
“It goes back to a certain era,” says Aerolab founder and Alitalia Captain Francesco Rizzi. “Our mission is to produce charming flying machines, with souls as standard equipment.”
This year, the prototype remained in Italy in the certification program. On display at the company’s Sun ‘n Fun exhibit was a production airframe skeleton, not as pretty as the completed airplane, but impressive in its look of strength and lightness.
Complete firewall aft kits are available under experimental rules, Rizzi said. The kits are 49% complete, containing “everything but paint, chemicals, glue and an electrical system,” and sell for a base $19,950. The complete kit, including a Rotec R2800 engine, instruments, and many of the offered options, is priced at “about $45,000,” Rizzi said. The kits require “assembly, not construction,” he added, estimating that assembly time is around 500 hours.
The LoCamp is the first to reach production of three Aerolab models being offered. The other two are a parasol wing and a biplane version, all three sharing the same fuselage and mechanical characteristics. All three “look romantic but under the skin they are modern, state-of-the-art machines,” Rizzi said.
All are powered by a Rotec R2800, 110 hp engine, cruise at 106 mph and stall clean at 45, flaps down at 41. The empty weight of 848 pounds leaves a useful load of 472 pounds while staying within the maximum LSA weight of 1,320 pounds. The fuselage is built of TIG-welded steel tubing but the wing spars and ribs are of aluminum. The handsome instrument panel is traditional wood but is laser cut. All measurements are to U.S. standards, not metric, Rizzi emphasized.
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