General Aviation News

New LSA: East meets West

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Two recent announcements have aroused spring fever in pilots and they could not be more different.

One comes from Europe. The other was unveiled in Texas. East meets West.

From the East is a flying wing design based on work by Reimar and Walter Horten. While unorthodox to pilots of general aviation designs, the idea has clear appeal that even the U.S. military has used.

From the West, the second new entry is originally a Brazilian creation that will be fully built in Hondo, Texas. The new Colt should be a great fit to those who raise their eyebrows at the Horten wing.

Such diversity is a hallmark of the Light-Sport Aircraft sector that continues to churn out new ideas in many variations. What a great time to be a pilot. [Read more…]

Flying the Sling TSi

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Is it possible for an aircraft to be more than it appears? Yes, quite easily, it turns out — and the new Sling TSi by The Airplane Factory provides an excellent example.

Changes to Sling TSi appear to center around the use of the most powerful Rotax engine yet offered by the Austrian producer that dominates the world market for light aircraft powerplants.

Yet, notable as the new Rotax 915iS Turbo may be, that is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Below the surface, Sling TSi offers many further refinements and the new design is worthy of a deeper look. [Read more…]

Rotax’s powerful new 915iS

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At a journalists-only event at Rotax Aircraft Engines, several of my fellow writers and I got the opportunity to fly the new 915iS.

As we took turns evaluating the brand-new Rotax 915iS, company leaders told us that besides official Rotax pilots and selected airframe builders, we were among the first to experience the powerful new engine from the world’s leading producer of engines for light aircraft. [Read more…]

A match made in heaven

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One of the marvelous transformations to be witnessed is a lonely expanse of World War II concrete ramp morphing into a colorful, energetic, ultimately cool place to hang out, look at lots of modern airplanes of all kinds, talk flying to your old pals and new friends, catch a forum, participate in a workshop, and take a demo flight — or several — if you’re in the market for a new airplane.

In fact, taking a demo flight is one of the main reasons people come to events like the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Florida, and is the main reason vendors bring their shiny, new airplanes.

It’s a match made in heaven and all pilots are invited. [Read more…]

The real story behind the proposed changes to LSA

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A few words provided a spark that turned into a raging prairie fire in early October. The words included two numbers, each significant in their own way.

The first — perhaps the one grabbing the attention of most readers— was 3,600, that being the number stated to be the new weight limit for Light-Sport Aircraft by a high level official at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA).

Since these newest aircraft under FAA regulation are presently limited to 1,320 pounds (1,430 for seaplanes or floatplanes), 3,600 pounds amounted to an increase of almost 300%.

Is such a large increase likely or reasonable?

The second number was a date. It was said that this weight increase and much more would all be put in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to be issued on Jan. 19, 2019, a very specific date. Coming as it did from a large membership organization, such a precise declaration made it sound factual and accurate.

However, the devil is in the details. [Read more…]

Flying the new A32 Vixxen

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The first of the fall Light-Sport Aircraft series of shows was the Midwest LSA Expo in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, held Sept. 6-8, 2018. That event offered Americans and your faithful reporter a first look at the new A32 Vixxen from Aeroprakt.

To give some perspective, the Ukraine-based Aeroprakt factory manufacturing the new model has been building the A22LS model — sometimes called Valor — for many years. More than 1,000 are flying in a variety of countries.

Indeed, U.S. importer Dennis Long has logged a good run of sales since he took over about three years ago. A22 has an agreeable starting price of about $85,000. Given that the average price of a new vehicle in America is now $36,000 — for machines made by the hundreds of thousands each year — that cost for a well-made Light-Sport Aircraft is quite affordable. [Read more…]

New opportunities coming for Light-Sport Aircraft

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Things are looking up for Light-Sport Aircraft, rather fantastically so in my admittedly biased opinion.

While this space is usually dedicated to cool new airplanes — not boring government policy reviews…yawn! — this column will provide some rays of light to an industry approaching its 15th birthday (in September 2019). I think some of this may surprise you.

LAMA, the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association (kind of a General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) for the light aircraft sector) and its partner, USUA, the U.S. Ultralight Association, have been heads-down working on improving the opportunities for LSA. [Read more…]

Back to the Future: InnovAviation’s FX-1

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In the late 1990s, the Italian JetFox 97 flew as an evolved ultralight-style aircraft. The two-seat design resembled the American FlightStar, which sold around 1,000 units in all configurations.

Unlike Flightstar, JetFox 97 fully enclosed the engine and cabin, giving it a more finished look. Instead of the simple tail boom on Flightstar, the European microlight had an aft fuselage and other refinements.

However, as Light-Sport Aircraft erupted into the marketplace in 2005, JetFox appeared to quietly fade away. U.S. representation of the design moved on to other pursuits.

Yet worthy ideas can be recycled and revived. Such appears to be the case for FX1. [Read more…]

A drool-worthy collection of LSA seaplanes

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SUN ‘n FUN 2018 ended a record event on a Sunday. Traveling home Monday, I had less than a 24-hour turnaround before jetting across the Atlantic for Aero Friedrichshafen 2018, which started Wednesday. As on a roller coaster, all I could do was hold on tightly.

For an aviation buff, the month of April is something like being a kid in a candy store. So many fun airplanes. So few days to absorb the images, stories, people, and excitement.

Sandwiched in the partial day between getting home from SUN ‘n FUN and blasting off to Europe, one more cool thing happened: A gathering of Light-Sport seaplanes. [Read more…]

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