The first flight of the Belite Chipper with the Rotax 912UL engine was held June 19. Belite’s James Wiebe posted this video of the flight: Wiebe also released these performance observations: Initial established climb about 600 fpm; Highest climb rate seen about 830 fpm; Flaps 15°; Ailerons in droop mode; Went around the pattern several […]
LSA
Merlin quick-build kit earns 51% approval
The FAA’s FAA’s National Kit Evaluation Team (NKET) recently evaluated the Merlin’s Quick Build Kit, and it passed by .01%, according to company officials. “You can’t get more builder-friendly than that,” says Aeromarine President Chip Erwin, from his build center in Florida, where two customers are completing their Merlin PSA kits right now. Two more […]
KLA-100 debuts at Aero 2017
The new KLA-100 — quietly in development for two years — made its first flight a few days before AERO 2017 and was unveiled at the show. “The first flight was performed in Sumperk, Czech Republic, in late March with test pilot Richard Ponizil at the controls. Since that time the plane has made seven more flights and […]
Fully manufactured LSA and IFR
ASTM’s F37 committee is composed of people with technical knowledge who achieved a challenging task: Start with a blank sheet of paper and create aircraft standards for the Light-Sport Aircraft (LSA) sector. That this group did so in just a few years on the leanest of budgets is a credit to their dedication. These volunteers from […]
Bearhawk LSAs make first flights
Officials at Bearhawk Aircraft report the first flights of two Bearhawk Light-Sport Aircraft built by customers from Quick-Build kits. Owner/builders Bruce McElhoe of California and Bob Way of Alabama completed, certified and flew their Bearhawk LSAs, the first two completions, in November 2016. The Bearhawk LSA was designed, built and tested by Bob Barrows, maker […]
ICON to build facility in Tijuana
ICON Aircraft has revealed plans to build a new facility in Tijuana, Mexico, where it will produce composite airframe components for the A5. As part of a revised production plan announced in May, the company decided to produce its own composite components, a manufacturing process that was previously outsourced to several suppliers, company officials explained. The […]
Titan-powered Kitfox makes first flight
HOMEDALE, Idaho – Kitfox Aircraft hung a 180-horsepower Titan X340 engine on an airframe and took it flying the first week of January. “Flight testing is partially complete, but so far we are seeing massive climb performance,” reported Kitfox on its Facebook page. “We are seeing numbers at 2500 fpm cruise climb and are hoping for […]
Flight Design passes FAA audit
Light-Sport Aircraft manufacturer Flight Design reports that an FAA audit was closed successfully in late 2015. The three-day audit was conducted at the Flight Design headquarters facility in Kamenz, Germany, by a team of three auditors from different sections of the FAA. “Given our goal to ensure the highest quality aircraft meeting customer safety requirements and government […]
Global growth phenomenon
Now that 2015 has entered the history books, we will slowly begin to see statistics for the year. My guess is that most aviation media will completely miss one of the big picture perspectives. This oversight does not represent a knowledge failure, but instead reflects a U.S-centric focus on general aviation. In the world of […]