By Dan Johnson || April 2, 2020 40 Comments

WHAT SHOWS? With spring shows, Sun ‘n Fun, and Aero Friedrichshafen now rescheduled for 2021, what about AirVenture Oshkosh? No decision yet, but we can all be hopeful. Meanwhile, you can enjoy fresh, virus-free content here and short videos on the ByDanJohnson YouTube channel. We have lots of content available so this will be a busy month right here.

Plus, you can find a huge, ever-growing library of LSA and Sport Pilot kit videos featuring Dan on Videoman Dave’s popular YouTube channel + view hundreds of our best videos archived here in a searchable format.

Thanks for your visit. We genuinely appreciate those of you who have become members!

WHAT SHOWS? With spring shows, Sun ‘n Fun, and Aero Friedrichshafen now rescheduled for 2021, what about AirVenture Oshkosh? No decision yet, but we can all be hopeful. Meanwhile, you can enjoy fresh, virus-free content here and short videos on the ByDanJohnson YouTube channel. We have lots of content available so this will be a busy month right here. Plus, you can find a huge, ever-growing library of LSA and Sport Pilot kit videos featuring Dan on Videoman Dave’s popular YouTube channel + view hundreds of our best videos archived here in a searchable format. Thanks for your visit. We genuinely appreciate those of you who have become members!

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FAA’s Proposed Regulation (MOSAIC) — LAMA’s Spring 2020 Update Report

By Dan Johnson || April 3, 2020 9 Comments

This update is one of a continuing series. As time passes and FAA progresses toward its goal — of issuing a NPRM, Notice of Proposed Rule Making — LAMA requests a teleconference or in-person visit to learn the rule writers’ latest concepts and language decisions.

This progress reports identifies new discoveries and clarifies previous statements that may now be better understood.

Some Key Messages

FAA is moving forward on the rulemaking project yet everything remains in progress while the agency gathers internal assessments. What follows is as accurate as possible at this time but changes will occur.

Nor can FAA personnel guarantee that current proposals, as discussed in this progress report, will appear the NPRM.

LAMA will continue asking FAA for greater clarification until the agency enters “ex parte,” a quiet period when they can no longer discuss the project. That period remains in the future at this time.

Common Question — When?

Almost everyone wants to know when this is coming, especially after an early (incorrect) statement that the change was coming by a date now well in the past. MOSAIC is not coming soon. Even though rule writers are progressing, this will take many more months.

FAA generally agreed with our back-calendar estimate that the NPRM may be forthcoming in late 2021 or early 2022. This was based on the perceived amount of work remaining.

The NPRM must be released about that time to allow FAA to have a finished regulation by the end of 2023. The 2023 date is a deadline set by the U.S. Congress as part of approving FAA’s budget — called the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018.

While changes in wording are inevitable, it is the big changes on which we will focus here. Please remember, MOSAIC encompasses more than LSA, but LAMA’s focus remains entirely on matters of interest to the LSA producer community, to other businesses that serve that market, and to the recreational pilot community.

FAA functions under the Department of Transportation. DOT approved this project for rulemaking under its Fall 2019 Unified Rulemaking Agenda. FAA advised that interested parties can go to this link and enter the following code in the field labeled “RIN” — 2120-AL50

This action by the Department of Transportation does not mean an NPRM will follow soon.

FAA Proposals Under Consideration

What LAMA Originally Requested:

• SLSA (fully built, not kit) Gyroplanes
• Aerial Work / Commercial Use
• Electric Propulsion
• Single Lever Control (in-flight adjustable prop)

More Changes Under Consideration (to present-day LSA):

• Increased weight (see below)
• Four seats
• Retractable gear
• Maximum stall speed
• Capped horsepower
• Increased airspeed
• Hybrid propulsion

Questions raised since LAMA’s last progress report:

• Will Sport Pilot-certificate holders be allowed to fly four seaters?
• Can Sport Pilots do aerial work or commercial use flying?
• What changes will be made to LSA mechanics, specifically LSR-M?
• What about turbine powerplants?

FAA’s Goals Remain the Same:

• “LSA of the future should remain “safe, simple, and easy to fly.”
• “We want to be less prescriptive …to leave more for industry to decide.”
• “LSA has been a successful development” (LSA experience was key in the rewrite of Part 23).
• FAA sees “opportunities to safely expand this sector of aviation while decreasing burden on the industry” and seeks to “make this a positive for industry.”

More on Weight Increase
— Power Index —

Perhaps the greatest amount of interest focuses on proposed weight changes.

Repeating, FAA will not specify a particular aircraft weight (as it does not do so for Part 23 certified aircraft of today). Instead, FAA may employ something called the Power Index (basically a formula) to determine the size of an aircraft. Nonetheless, aircraft weight will increase, perhaps rather dramatically. Indeed, weight may rise to 3,000 pounds (1,360 kilograms).

If FAA will not set a specific weight, how do we know weight will increase and what can provide wise limits?

FAA may use “Power Index.” (Words like “may” are frequently used because this regulation is only a proposal at this time, however, FAA personnel have seen what we are reporting here and offered clarifying suggestions to our language.) For those more technically oriented, at the bottom of this post is an engineering analysis by Powered Sport Flying publisher — and engineer, plus LAMA board of directors member — Roy Beisswenger.

A number of pilots and aircraft developers, surprised by the large potential increase in weight, have wondered what will keep these aircraft from becoming very large. If FAA will not specify a weight, what will prevent LSA 2023 from becoming heavier aircraft beyond the scope of LSA and the Sport Pilot certificate?

In addition to the Power Index concept, here are methods to describe and constrain unlimited weight as learned in LAMA’s last conference with FAA:

200 horsepower hard point — As with other parts, this is not fully determined yet but 200 horsepower may be a cap
50 knot stall — presumably with lift devices; such as flaps or leading edge devices deployed
1.2 Power Index (still being devised; please do not assume this is a final value FAA will accept for rule making) — See “TECH TALK” at the end of this article
Thus, aircraft that fit the criteria will likely weigh less than 3,000 pounds (≈1365 kilograms)

T E C H T A L K

“Power Index  Explored More Deeply”

by Roy Beisswenger

The FAA is loath to have prescriptive weight limits in MOSAIC. Instead, they are working with other kinds of formulae to describe limits without specifically calling out the actual weight of the aircraft.

One idea floated within the FAA was to use a calculation called a Power Index or Ip. It is described by the formula:

Ip = {(W/S)/(W/P)}1/3, where:

W = maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) in pounds,
S = wing area in square feet,
P = maximum rated power in horsepower at sea level and standard temperature.

If the Ip value worked out to be less than 1.2, it was proposed at one point that the aircraft would fit within the definition of a Light Sport Aircraft. This formula would only work for airplanes, not applying to rotorcraft, powered parachutes and weight shift control trikes.

Earlier, an Excel spreadsheet escaped from the FAA that allowed a user to plug in different values for maximum gross weight, wing area, and maximum horsepower and it would instantly calculate the Power Index value.

Industry people played around with the spreadsheet, putting in different values. Soon they found that no matter what value they put in for the weight of an aircraft, it never changed the Ip. This became a topic of vigorous discussion.

However, there is a very simple explanation for the lack of sensitivity of the formula to weight. And in fact, the explanation comes from algebraically simplifying the equation itself. When you do that, you find that even though weight appears in the original equation, it quickly drops out since it is in both the numerator and the denominator.

So let’s start with the original equation:

Ip = {(W/S)/(W/P)}1/3

If you divide by a fraction, that means that you are multiplying by the inverse of that fraction. (The inverse meaning that you switch the numerator and denominator.) Doing that, you get this:

Ip = {(W/S) * (P/W)}1/3

That means that the weight is being divided by the weight, which works out to 1. The equation then solves to:

Ip = {P/S}1/3

That means that weight has no influence on the Power Index. Instead, the power index is essentially a ratio between the power of the engine in horsepower and the size of the wing.

Now that the equation is simplified, we can do something else interesting. Let’s solve for Max Power:

Ip = {P/S}1/3
Ip³ = P/S
Ip³ * S = P

In other words, the larger the wing, the more power you can use. That certainly makes sense from a safety point of view.

Solving for Max Wing Size:

S = P/Ip³

That says the same thing. The more power you have, the larger your wings need to be. Let’s see what that looks like with some real world numbers.  If you have a 100-hp motor (for example, the very common 100-hp Rotax 912ULS) then for an Ip of 1.2, your smallest possible wing size is:

S = 100/1.4³ = 57.87 square feet

As an example, the wing area of a Flight Design CTSW is 107.0 square feet indicating that it is considerably larger than the minimum 57.87 square feet defined by an Ip of 1.2.

This probably means that an Ip of 1.2 is unlikely to be the only way that a light sport airplane will be defined with MOSAIC. Perhaps a smaller number will be used or perhaps it is only going to be one way of defining a light sport airplane (see above constraints). Perhaps a minimum stall speed (above) may also be included. That way a maximum gross weight won’t be cooked directly into the regulations, but will still end up being a consideration for airplane designers.

Compress Post ...

In recent months many light aviation enthusiasts have been asking about progress on FAA’s proposed rewrite of the Light-Sport Aircraft regulations. Following a lengthy teleconference in 2019, the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association is pleased to provide a further update for the agency’s work on MOSAIC, or Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification. Here is our earlier article on this subject. This update is one of a continuing series. As time passes and FAA progresses toward its goal — of issuing a NPRM, Notice of Proposed Rule Making — LAMA requests a teleconference or in-person visit to learn the rule writers’ latest concepts and language decisions. This progress reports identifies new discoveries and clarifies previous statements that may now be better understood. Some Key Messages FAA is moving forward on the rulemaking project yet everything remains in progress while the agency gathers internal assessments. What follows is as accurate as possible at this time but changes will occur.

