Even as we prepared for this year’s Sun ’n Fun, I attended a meeting relative to the area known as Paradise City or the Light Plane Area, though some simply call it the Ultralight Area. Whatever you call it, dramatic changes are underway and you should pay attention. Our meeting was arranged by 23-year area […]
sport pilot
Cessna suspends Skycatcher sales in Europe
According to a French dealer for Cessna, 80 Skycatcher orders have been cancelled, but Cessna officials in the U.S. say the Wichita giant has just temporarily suspended taking orders for the LSA in Europe. For many months, my Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association (LAMA) Europe colleague Jan Fridrich and others have tried to convince EASA to […]
EASA awards first restricted Type Certificates
On Day 1 of Aero 2012, Dave Unwin reported hearing many comments about EASA’s halting move toward acceptance of the concept of Sport Pilot/Light-Sport Aircraft, which was invented in the USA. The European Union, with an equally proud heritage of aviation, is showing familiar reluctance to embrace what another country has achieved, even when aircraft […]
Familiar frame, different name
For some planes, it’s the (air)frame, not the name, that sells it. Such is the case with the Polish-built AT-4, an airframe that was introduced to the American market a few years back as the Gobosh 700. Gobosh, which stands for Go Big Or Stay Home, went out of business in 2009, but the AT-4 […]
LSA news from Sun ’n Fun continues
Splogger (Sport Pilot Blogger) Dan Johnson continues his recap of Sun ’n Fun, with this installment reporting some news from the show: The 10-year-old committee (F37) that worked with ASTM to write LSA certification standards had its first-ever meetings at Sun ’n Fun. I was unable to attend due to other duties, but the volunteer […]
More LSA news from Sun ’n Fun
Splogger (Sport Pilot Blogger) Dan Johnson continues his recap of what he found interesting at this year’s Sun ’n Fun. Today: Cool fly-in stuff: I visited with Mark Ausman of Vertical Power. I never fully grokked their product line of electronic circuit breakers, but I’ve got it now and understand the enthusiasm airframe makers and […]
More LSA news from Sun ’n Fun
Splogger (Sport Pilot Blogger) Dan Johnson continues his recap of what he found interesting at this year’s Sun ’n Fun. Today: Ultralights: North Wing showed its new composite body Solairus Part 103 trike. I flew it with the 20-hp Bailey single cylinder four stroke electric starting engine from the UK. What a hoot! Watch for […]
More LSA news from Sun ’n Fun
Splogger (Sport Pilot Blogger) Dan Johnson continues his recap of what he found interesting at this year’s Sun ’n Fun. Today: Engines and powerplants: Lycoming is coming on stronger in the LSA field, with installations on Falcon, Comet, and Tecnam, with hints of more to follow. The O-233 removed 40 pounds from the O-235 model […]
Flight Design reports a successful Sun ’n Fun
Flight Design officials are pretty happy after Sun ’n Fun, reporting several sales, including a trend that could suggest anew avenue of growth for Light-Sport Aircraft. John Gilmore, national sales manager for Flight Design USA, reports that the company’s newest model, the CTLSi, which features the new Rotax 912Si engine, was a hit with distributors, […]