Yesterday we brought you part 1 of Meg Godlewski’s story about an emerging market for Light Sport Aircraft: Empty nesters. In this installment, she notes that another LSA that is appealing to empty-nesters is the ready-to-fly Jabiru 230 built by Jabiru USA Sport Aircraft of Shelbyville, Tenn. The Jabiru is a high-wing composite aircraft that […]
Empty Nester LSAs
When the Light Sport Aircraft category was created in 2004, it was touted as a category of aircraft designed for use by flight schools and student pilots as LSAs are usually more economical to operate than many of the four-place designs that make up the backbone of the training fleet. But now the economy of […]
Flying the Flight Design CTLS on floats
Flight Design CT has the lion’s share of the Light Sport Aircraft market, with approximately 1,500 aircraft flying around the world. The airplanes, manufactured in Germany, are especially popular with the LSA crowd in the United States. The versatility of the airplane was recently expanded with the addition of amphibious floats. “This is the only […]
The Storch has landed
One of the observations made at the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo at Sebring was that the vast majority of Light Sport Aircraft are composite, with white as their base color. In short, it can be a challenge to tell one LSA from another. If you’re looking for an LSA that stands out on the ramp, […]
LSA world flocks to Sebring
Rapidly changing and diverse weather and rapidly changing and diverse aircraft — that describes this year’s U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Fla., held Jan. 20-23. One day the sun shone and the wind blew. On another day the temperatures were near freezing and the wind blew. Then one day it rained so much that, […]
Now THAT’S a thank you!
Volunteers who restored DC-3 get flight to remember What better way to thank the people who have helped you restore an aircraft than giving them a ride in it? When it’s a major restoration, say that of a DC-3, it is only fitting that the ride be epic, like a trip from Flabob Airport (RIR) […]
Family flies high in Luscombe Sedans
The phrase “like father, like son” applies to many things, including aircraft ownership. Fred Ramin of Houston grew up flying in his father’s Luscombe Sedan. A few years ago the younger Ramin purchased a fully restored 1948 Luscombe 11A Silvaire Sedan of his own. He was more than happy to show off the show-quality airplane […]
The art of formation flying
“How hard can it be?” You’ve probably heard this remark, or a variation of it, when hangar flying conversations turn to the topic of formation flying. FAR 91.111 states that no person may operate an aircraft so close to another aircraft as to create a collision hazard, and no person may operate an aircraft in […]
X-Air: The LSA fun machine
Flying for a great many people is more about recreation than long-distance travel, so why shell out the money for a plane that’s more a flying minivan when what you really want is a motorcycle? That’s the mindset behind the X-Air Light-Sport Aircraft, a tube-and-fabric, high-wing ready-to-fly design made in Bend, Ore. “This is not […]