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Ultralight April 2020 — First in the Vintage Series: Buccaneer XA

By Dan Johnson || April 1, 2020 Leave a Comment

A frequent comment I hear is that the price of recreational aircraft are too high. Some pilots have been stating this for 18 years, since a couple years before Light-Sport Aircraft emerged.

Back in 2002, many believed that the new LSA-to-come would cost $50-60,000. Right or wrong (about those price guesstimates), that range today would be $72-87,000, after correcting for the decline in the dollar’s purchasing power. The truth is that you do have some new choices at that price point but for many, such a cost remains out of their budget for any recreational vehicle, airborne or otherwise.

To those pilots, I often suggest a good, used aircraft and we have more such LSA every year, many of which are excellent buys. Yet, how about we drop down the price further?

How About a Used
Part 103 Ultralight?

Long before LSA were introduced, I flew a single-place Buccaneer with a Rotax 377. No, that’s not a typo. Everyone knows the Rotax 447 but some never heard of the 377. The twin-cylinder model, a step up from the popular single cylinder Rotax 277, the 377 was actually a solid engine in its day. It was light and it was not expensive.

Throughout aviation history, airplane builders worked hard to shave pounds, ounces, or grams from their designs. If light is right, then ultralights do it best.

Fortunately for those trying to fly with a smaller investment, a number of vintage ultralights are available with many brands still enjoying good parts support. The right used ultralight might address the interest of a pilot who simply wants a fun, recreational aircraft to enjoy without taking out a loan.

Many other pilots prefer something new and today’s Aero Adventure makes the follow-on to the Buccaneer, called the Aventura line — a single place … two-place, very modestly-priced kit … deluxe powerful model and … SLSA version to follow by summer 2020. They can also connect you with used aircraft.

Yet for many, the Buccaneer XA could be a load of fun for just the right price. Plus, Aero Adventure — in addition to offering brand new flying machines — is also supporting parts for the Buccaneers.

With value in mind, I’m pleased to announced that in this month of April, Videoman Dave has done a super job of reviving ultralights from the ’80s and ’90s on his Ultralight Flyer YouTube channel …but only for those aircraft models for which parts are still available. Orphaned models may still be worth your look but you may be on your own for parts.

This month, I’ll walk you through each of these aircraft with a bit of perspective. Come tour some low-cost aircraft, all of which still have replacement parts being supplied.

First Up — Buccaneer XA Amphibian

About a decade after the first factory built ultralight aircraft appeared in American skies, seaplanes arrived. Not float-equipped land planes but boat-hulled airplanes. At first no one thought such a design could meet Part 103 tight empty weight limit. They didn’t count on a creative crew from the lake region of Florida.

One of the top-rated ultralight aircraft, ‘er… vehicles, of the early 1980s was the Buccaneer amphibian.

Dave wrote, “Over 40 years have passed, yet many of the aircraft — such as Buccaneer XA — introduced during this time, are still safely flying today, and being offered for sale on the used ultralight market.”

In his series of short (5-minute) video clips, Dave provides information on the Ultralight Flyer YouTube channel’s recommendation for aircraft that we have flown, owned, and/or built.

For those wondering if they should consider an older ultralight, Dave reported that to be included in his survey, all these aircraft must be supported by manufacturers that produce parts so that repair and continued airworthiness can be maintained.

In the video below Dave took a brief look at the Buccaneer Amphibian XA.

Buccaneer XA
Who, What, How?

Buccaneer XA is a single-seat amphibious ultralight originally offered in kit form. Designed by pioneering light aircraft designers, Jack Hutchinson and Bruce Pemberton, Buccaneer XA was originally manufactured by HighCraft AeroMarine, then Advanced Aviation, and finally Keuthan Aircraft. Another standout developer of the day helping Jack and Bruce was Bobby Bailey, designer and manufacturer of the Dragonfly hang glider tow plane. Bob lent his knowledge to the early design and production of Buccaneer XA. In 2020. Buccaneer is supported by Aero Adventure.

First introduced in 1984, Buccaneer XA was the first amphibious single-hull ultralight to enter the market. It featured bolt-together aluminum tubing for the main frame fuselage, with a center mounted fiberglass hull bolted to it. Buccaneer’s wings, tail section, ailerons and rear fuselage were also constructed using aluminum tubing joined by gusset plates and bolt joints, then covered with slip-on, sewn-Dacron sailcloth “envelopes.”

Buccaneer’s hull and two wing sponsors are fiberglass, making the early design a genuine composite.

All but very early models used standard three-axis, stick-and-rudder controls in a taildragger, pusher configuration. The design set a standard that is emulated to this day.

Power was originally supplied by the then-popular Rotax 277, a 28-horsepower, two-stroke engine. Later models were powered by the Rotax 377, 447 and 503 engines. All these were discontinued by Rotax but many examples exist, often with rather low hours so keeping these engines flying remains possible.

The Bucc’, as it was affectionally known, uses a center-mounted stick, with a left-hand throttle.

Retracting the gear was an entirely unique task. The pilot had to grab the gear leg, pull it out of its retainer socket — it was secured by a sturdy elastic inside the tube — and hook the wheel onto a gear support bar mounted nearby. The pilot reversed the process to lower the gear. My own experience with this “retract” system showed it was not difficult unless the engine idle was too high. If so, the engine kept pushing the aircraft through the water making inserting that tube back in its retainer rather challenging.

Climb rate on the XA with a Rotax 447 engine was 750 feet per minute. Cruise leveled off at 55 to 60 miles per hour and stall speed was 25 miles per hour. All these numbers made Buccaneer quite docile for novice seaplane pilots to handle.

Dave’s Recommendations

If you are considering purchasing a used Buccaneer Amphibian XA it is The Ultralight Flyer’s recommendation that the plane’s fabric be tested. This is a simple, non-destructive test — you do it somewhere that isn’t structural.

You should also throughly inspect the airframe, wings, landing gear, and the control systems.

If the history of the engine is unknown Dave recommends that the exhaust be removed and the pistons inspected for wear and seizure.

At the time of production of this video (April 2020), The Ultralight Flyer estimates the retail value of a used Buccaneer Amphibian XA from the 1980s to be between $5,000 and $7,500! Your government Covid 19 check could make a substantial downpayment!

Compress Post ...

A frequent comment I hear is that the price of recreational aircraft are too high. Some pilots have been stating this for 18 years, since a couple years before Light-Sport Aircraft emerged. Back in 2002, many believed that the new LSA-to-come would cost $50-60,000. Right or wrong (about those price guesstimates), that range today would be $72-87,000, after correcting for the decline in the dollar’s purchasing power. The truth is that you do have some new choices at that price point but for many, such a cost remains out of their budget for any recreational vehicle, airborne or otherwise. To those pilots, I often suggest a good, used aircraft and we have more such LSA every year, many of which are excellent buys. Yet, how about we drop down the price further? How About a Used Part 103 Ultralight? Long before LSA were introduced, I flew a single-place Buccaneer with a Rotax 377.

Expand Post ...

Virtual Aero Friedrichshafen — Zlin Aviation’s New Norden Sportplane

By Dan Johnson || March 26, 2020 2 Comments

Had not both shows been cancelled or postponed, I would be gearing up for Sun ‘n Fun and Aero Friedrichshafen. The important spring events were due to start in less than a week.

Now, Aero is put off until 2021 and Sun ‘n Fun is about three weeks away from a Lakeland city-imposed final decision date (on April 17) regarding the new planned date of May 5-10, 2020. (I’m keeping my hopes up that our friends at that event will be able to launch their spring celebration of flight.)

To help all of us through the next few weeks, I will be posting virtual airshow material — that is, I’ll write about aircraft you would have seen had you been able to attend the show. Companies work very hard to get new products ready for these big spring events. To not lose momentum as governments around the world impose all manner of rules, I’ll take the shows online… hence, “Virtual.”

Why “Norden?”

“The plane is just the sum of my experience in this sector,” wrote Zlin Aviation developer Pasquale Russo.

“Two years of hard job, more than 20 years of specific experience in this sector, invested into this new project. This new plane represents the sum of our vision, the expectations and needs coming from our customers and the desires of the STOL market. Design and elegance, innovations and safety, improved aerodynamics and performance, enhanced cabin comfort with new cargo capacity, reliability and strength, functionality and the potential to deliver new adventures, all come together quite well mixed.”

“It took a long time to decide a new name,” said Pasquale. “Why Norden? Why a “globe” designed in place of the standard “O” and then an inverted N at the end? Basically, because we were inspired by the main cardinal point, the mythical North and because we always try to think different, so why not to invert the N at the end for example? Thinking differently, in fact, allowed us to open our mind, reaching new limits.

“Norden is a name used to identify the beautiful Nordic and Scandinavian countries — Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland. These incredible lands, with northern Canada and Alaska, are linked to the concepts of adventure and STOL operations. It is no secret that true bush flying was invented in the genuine Northern Territories.” Great distances and remoteness helped Pasquale find a name that could both inspire great “adventures” and “long trips.”

Describing Norden

This refined backcountry aircraft is 23 feet long with a wing span of just under 30 feet. Norden’s basic empty weight is a fairly light (for this type and among many LSA) of 793 pounds. The new model will be available as a LSA in the USA and other Countries and fit the new European Ultralight 600-kilogram class.

Zlin is represented in the America by SportairUSA, based in Arkansas under the direction of Bill Canino.

Norden features a completely new and bigger fuselage, with new shapes for the vertical stabilizer and rudder plus the vertical now has ribs to increase efficiency and stability. The newest Zlin has a completely new metal wing with traditional spars and more advanced airfoil, equipped with an electrically-retractable slat system and manual double slotted flaps to ensure excellent performances both in cruise speed and landing.

New wing tips were designed to help the aileron’s efficency at low speed and to increase aerodynamic efficiency at cruise or top speed. Slats and the low landing speeds ensured by the large double slotted flaps — that create enough pitch moment to increase the forward visibility — enhance the safety factor for the pilots during STOL operations.

Zlin Historical Collage: (top left, clockwise) — Agilis (note pilot’s legs outside cockpit); UltraShock (Shock Cub in Europe); fully-open Bobber; original U.S. Savage; Savage in flight.

Norden’s wing struts were redesigned with stronger and separate attachments to the fuselage. Fuel tanks will be available in three volumes: 26, 37, and 47 gallons ensure an extended range for longer trips, aided by new fuel indicator system.

The trim system has been modified, increasing the total vertical travel of the yoke and allowing more trim range to the elevator to compensate a larger spectrum of speeds.

A very large optional cargo area, built using carbon, has an external access door. This can be extended further, allowing one pilot to sleep inside the plane.

Norden boasts a completely revised cabin layout assuring easier access for both occupants using a larger door as well as greater distance between the two seats. The adjustable carbon seats are matched with premium leather available in 18 different colors. Seat belts can be ordered using different colors to match.

One of the pleasures of visiting Aero has long been visiting Zlin’s always-distinctive display design. The company has great artistic influence and I always head to their space at Aero to see how they decorated this year. It’s always memorable.

New rudder pedals will ensure better control on the ground. Larger ailerons are now controlled by push-pull tubes inside the wings, giving a more precise feedback to the pilots. Flaps are now controlled by a torsional tube and push-pull rods.

Norden’s windshield is now more angled to reduce the amount of drag at higher cruising speeds. A refreshed instrument panel can be ordered with a choice of 20 aeronautical paint colors or a full carbon look, or even an alcantara/leather combination (alcantara is a synthetic textile material that is soft and suede-like).

“Our new optional dual-caliper brake system is more than enough to handle full power coming from a Rotax 915,” said Pasquale. “The main landing gear is now extended three inches (in standard gear format) and has a different design. It has also been moved more forward, allowing pilots to brake even harder, when necessary.”

He also reported, “The standard tailwheel can now be upgraded to T3 tailwheel suspension system or even Acme Stinger. The standard bungee system can be upgraded with a custom made shock absorber system produced by one our dealers, or even with a more professional Acme Shock Pro Series system, designed for tough operations.”

Norden’s new cowling design is sleeker and streamlined, taking in mind the faster cruise speed planned for this plane, but is big enough to offer plenty of space for engine installation thanks to a new rounded bowl and firewall area, providing a refreshed look to the front of the airplane.

The base engine for this plane will be the 100 horsepower Rotax 912 with other choices from Rotax plus the Edge Performance EPeX300Ti providing 300 horsepower for the experimental market.

While Pasquale and Zlin were hoping to debut Norden at Aero Friedrichshafen, at least you can read about it here. Zlin is represented in the USA by SportairUSA; contact them for more details, pricing, and availability.

Compress Post ...

Had not both shows been cancelled or postponed, I would be gearing up for Sun ‘n Fun and Aero Friedrichshafen. The important spring events were due to start in less than a week. Now, Aero is put off until 2021 and Sun ‘n Fun is about three weeks away from a Lakeland city-imposed final decision date (on April 17) regarding the new planned date of May 5-10, 2020. (I’m keeping my hopes up that our friends at that event will be able to launch their spring celebration of flight.) To help all of us through the next few weeks, I will be posting virtual airshow material — that is, I’ll write about aircraft you would have seen had you been able to attend the show. Companies work very hard to get new products ready for these big spring events. To not lose momentum as governments around the world impose all manner of rules, I’ll take the shows online… hence, “Virtual.” Why “Norden?” “The plane is just the sum of my experience in this sector,” wrote Zlin Aviation developer Pasquale Russo.

Expand Post ...

Mechanically-Minded — Rainbow Starts Light-Sport Repairman Training in Missouri

By Dan Johnson || March 22, 2020 7 Comments

Years ago at the very beginning of Light-Sport Aircraft and Sport Pilot, Rainbow Aviation entrepreneurs Brian and Carol Carpenter started what would become the nation’s largest and most productive repairman training courseware provider.

I recall this husband and wife team coming to EAA headquarters in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. At the time I was consulting to the organization as they prepared for the arrival of the new regulation. Brian and Carol showed up at EAA to brief them on their plans. That was 16 years ago and today Rainbow is the leading supplier of repairman classes.

As the new rule was announced back in 2004, one aspect was the Light Sport Repairmen section, including LSR-Inspection and LSR-Maintenance privileges. The former, covered in a two-day weekend class, helps an owner perform an annual condition inspection on an LSA they own. To perform more involved work or to work on other people’s LSA for hire, a more intensive class was needed.

Centrally-Based Rainbow Aviation

After training more than 5,000 students from nearly every U.S. state and from more than 20 different countries, Rainbow Aviation’s Light Sport Maintenance training programs have become internationally known as the premier light sport aviation maintenance training programs.

Fifteen students took Rainbow Aviation’s first class at their new home in Kingsville, Missouri.

Their two principal offerings include the two-day Light Sport Repairman Inspection (LSR-I) course and the Light Sport Repairman Maintenance Certificate (LSR-M) course. If you aren’t sure which is right for you, read Carol Carpenter’s explanation.

The LSR-I classes are taught across the entire country as well as internationally and allow students to obtain an FAA-approved Light Sport Repairman Certificate to complete an annual condition inspection on a Experimental Light-Sport Aircraft that they own. Once you have this certificate, it does not need to be renewed. The typically weekend class provides a lot of great information to an aircraft owner. Learn what this short course involves (scroll down slightly).

Rainbow’s 15-day Light Sport Repairman Maintenance Courses are taught in their new home facility in Kingsville, Missouri. These courses allow the students to obtain an FAA Light Sport Repairman Certificate with a Maintenance Rating (LSR-M), giving them the equivalent privileges of a Airplane and Powerplant (A&P) with an Inspection Authorization (IA), but limited to light sport aircraft.

Unlike the simpler, shorter LSR-I course, a person completing the longer, more involved LSR-M course may perform maintenance and inspections on anyone’s Special LSA or Experimental LSA and may charge for their services.

All images provided by Rainbow Aviation Services.

No prerequisites are needed for the LSR-M course. A Repairman with a Maintenance rating does not need to be a pilot and the Repairman may also keep a portfolio of his work and apply for authorization to take the A&P written and practical exams for general aviation after working in the field for 30+ months under his or her own supervision. That represents a significant privilege and opportunity for LSR-M certificate holders.

In addition, the LSR-M certificate may also serve as a stepping-stone to the DAR (Designated Airworthiness Representative). This FAA designation covers those who go inspect new SLSA to provide them the certificate every Special LSA needs before it enters the aircraft fleet. Therefore, demand is good and this can provide earnings for the certificate holder while serving the consumer by making this essential service easier to obtain.

What can you do if you take the 120-hour (15-day) LSRM Maintenance Program?

Operate commercially, earn money for providing maintenance and repair services.
Work on Special Light-Sport Aircraft
Work on Experimental Light-Sport Aircraft
Perform annual inspections
Perform 100-hour inspections
Perform routine maintenance on SLSA and ELSA
Perform major repairs on SLSA and ELSA
Do avionics installations
Gain a pathway to an FAA-issued A&P Certificate

Where are the Rainbow mechanics located? Rainbow graduates are all over the USA. See the nearby map.

Rainbow’s LSR-M class is an FAA approved workshop and an FAA certificate will be issued after successful completion. You do not have to own an aircraft. You do not need to be a pilot. You may charge for your services. The fee for the LSRM course: $4,195 or $3,995 (if paying in cash), which considering you can earn money afterward, represents a good bargain.

Classes before June this year are full, so the next opportunities are June 15 to June 30, 2020 and August 31 to September 15, 2020

What can you gain from the 16-hour (2-day) LSR-I Inspection Course intended for LSA owners?

Work on Experimental Light-Sport Aircraft
Annual your own aircraft
Improve your safety
Reduce your maintenance problems
Gain a greater awareness of your aircraft

Classes for the LSR-I course are offered across the country featuring top-notch instructors. Contact Rainbow Aviation for more details or to sign up for classes,

Compress Post ...

Coronavirus or not, departures from the Golden State of California continue unabated. Before this novel virus “plague” brought isolation around the world, one of our top Light-Sport Aircraft service companies picked up sticks and moved more than halfway across this big country to Kingsville, Missouri (about one hour southeast of Kansas City). Years ago at the very beginning of Light-Sport Aircraft and Sport Pilot, Rainbow Aviation entrepreneurs Brian and Carol Carpenter started what would become the nation’s largest and most productive repairman training courseware provider. I recall this husband and wife team coming to EAA headquarters in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. At the time I was consulting to the organization as they prepared for the arrival of the new regulation. Brian and Carol showed up at EAA to brief them on their plans. That was 16 years ago and today Rainbow is the leading supplier of repairman classes. As the new rule was announced back in 2004, one aspect was the Light Sport Repairmen section, including LSR-Inspection and LSR-Maintenance privileges.

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Thinking Positively About A Post-Coronavirus 2020 — Pilots Still Want to Fly

By Dan Johnson || March 17, 2020 Leave a Comment

“This, too, shall pass…” said my neighbor, Bill Chernish, who flies for Southwest Airlines. His industry is unusually battered by the coronavirus pandemic. His calm and forward-looking view is refreshing amidst the fear seen, well… everywhere.

For everyone around the globe, the word “coronavirus” or the clumsier “Covid-19” disease it causes, has been the major topic of conversations. Rarely have we seen one theme so dominate all the peoples of the planet. What comes afterward?

I have no crystal ball but two recent posts online gave me a lift. Perhaps you can feel similarly.

Psych’ Up ⬆️

A recent Facebook post showed a pilot flying solo, clearly enjoying himself with a caption something like: “I find many of my favorite hobbies involve social distancing.” I grinned at his use of the new ubiquitous phrase but in the background of his image, the sky looked beautiful and his joy at being aloft was a welcome change of pace from the nonstop bummer news.

Highly creative aircraft designer Peter Funk — developer of the FK-series of light aircraft (FK9, Comet, more) — clearly enjoys a flight over Germany.

Another great online comment was posted by Jabiru importer, Scott Severen, who reasoned that flying your Light-Sport Aircraft (or Sport Pilot kit or 103 ultralight) is a better way to have a look at the countryside. Same for traveling while the airlines are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Faster LSA are good for covering some distance and flying yourself sure beats waiting in TSA lines that have stretched to seven hours in some extreme cases, or getting on an airliner with hundreds of strangers (though seats are not all full now, by a wide margin).

Scott’s hopeful expressions included: “Industry might see an uptick as small aircraft are terrific for regional travel.” He says they can be a time saver (think: no TSA). Further he notes, “Traveling by LSA is more ‘point-to-point’ with local airports generally closer the destination. Our smaller aircraft can access most every airport in the USA.” Even in this tough period, when I called Scott for permission to use his words, he was completing a Jabiru sale.

Finally, Scott observed, “Lower interest rates are opening the selection of aircraft for those looking at an acquisition… aircraft buyers [can help] stabilize the economy.” I love the point of Scott’s comments, which might be surmised as: When all you have are lemons, make lemonade.

Follow Scott and Jabiru in America on Facebook for more.

What To Do, NOW

You can do aviation-oriented things after you’ve worn out self-quarantining, social distancing, incessantly washing your hands, searching in vain for masks and hand sanitizer (and toilet paper), and perusing infection rate charts.

Longtime airline captain George Karamitis flies his handsome Quicksilver MX most days and often posts great videos of his exploits in Central Florida.

Since nearly every media outfit is publishing advice about how to stay healthy (that’s good!), we want to encourage you to stay happy as well. Here are some ideas:

Read more websites like this one, which we guarantee is 100% coronavirus-free.
Watch more YouTube such as The Ultralight Flyer channel and the ByDanJohnson.com YouTube channel; no virus here either.
Go fly! You’ll be out-of-doors, which is good. You’ll get aloft, which is even better. Skip taking anyone with you; flying solo is great fun and you can’t be exposed.
Now might be a great time to buy (as Scott hinted above); he’s making sales this week!
Go to your shop and work on your aircraft kit, or to your hangar to pull some maintenance.
Be aeronautically active in ways that don’t spread infection …good for the local, state, and national economy.

A Searey approaches for a lake landing over the Progressive Aerodyne factory in Tavares, Florida (near Orlando).

Is this too solitary? Hmmm…?

Flying often takes place solo anyway. For years AOPA published a statistic that the average occupancy of a GA airplane — usually with four seats, sometimes more — was 1.6 persons. To reach that figure, a significant majority of all flights must have only the pilot inside. To average 1.6 in all aircraft when some may have four people on board, lots of flying has to be solo. Nothing wrong with that, in fact, I almost prefer solo, when I don’t have to be concerned with the other party joining me.

The stats prove that it is not unusual to go flying on your own and it certainly meets CDC’s advice that you practice social distancing.

Why are you still reading and not headed out to the airport? I have my keys in my hands; see you aloft — at a distance. 😎

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“This, too, shall pass…” said my neighbor, Bill Chernish, who flies for Southwest Airlines. His industry is unusually battered by the coronavirus pandemic. His calm and forward-looking view is refreshing amidst the fear seen, well… everywhere. For everyone around the globe, the word “coronavirus” or the clumsier “Covid-19” disease it causes, has been the major topic of conversations. Rarely have we seen one theme so dominate all the peoples of the planet. What comes afterward? I have no crystal ball but two recent posts online gave me a lift. Perhaps you can feel similarly. Psych’ Up ⬆️ A recent Facebook post showed a pilot flying solo, clearly enjoying himself with a caption something like: “I find many of my favorite hobbies involve social distancing.” I grinned at his use of the new ubiquitous phrase but in the background of his image, the sky looked beautiful and his joy at being aloft was a welcome change of pace from the nonstop bummer news.

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Aero Friedrichshafen Postpones Europe’s Best Show Until 2021

By Dan Johnson || March 16, 2020 Leave a Comment

Delay, postpone, or cancel — that seems to be the question organizers of events faced in the current pandemic scare.

Some, like the Twelve Hours of Sebring endurance auto race (not the former Sebring Sport Aviation Expo) or the Sun ‘n Fun airshow, elected to postpone and announce alternative dates in 2020.

Sebring quickly checked for a calendar opening and rescheduled for November, which presently looks safe.

Sun ‘n Fun postponed until May 5-10, which everyone hopes will be post-coronavirus. Seeing that China’s infection rates are now rapidly declining gives hope that the American situation could start to improve in the weeks ahead (I write hopefully).

No Aero Until Next Year

“Our world has been turned upside down,” stated longtime Aero Friedrichshafen lead organizer, Roland Bosch.

“Nevertheless,” he continued, “it is still imperative for Messe Friedrichshafen (the exhibit operator’s business name) to look to the future.

“Since the coronavirus forced us to postpone the Aero Friedrichshafen scheduled for April 1 to 4, 2020, we have considered many possible options for rescheduling the event to take place at a later date,” Bosch explained. The result of these deliberations is that the next edition of the leading trade fair for general aviation will take place from April 14 to 17, 2021.

“Neither the calendar of Messe Friedrichshafen nor the events taking place within the industry would have allowed easy rescheduling to the summer or fall of this year. After considering all the pros and cons, we found that a date in 2021 would be the only reasonable and acceptable way forward for the entire industry,” concluded Bosch.

Like tens of thousands of others, I so enjoy this event and was looking forward to the show that was to begin in just a couple weeks. I was able to back out of most booked travel and will start planning for the 2021 event.

Meanwhile, stay tuned here for more developments and we promise to keep uploading more light aviation content. That way you can still enjoy flying even if you’re quarantined in your ______ (fill in your own blank).

—Thanks to good friend, Jan Fridrich, for making us aware of this news.

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Delay, postpone, or cancel — that seems to be the question organizers of events faced in the current pandemic scare. Some, like the Twelve Hours of Sebring endurance auto race (not the former Sebring Sport Aviation Expo) or the Sun ‘n Fun airshow, elected to postpone and announce alternative dates in 2020. Sebring quickly checked for a calendar opening and rescheduled for November, which presently looks safe. Sun ‘n Fun postponed until May 5-10, which everyone hopes will be post-coronavirus. Seeing that China’s infection rates are now rapidly declining gives hope that the American situation could start to improve in the weeks ahead (I write hopefully). No Aero Until Next Year “Our world has been turned upside down,” stated longtime Aero Friedrichshafen lead organizer, Roland Bosch. “Nevertheless,” he continued, “it is still imperative for Messe Friedrichshafen (the exhibit operator’s business name) to look to the future. “Since the coronavirus forced us to postpone the Aero Friedrichshafen scheduled for April 1 to 4, 2020, we have considered many possible options for rescheduling the event to take place at a later date,” Bosch explained.

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Sun ‘n Fun 2020 Has Been Rescheduled in Wake of Coronavirus Mess

By Dan Johnson || March 13, 2020 6 Comments

Relax, folks. We’re not going anywhere fast. Across all industries, shows and events have been “falling like dominos,” as publisher Ben Sclair put it when I called to discuss Sun ‘n Fun 2020. I knew Ben would be watching very closely as his company produces the daily show paper.

Yesterday, the Twelve Hours of Sebring — attended by 150,000 race fans — “delayed” their event, although in an extraordinarily deft move on their part, Sebring Raceway already rescheduled for November. This is impressive planning on short notice that reportedly came only after interacting with other scheduled racing events to find an open place on the calendar.

Later yesterday both the giant Florida theme parks Disney and Universal announced they will close Sunday through the end of the month. These Orlando-area businesses along with other theme parks draw 75 million visitors annually with a $75 billion economic impact, said officials, so even a few weeks of closure is a serious decision.

Earlier today (March 13), Sun ‘n Fun leadership was head-down, in meetings, and consulting with others as they seek a direction amid the coronavirus turmoil. I am filled with empathy for the SnF crew. They are deep into planning plus physical actions with many people on the grounds for weeks as they prepare for the event. A lot of money has been spent that probably cannot be refunded.

New Dates Announced

Sun ‘n Fun 2020 Version 2 will now be held on May 5-10.

The organization said, “With the full support of Polk County, the City of Lakeland, Lakeland Linder International Airport, and the FAA, at this time we are planning to postpone the 2020 Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo until May 5-10. We appreciate the unwavering support of our airport and community and hope everyone will make plans to join us here this May.”

For many, this will bring a sigh of relief …even while the SnF crew is certainly overworked and stressed by recent events and having to reschedule a grand exposition.

Hopefully, by early May the scourge of this virus business will be behind us or fading fast and people will be anxious to attend the event and do something fun other than washing your hands constantly and looking at anyone sneezing or coughing with uncertainty.

C’mon on down and get a huge dose of healing Vitamin D — sunshine, that is! We will be on-site to report everything we can (see our next post for some aircraft to expect).

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Relax, folks. We’re not going anywhere fast. Across all industries, shows and events have been “falling like dominos,” as publisher Ben Sclair put it when I called to discuss Sun ‘n Fun 2020. I knew Ben would be watching very closely as his company produces the daily show paper. Yesterday, the Twelve Hours of Sebring — attended by 150,000 race fans — “delayed” their event, although in an extraordinarily deft move on their part, Sebring Raceway already rescheduled for November. This is impressive planning on short notice that reportedly came only after interacting with other scheduled racing events to find an open place on the calendar. Later yesterday both the giant Florida theme parks Disney and Universal announced they will close Sunday through the end of the month. These Orlando-area businesses along with other theme parks draw 75 million visitors annually with a $75 billion economic impact, said officials, so even a few weeks of closure is a serious decision.

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Coronavirus Claims Another Victim: Aero Freidrichshafen 2020 is “Postponed”

By Dan Johnson || March 6, 2020 Leave a Comment

That was several hours of my life I will never get back — booking airline, rental car, and a series of hotel rooms… and then cancelling all of them! Drat!

Yet my frustration in scuttling travel plans to attend and work Aero Friedrichshafen is minor compared to the effort by the people running Aero and the 700 vendors that all must now change their plans. Even noting this does not count the hundreds of small businesses from gas stations to restaurants to hotels and more that will suffer sharp revenue losses, possibly resulting in many jobs being terminated.

What a mess!

Not Just China’s Problem

“As Head of Aero Friedrichshafen, I have experienced many situations during the last 30 years which have affected the global economy and the aerospace industry in a negative way,” started Roland Bosch, the longtime leader of this very popular European airshow. “But never before has an incident had such a strong impact on the global economy like the new coronavirus.

Switzerland’s spectacular Risen is one of the airplanes we might have seen at Aero 2020.

He also noted, “I always believed in the saying: There is no total safety. There are only various levels of uncertainty.”

For a couple weeks, I have received several calls from companies in Europe — more specifically, it turns out, they were all from or have business in Italy. These folks expressed concerns, which grew to deeper doubts, and finally to full conviction that the show would be canceled or postponed. It turns out they were correct.

I always enjoy experiencing new designs from Europe, like this F2 from Flight Design ga seen at Aero 2019.

As anyone following the news should know, Italy has been hit harder than most (along with Iran, South Korea, and of course, China). The country took the major step of closing all schools. (Japan has since done likewise.) My journalist friend, Marino Boric who speaks to many Italian companies, reported that busy streets and business centers are eerily quiet. “Hardly a car is moving where traffic is normally very heavy,” reported Marino.

“Thanks for the support of Aero Friedrichshafen,” concluded Roland. “In aviation we have to stick together in tough times, therefore I hope that you remain a loyal partner for the upcoming editions of the show.”

Since Aero was only postponed, not canceled, the staff at Aero are probably now scrambling to determine when next to try scheduling the event. A million details await them; I don’t relish their jobs. Yet first things first — the darn coronavirus has to be seen in clear decline before it even makes sense to reschedule.

Sun ‘n Fun 2020?

I called Sun ‘n Fun boss, John “Lites” Leenhouts, to find out what might happen to another show scheduled for exactly the same week. “We’re still on,” he confirmed!

At Sun ‘n Fun 2020, come check out wonderful American light aircraft like Arion Aircraft‘s fast and sleek XS model.

“We have coordinated with the state of Florida, and with big tourist attractions like Disney, SeaWorld, and others about the right strategy,” said Lites on our call. “We want to ensure the safest possible environment for our guests. We will have extra hand sanitizer everywhere. Our medical staff has been briefed; we will help to remove any sick guests and get them help.”

Here is the essence of Sun ‘n Fun’s official response:

“Sun ‘n Fun is working closely on a daily basis with local, state, and federal agencies to plan for a safe event with appropriate precautions and safeguards in place. As a result of this dialogue and the recommendations of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) for large events and festivals, we are proceeding [to assure] the health and safety of our attendees, staff, and volunteers as our top priority.

One LSA you can see at Sun ‘n Fun is from BRM Aero, which last year debuted this cool taildragger on tundra tires with Beringer gear hardware. The Czech brand will be represented in Lakeland by Bristell USA.

“Currently, we are taking the following actions on-site: provision of disinfectant wipes and spray, hand sanitizer for restrooms, common area spaces and activity spaces, microphone wipe downs, and outreach to all meeting spaces, venues, and hotels. We are providing training for over 3,500 volunteers, and dedicated response teams will be standing by to quickly clean up spills, trash, and other potential hazards. Regular sanitizing of restrooms and food prep areas will also be performed.

“The best practices of scientific and health resources are being followed as we prepare for our 2020 event. At a recent World Health Organization press conference, Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated, ‘Our greatest enemy right now is not the virus itself. It’s fear, rumors and stigma. And our greatest assets are facts, reason and solidarity,’” concluded Sun ‘n Fun.

All my plans have changed from attending Aero to focusing completely on Sun ‘n Fun.

Some Good News…

We are expecting some aircraft you’ve never seen at Sun ‘n Fun. Videoman Dave and I will be onsite to cover every aircraft of interest to you readers. Stick with us. ByDanJohnson.com will not be affected by the coronovirus. 😎

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That was several hours of my life I will never get back — booking airline, rental car, and a series of hotel rooms… and then cancelling all of them! Drat! Yet my frustration in scuttling travel plans to attend and work Aero Friedrichshafen is minor compared to the effort by the people running Aero and the 700 vendors that all must now change their plans. Even noting this does not count the hundreds of small businesses from gas stations to restaurants to hotels and more that will suffer sharp revenue losses, possibly resulting in many jobs being terminated. What a mess! Not Just China’s Problem “As Head of Aero Friedrichshafen, I have experienced many situations during the last 30 years which have affected the global economy and the aerospace industry in a negative way,” started Roland Bosch, the longtime leader of this very popular European airshow. “But never before has an incident had such a strong impact on the global economy like the new coronavirus.

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Flight Design’s “Secret Weapon” in the USA: Tom & Tom Gutmann and Airtime Aviation

By Dan Johnson || February 29, 2020 Leave a Comment

How does one LSA brand rise and stay above others?

Many reasons can be introduced; all possibly valid. However, it doesn’t hurt when a brand has a distributor that itself rises above all the rest.

In case you think I am torturing the “above all the rest” metaphor, well, you may not have met the Gutmann team in the flesh. Once you do, I think you’ll see my point very clearly.

Looking Up to Tom & Tom

My tongue-in-cheek subtitle comes from the perspective of an average-sized pilot talking to the father and son team of Tom Sr. and Tom Jr. Gutmann. These gentle giants stand so tall above me that even Tom Cruise’s acting box would not let me look this pair eye-to-eye.

Indeed, it is a tribute to the spaciousness of CT-series interiors that both these beefy fellows fit inside comfortably. Don’t try that in a Cessna 150 (or even a 172)!

Flight Design’s CT-series is roomy inside, 49 inches wide, a full 10 inches more than a Cessna 172. It also has super visibility. These facts are true of both CTLS, the current flagship of the German producer, and for the newest CT Super Sport, as seen in most of the nearby photos. The image of the two of us in the cockpit clearly shows that Tom Jr. and I have several inches between our shoulders and we were not smashed up against the door to produce this view.

Tom and I flew Super Sport at the Midwest LSA Expo (see video below) where I renewed my enthusiasm over the earlier CTSW model. While it has been a few years since I flew CTSW, I clearly recall it had dashing performance that the more luxurious (read: heavier) CTLS cannot quite match. Super Sport continues that, weighing as it does around 100 pounds less than CTLS and its 1,000 fpm climb rate supports the worth of that weight reduction.

Super Sport is an upgrade from CTSW, however, as it uses three primary elements of the sophisticated CTLS and CTLSi. Super Sport has the wings, entire tailplane, and the main landing gear of CTLS. In my humble opinion, these were smart additions and created a new plane from two prior models.

What you don’t get with CT Super Sport is the back window and hat rack cabin space of CTLS. The slight enlargement of the longer, fancier LS does indeed make the cabin feel roomier and you have less space for things you need in the cockpit — though the floor compartments in front of both seats will suffice for most things you may want to access during flight. Both models keep the ample storage area aft of the cabin but you cannot access that while flying.

For this review, Super Sport was equipped with the Rotax 912 iS Sport engine that delivers such wonderful fuel economy. That’s why the tail shows “Super Sport i.”

Airtime for All

Whatever Flight Design offers aviators, one U.S. distributor can always supply. That’s the Gutmann’s Airtime Aviation enterprise, based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Airtime Aviation Inc. — also found by the simple, easy-to-remember FlyCT.com — is operated by father and son team of Tom (Senior) and Tom (Junior) Gutmann. Airtime Aviation has delivered more than 200 CT aircraft to customers around the United States.

Coordinating closely with Flight Design USA, lead by Tom Peghiny, the Gutmanns are intimately aware of all things Flight Design.

You can engage either Tom by phone call (try: 918-630-5927 or 918-625-5442).

More About Super Sport

The CT-series has long offered several compelling safety attributes.

The “egg-shaped” design offers a protective “safety cell” cabin known in the automotive world as a “crush zone.” Simplisitically, this means forces of an impact are directed around the occupants to protect them.

Since its introduction as a LSA, every CT model has come standard equipped with an emergency airframe parachute. You may never need this capability, but it provides peace of mind for pilot and encourages less-certain passengers to go aloft with you.

A slippery all-carbon fiber exterior allows Super Sport to reach the LSA speed limit of 120 knots. We commonly saw 115 knots at a shade over 75% power yet burned only 4-5 gallons per hour of auto fuel or avgas; you can use either in any mixture, which is true for all 912 engines. The speed figures come from flying at lower altitudes (2,000-3,000 feet AGL). Given its voluminous 34 gallon fuel tanks Super Sport can manage a non-stop flight of more than 1,000 statute miles!

Super Sport comes standard with a single Dynon SkyView screen that can be used in conjunction with an optional autopilot. Air-bulb-adjustable seat backs and cushions aid human comfort as does cabin heat and plenty of fresh-air ventilation.

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How does one LSA brand rise and stay above others? Many reasons can be introduced; all possibly valid. However, it doesn’t hurt when a brand has a distributor that itself rises above all the rest. In case you think I am torturing the “above all the rest” metaphor, well, you may not have met the Gutmann team in the flesh. Once you do, I think you’ll see my point very clearly. Looking Up to Tom & Tom My tongue-in-cheek subtitle comes from the perspective of an average-sized pilot talking to the father and son team of Tom Sr. and Tom Jr. Gutmann. These gentle giants stand so tall above me that even Tom Cruise’s acting box would not let me look this pair eye-to-eye. Indeed, it is a tribute to the spaciousness of CT-series interiors that both these beefy fellows fit inside comfortably. Don’t try that in a Cessna 150 (or even a 172)!

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Special and Experimental Light-Sport & Sport Pilot Kits Compared to General Aviation

By Dan Johnson || February 19, 2020 7 Comments

The comparisons below relate to the numbers of Single Engine Piston (SEP) general aviation (GA) aircraft on the U.S. registry compared to an umbrella group including SLSA, ELSA, and kit-built aircraft that Sport Pilots may fly (or those using a different certificate but exercising the privileges of Sport Pilot) …in other words, all the aircraft we cover on this website.

Even after more than 15 years of LSA and the kits that Sport Pilots can fly, the GA fleet still seems immeasurably larger. The truth is, we can measure it; in fact, we have up-to-date info and both are as accurate as FAA’s database allows.

Which Is Bigger?

The total SEP GA fleet numbers approximately 135,000 aircraft, 15 times larger than LSA/SP kits (by our criteria, about 9,000 aircraft) but the bigger number includes aircraft made since the 1940s and significantly in the ’60s and ’70s.

As most aviators know, the GA fleet averages better than 40 years old where the entire LSA/SP kit fleet is less than 15 years old. It will be decades before LSA/SP kits catch up with the GA fleet, if ever …although that’s before the LSA sector undergoes a major transformation and likely expansion in 2023 (more on that here, and we will offer regular updates).

Aero Adventure‘s Aventura kit aircraft models are part of a gaggle of Sport Pilot kits enjoying solid growth.

The size difference takes on a different view when we compare only the period from 2005 forward. This is when the first LSA started winning FAA acceptance signaling the official start of the industry.

Given this history, all our data points start in 2005; we count nothing before even if that aircraft would today be called a Sport Pilot kit aircraft.

(To save space, I will use “LSA/SP kits” to represent Special, fully-built LSA plus Experimental LSA plus Experimental Amateur Built Sport Pilot kit aircraft.)

When you go global with these two aviation sectors, you find the USA has 80% of the GA fleet with the entire rest of the globe flying the other 20%.

The table is turned upside down for LSA/SP kits, where the USA has about 20% of the global total and all other countries account for 80%. However, the U.S. share appears to be increasing gradually since the recession of 2007-2009. As you can note that recession hit GA very hard; the GA industry has yet to recover to pre-recession registrations.

Since 2005

Viewed in total, the numbers for GA compared to LSA/SP kits are remarkably close. For all of 2019, the LSA/SP kit market registered 690 aircraft (up 8.3% over 2018) while GA registered 729 single engine aircraft (up 3.5% over 2018).

Although SEP GA registered about 6% more aircraft in 2019, a major share of that count comes from one brand, Cirrus Design. The Minnesota company alone accounts for close to 40% of all GA airplanes registered last year. Cirrus registrations have been quite steady over the last three years, though 2019 was the lowest of the three.

As always, please remember registrations will not precisely equal a manufacturer’s reported deliveries perhaps due to year-end paperwork delays that affected at least two producers of light aircraft in 2019.

Take Cirrus out of the count and GA registered 448 aircraft from 15 producers, only 65% as many as all LSA/SP kit producers registered.

Although we have clear leaders in LSA/SP kits (see chart), the 690 aircraft come from an impressive list of 171 producers, more than 11 times more manufacturers than for SEP GA aircraft. This clearly illustrates what happens when you free up the design energy and productive spirit of small aviation companies.

Given a means of market entry, we saw the arrival of a new batch of manufacturers with a flock of new models to satisfy the diverse interests of pilots: from those seeking speedy cross country cruisers to back country taildraggers to special flying machines like gyroplanes, weight shift trikes, and powered parachutes. Go LSA and Sport Pilot kits!

Again a shout-out to Steve Beste, our supreme “datastician.” The GA info presented here was stimulated after an exchange between Steve and General Aviation News publisher, Ben Sclair. All data is from FAA’s registration database but, other than the tables and charts, all statements in this article are mine alone.

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If you like airplane statistics and facts, this article may interest you. Some pilots don’t follow such things while others eat it up (you know who you are). For these readers, we have a new perspective that many may find intriguing. The comparisons below relate to the numbers of Single Engine Piston (SEP) general aviation (GA) aircraft on the U.S. registry compared to an umbrella group including SLSA, ELSA, and kit-built aircraft that Sport Pilots may fly (or those using a different certificate but exercising the privileges of Sport Pilot) …in other words, all the aircraft we cover on this website. Even after more than 15 years of LSA and the kits that Sport Pilots can fly, the GA fleet still seems immeasurably larger. The truth is, we can measure it; in fact, we have up-to-date info and both are as accurate as FAA’s database allows. Which Is Bigger? The total SEP GA fleet numbers approximately 135,000 aircraft, 15 times larger than LSA/SP kits (by our criteria, about 9,000 aircraft) but the bigger number includes aircraft made since the 1940s and significantly in the ’60s and ’70s.

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900-Mile-Flight to Copperstate in the Open Cockpit TEAM AirBike. Well done!

By Dan Johnson || February 10, 2020 6 Comments

Update 2/17/20 — From a commenter whose handle is “Concerned Citizen” on Videoman Dave’s YouTube channel comes this update on Mike’s flight home: “Mike left Copperstate Sunday morning and made three legs, stopping in Blythe, Bermuda Dunes, then Banning due to severe winds and rain. After a two-day layover with strong wind gusts, Mike made a hop to Rosamond, then the next day, an incredible dawn-to-dusk day, flying from Rosamond, near Edwards Air Force Base, to Corning, California! …nearly 500 miles and eleven hours in a single day! The little Rotax 447 was flawless the whole trip. Mike. Is. Da. MAN!” —DJ

Most motorcyclists say 900 miles on a bike is a long trip. Seems reasonable. How about when it’s an aerial motorcycle? …out in the breeze, smelling the air, feeling the hot or cool — hmmm, sounds interesting, doesn’t it?

Meet a man who recently made such a flight, over three days, and taking 17 hours of flight time to reach Copperstate 2020 with his legs out in the breeze (pretty true to the motorcycle metaphor, don’t you think?). Mike Jefferson is the pilot and close contact with the air comes pretty easily to him.

He runs Big Air Hang Gliding giving flight instruction and helping people realize a two-person flight. Hang gliding flight instructors call that tandem. It doesn’t mean the same thing as tandem in a powered aircraft (one behind another). In hang gliding, two people must hang from a common point* so they are side-by-side or one atop the other or some variation; the method was called “tandem” and the term stuck.

Mike Jefferson
— Hang Gliding Instructor —

Taking someone with you in a hang glider demands some level of cooperation from the student.

FAA permits two place hang glider for instructional purposes, and believe me, every one going for a flight is going to learn plenty. Still, an instructor needs to know his or her student and preflight coaching is essential. To achieve a perfect safety record, Mike has clearly set some proper techniques to work for him.

Check this figure — Over his years in business, Mike reports taking more than 5,000 tandem flights from hills around San Francisco. For comparison, imagine giving 5,000 Young Eagle flights. In that context, 5,000 becomes a very big number. You can do your own math on how long it takes to achieve that.

Each of Mike’s tandem flights isn’t walking out on the airport ramp and hopping in a plane for an hour. Coaching, driving up to the launch site, setting up the glider, launching into flight, and retrieving from landing consumes much more than an hour even if the flight itself may be short. Doing this thousands of times with excellent success speaks to using best practices.

So, Mike comes to flying AirBike via a different path than most (though, ironically, your author also flew hang gliders extensively some years before flying AirBike). Mike got his powered aircraft training from Bobby Bailey, iconic designer of the Dragonfly tug that was specially created to tow hang gliders. Many are in regular airborne tractor duty around the USA and the world.

Mike Jefferson
— AirBike Pilot —

In the last year, Mike discovered his AirBike. Needing some care, he took the project and went over the whole aircraft. I know he did well as I brought Scott Severen over to look at it. Scott has developed AirBike back in the early 1990s while he was president of TEAM Aircraft. Scott examined Mike’s AirBike as well as possible in the field and gave a thumbs up.

Look at that cockpit view (a different angle shows in the video). What more could you need?

Mike keeps his AirBike on the same airport as SLSA Dragonfly producer Ed Pittman of Pittman Air. Red Bluff, California (well north of San Francisco) to Buckeye Arizona for Copperstate 2020 meant 900 miles by routes dictated by a small amount of fuel.

The stories we media types tend to follow, well in my case at least, focus on airplanes and the hardware of flight. Of course, people are behind every product but pilots seem to like the nuts and bolts of the story.

Every now again, when the story is good, it’s fun to talk about somebody doing something interesting in aviation. Mike Jefferson did that with an AirBike journey that probably averaged a shade over 50 mph.

As I write these words, he’s still probably making his way home.

* A common hang point where the payload is suspended is part of the whole stability system of a modern flying wing hang glider. Two persons outweigh the glider by 3X or more. In case you haven’t kept up, modern hang gliders enjoy an admirable safety record recognized by FAA.

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Update 2/17/20 — From a commenter whose handle is “Concerned Citizen” on Videoman Dave’s YouTube channel comes this update on Mike’s flight home: “Mike left Copperstate Sunday morning and made three legs, stopping in Blythe, Bermuda Dunes, then Banning due to severe winds and rain. After a two-day layover with strong wind gusts, Mike made a hop to Rosamond, then the next day, an incredible dawn-to-dusk day, flying from Rosamond, near Edwards Air Force Base, to Corning, California! …nearly 500 miles and eleven hours in a single day! The little Rotax 447 was flawless the whole trip. Mike. Is. Da. MAN!” —DJ Most motorcyclists say 900 miles on a bike is a long trip. Seems reasonable. How about when it’s an aerial motorcycle? …out in the breeze, smelling the air, feeling the hot or cool — hmmm, sounds interesting, doesn’t it? Meet a man who recently made such a flight, over three days, and taking 17 hours of flight time to reach Copperstate 2020 with his legs out in the breeze (pretty true to the motorcycle metaphor, don’t you think?).

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Tucano 915 Kit Aircraft: Serious Engine, Serious Airframe, …Seriously Fun!

By Dan Johnson || February 9, 2020 2 Comments

This year, attendees could hit 30,000 for the city-sponsored event (see this article for more about Copperstate linking up with Buckeye Air Fair). Still, focused shows like those above allow more time and friendlier ground operations to permit us to capture a couple VPRs a day. Pilots who attend also realize they can more thoroughly investigate a new (or new-to-them) LSA or Sport Pilot kit because the vendor is not always swamped.

At the smaller shows it’s far easier to take a demo flight. Let’s get started with a powerful aircraft…

Flying Legends Tucano
…with Rotax 915iS

Just one year ago, I flew Tucano for the first time. The small-scale fighter-like aircraft was dashing with its modified Rotax 912 producing 140 horsepower.

This year, that experience was updated with the Tucano 915iS. The newest from Austrian aircraft engine leader, Rotax, adds only one additional horsepower but with its turbocharger and intercooler, the comparison was striking.

In a phrase: Tucano 915 climbs enthusiastically from take off to 10,000 feet without a decaying rate of climb.

As you can see in the image below, Tucano 915 easily maintained well over 1,000 fpm; we went to about 9,500 feet. All the way, 915 appeared to easily compensate for the change in altitude that my ears confirmed was happening.

Before I can write about cruise speed or fuel economy with Tucano 915, I want to again remark that Tucano conveys a visceral appeal. It feels like you think a fighter cockpit should feel. The two I’ve flown were finished with military gray inside and you sit lower in the cockpit, covered by a huge, very sturdy canopy that affords a very wide field of view.

The hanging cargo pods, while looking pretty cool and capable of carrying golf clubs or other gear, shave several knots of cruise off the top, according to Giovanni.

Handling of Tucano is very pleasant, responsive but not in the least abrupt. Pitch is a bit more sensitive than roll but in steep turns, I hardly needed any back stick pressure and almost too easily held altitude. Tucano loves to turn.

Approach to landing is done at somewhat higher speeds than many Light-Sport Aircraft, however, our test Tucano is a different class with retractable gear and a constant speed prop. Those components add weight over a fixed gear, fixed pitch LSA model that is available. Despite those differences, my expectation is that the LSA model might perform quite close to the retractable/propped kit model, assuming the same engine is installed. The LSA model might be a few knots slower but this airframe likes to slip through the air.

Climbing at best rate of 75 knots, Tucano with 915 showed 1,250 fpm of climb and it can hold that rate all the way to cruise altitude.

We were at 85 knots on downwind — gear and flaps can be deployed below 90 — and transitioned to 75 on final. My first touchdown was good.

As our slow flight and stalls showed, Tucano retains lots of control at low speed, exhibiting stable, solid manners.

Pitch control is responsive and powerful; a few landings will help optimize your approach.

Touchdown comes around 60-65 knots. Back on the ground, Tucano feels like a military aircraft with a firm footing and ride. However, this is another proof of how solid this airframe is; no wing flex can be seen in the air or on the ground.

You may enjoy a short video on flying Tucano 915; the longer, more detailed version will be out later.

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Copperstate is proving to be as valuable for the collection of Video Pilot Reports as Midwest and DeLand. We are reporting from the new and improved show for the second year in a row, and it’s looking good for Copperstate to earn a new, regular slot on our show calendar. Some very positive developments were discussed though it’s far too soon to write about them. This year, attendees could hit 30,000 for the city-sponsored event (see this article for more about Copperstate linking up with Buckeye Air Fair). Still, focused shows like those above allow more time and friendlier ground operations to permit us to capture a couple VPRs a day. Pilots who attend also realize they can more thoroughly investigate a new (or new-to-them) LSA or Sport Pilot kit because the vendor is not always swamped. At the smaller shows it’s far easier to take a demo flight.

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Kicking Back in Gair-Planes’ Mule — A Short Sample of this Fun Flying Kit Aircraft

By Dan Johnson || February 8, 2020 1 Comment

Interviewing developers, pilots, and enthusiasts about all sorts of airplanes is our stock-in-trade. People approach us at shows all the time expressing how much they enjoy these YouTube videos.

These range 7-15 minutes long, take an hour or so to shoot and a day or two (sometimes more) to edit and publish on Dave’s popular YouTube video channel.

Contrarily, Video Pilot Reports, or VPRs, take much more time: two or three hours or even more at the show. That’s only the time to collect the video and still shots plus fly for an hour. Once back in the office, Dave puts in a large number of hours logging all the video shot (watching every minute of raw footage), collecting additional video, assembling these elements, adding text, graphics, tweaking sound effects, and finally uploading to YouTube. None of these steps are trivial.

Strapping six or seven cameras all over the airplane, discussing what we want to accomplish aloft, video recording takeoffs and landing, sometimes shooting video and stills from a second airplane, and then doing what we call a “stand up” near the airplane where we review the flight qualities discovered during an hour or so of flying. VPRs are a fun and a learning experience. Viewers appear to love them. Yet they drink up lots of time and trying to do these at a jam-packed major show is difficult or impossible. Hence, our love of events like Copperstate, Midwest LSA Expo, and DeLand Showcase. (We already miss you, Sebring!)

After all the effort, you can enjoy a 20-30 minute in-flight video, the post-flight review, and often an in-depth interview with the developer or an expert pilot of the model.

Gair-Planes Mule

After discovering the model a year ago, we did a interview with Garret Komm at last year’s Copperstate. We followed up with more at EAA AirVenture Oshklosh last year as well. The two interviews have been seen some 70,000 times (both videos) and have introduced his Mule experimental amateur built kit to the many who enjoyed watching.

At Copperstate 2020, we set out to do more. Specifically, we recorded a Video Pilot Report. You’ll have to wait for that more involved — and more informative — presentation but you may enjoy a short flight (see below) that provides cockpit views and records a couple landings on the Copperstate ultralight runway.

Short Take: Mule is not a speedy cross country cruiser but it should provide many hours of enjoyment flying over scenic areas or checking our your home region. Mule proved to be a stable-flying aircraft with zero evil bones in stall situations, handles with a light touch, and can touch down on some definitely off-airport landing areas.

Check out Mule further here and use website references to contact Garrett for more details.

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One of the reasons why Videoman Dave and I attend smaller events is because we can do a particular kind of work while visiting: Video Pilot Reports. We’ve now done many dozens of these (among some 700 total videos on Light-Sport Aircraft, Sport Pilot kit aircraft, and ultralights). Interviewing developers, pilots, and enthusiasts about all sorts of airplanes is our stock-in-trade. People approach us at shows all the time expressing how much they enjoy these YouTube videos. These range 7-15 minutes long, take an hour or so to shoot and a day or two (sometimes more) to edit and publish on Dave’s popular YouTube video channel. Contrarily, Video Pilot Reports, or VPRs, take much more time: two or three hours or even more at the show. That’s only the time to collect the video and still shots plus fly for an hour. Once back in the office, Dave puts in a large number of hours logging all the video shot (watching every minute of raw footage), collecting additional video, assembling these elements, adding text, graphics, tweaking sound effects, and finally uploading to YouTube.

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Copperstate 2020 — Flying, and Building, Arion Aircraft’s Lightning Classic

By Dan Johnson || February 7, 2020 2 Comments

More recently, Copperstate organizers linked up with the municipal airport in Buckeye, Arizona, the westernmost community in the greater Phoenix area. The Buckeye Air Fair happens in February and welcomed the partnership with Copperstate, giving the enduring show a new home …and a new date.

Buckeye Air Fair is free and open to the public. Since the town promotes it well, last year drew more than 30,000 visitors. Many came to watch the air show or visit one of many booths, including a whole sector aimed at young kids, but all these visitors could also review the many sport and recreational aircraft that attend.

Gone Flying!

To start this year’s event, Videoman Dave and I wanted to review the Arion Aircraft Lightning Classic kit aircraft, plus we wanted to pay a visit to the build center run so enthusiastically by Greg and Crystal Hobbs. Their base near Marana, Arizona, was only a 35-minute flight away.

On a beautiful day, I went aloft with builder and pilot Marc Holcomb (photo). We were chased by Videoman Dave flying in the Flying Legends Tucano piloted by Giovanni Matichecchia.

See more (article and video) about Giovanni, Tucano, and my experience flying that impressive aircraft at last year’s Copperstate.

Marc’s Lightning Classic kit took him 70 days to build at Greg Hobbs’ Geronimo Experimental Aircraft build center. Those were 10-12-hour days and Marc has some experience and history that contributed skills, but this was his first kit aircraft.

He became another of the very satisfied customers that have worked with Greg and his group at Geronimo. More than 55 kits have already been assembled under the close guidance of Greg and others, such as his partner, Jack Norris.

New Gen 4 Jabiru 3300 powerplant making 120 horsepower.

You can learn much more in a couple videos coming after Videoman Dave can edit them, but the short video below will give you an early taste of what is to come.

I hope you enjoy and keep returning here to learn more about aircraft on display at Copperstate 2020.

Watch for more in the days ahead and keep visiting The Ultralight Flyer YouTube channel for many other videos on light aircraft.

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Copperstate is officially the show that starts off the new aviation year these days. The 47-year-old event — one of the longest lasting aviation events in the Western USA — was for many years held in October. More recently, Copperstate organizers linked up with the municipal airport in Buckeye, Arizona, the westernmost community in the greater Phoenix area. The Buckeye Air Fair happens in February and welcomed the partnership with Copperstate, giving the enduring show a new home …and a new date. Buckeye Air Fair is free and open to the public. Since the town promotes it well, last year drew more than 30,000 visitors. Many came to watch the air show or visit one of many booths, including a whole sector aimed at young kids, but all these visitors could also review the many sport and recreational aircraft that attend. Gone Flying! To start this year’s event, Videoman Dave and I wanted to review the Arion Aircraft Lightning Classic kit aircraft, plus we wanted to pay a visit to the build center run so enthusiastically by Greg and Crystal Hobbs.

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Centennial Anniversary — 100 Years of Rotax Engines

By Dan Johnson || February 1, 2020 2 Comments

Get it? ROTary AXle. This goes way back; a patent was issued in 1906 to entrepreneur designer, Friedrich Gottschalk, only three years after Orville and Wilbur Wright (also bicycle guys) made their first flight.

Gottschalk owned a successful bicycle components factory in Dresden, Germany at the turn of the previous century. A cyclist himself, he became a full-support producer, making everything needed for bicycles: brakes, tires, seats, and more. “Anyone who considered themselves as a cyclist wanted a bicycle with a Rotax freewheel hub,” said the Austrian company.

Long, Illustrious History

Read a comparison of 915iS and 912iS engines — the 915iS appears beautifully positioned for the LSA of 2023 in addition to many present-day installations).

“We’re celebrating 100 years of Rotax,” observed company officials. Anyone wanting to shape/explore the future needs to have a clear picture of their past. “So, journey back with us to the origins of the Rotax brand and experience the successful development of our company from its founding to the present day and beyond.”

Readers can see a beautifully achieved visual history and story behind this well-known company that dominates engines for light aircraft. Of course, the company also annually builds many tens of thousands of engines for other uses as well.

“Rotax aircraft engines stand for outstanding performance, reliability, low fuel consumption and reduced emissions,” declared Rotax. This mission appears to pervade every powerplant the company has made.

Located in Gunskirchen, Austria, Rotax BRP is a leader in the development and production of innovative four- and two-stroke high performance engines for a wide range of products including Ski-Doo and Lynx snowmobiles, Sea-Doo watercraft, Can-Am on- and off- road vehicles as well for motorcycles, karts and recreational aircraft. In the last 50 years, the company has developed more than 350 engine models for recreational vehicles and produced over 9 million engines.

To aviators, the company’s compact and light weight engines are seen on many kinds of aircraft, supplied by more than 250 OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers).

“Our goal is always to maximize the fun and to minimize the weight,” said Rotax. “Our experienced engineering team and a wide spectrum of R&D facilities guarantee Rotax can deliver customer-oriented solutions and exceed customer expectations.”

Numerically Speaking

More than 190,000 Rotax aircraft engines have been sold since 1973. Of this number, more than 50,000 were 4-stroke engines from the well-known 912/914 series. From a global fleet of more than 66,200 LSA or LSA-like aircraft, it is clear Rotax is extremely important for recreational airplanes of many types.

All Rotax aircraft engines “are approved for operation with Ethanol 10, automobile gasoline, and aviation-grade fuels.” In many countries where avgas is hard to find or unavailable, premium auto gas can be used — in fact, expert repair stations often report engines run on auto gas look even cleaner when brought in for inspection or maintenance.

“Low running costs and a design that pioneers power-to-weight ratio is why a majority of aircraft manufacturers worldwide place their trust in our technology,” boasted Rotax. Distribution and service of the tens of thousands of Rotax aircraft engines and parts is performed by 200 authorized distributors, service centers and repair centers all over the world.

“As the largest producer of small gasoline aircraft engines in the world, our aircraft engines are the first choice of more than 250 aircraft manufacturers around the globe.”

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It started with a seemingly simple product. Since long before recreational aircraft arrived, the invention that launched the Rotax brand was a “rotary axle,” a freewheeling hub that advanced the then-state-of-the-art in bicycles. Get it? ROTary AXle. This goes way back; a patent was issued in 1906 to entrepreneur designer, Friedrich Gottschalk, only three years after Orville and Wilbur Wright (also bicycle guys) made their first flight. Gottschalk owned a successful bicycle components factory in Dresden, Germany at the turn of the previous century. A cyclist himself, he became a full-support producer, making everything needed for bicycles: brakes, tires, seats, and more. “Anyone who considered themselves as a cyclist wanted a bicycle with a Rotax freewheel hub,” said the Austrian company. Long, Illustrious History “We’re celebrating 100 years of Rotax,” observed company officials. Anyone wanting to shape/explore the future needs to have a clear picture of their past.

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Full Flight Review of Scout from The Light Aircraft Company

By Dave Unwin || January 24, 2020 3 Comments

Welcome to the two-seat Sherwood Scout. We previously presented Sherwood’s single-place Kub. Now, our favorite British writer, Dave Unwin — master pilot of many aircraft of widely varying types — reviews the UK company’s Scout model. All photos are by UK photographer extraordinaire, Keith Wilson. Thanks to both gentlemen. Enjoy! —DJ

A handsome high-wing, side-by-side two seater, Scout’s lineage goes back to 1983, when Dean Wilson’s trendsetter-to-be Avid Flyer was first introduced.

His often-imitated design was the basis for Kitfox, Rocky Mountain’s Ridge Runner and the Flying K Sky Raider. The latter morphed into the Just Aircraft Escapade.

When The Light Aircraft Company — TLAC — bought the design in 2013 the first thing Paul Hendry-Smith and his team did was implement a significant number of improvements to both its design and construction.

They improved stability, pitch authority, and decreased adverse yaw. After a year of flight testing various revisions, they enlarged both the elevator and rudder, cleaned up the junction between the wing root and flaps, added gap seals and implemented several other aerodynamic tweaks.

Describing Scout

Renamed the Sherwood Scout, TLAC currently market it as either a ready-to-fly factory-built microlight or as a kit or fast-build kit. The overall construction is TIG-welded 4130 steel tube, while the wings use aluminum spars and plywood ribs. The fuselage, wings and tail are all covered with Oratex (see at end) and power can be supplied by either the 80 or 100-horsepower Rotax 912, 85-horsepower Jabiru 2200, 95-horsepower UL260i or a 95-horsepower D-Motor. Scout can be configured with either a tricycle or tailwheel undercarriage (converting takes only two hours) and is fitted with wings that can be quickly and easily folded aft with no control disconnection.

Of course, the folding mechanism adds both weight and complexity (two things that light aircraft designers generally try to avoid), but the trade-off in this instance is worth it; the wing-fold mechanism does not add much weight or complexity.

Scout’s constant chord wings are braced by V-struts, with about half of the trailing edge taken up by the large, single-slotted mechanically-actuated flaps with four positions: 0°–10°–25°–40°. Ailerons extend to the cambered tips, which feature large LED position lights.

The tail consists of a very slightly swept-back fin and large rudder, a tailplane braced by a combination of struts and wires, and separate elevators. Primary controls are actuated by a mixture of pushrods, bellcranks, and cables. Longitudinal trim is provided by a large tab set into the trailing edge of the left elevator.

The main undercarriage uses bungees for shock absorption and is fitted with tundra tires and slotted hydraulic disc brakes. The pneumatic tailwheel steers through the rudder pedals up to about 30° each way; beyond that it breaks out and free-castors. If fitted with a nosewheel it free-castors with steering provided by differential braking.

All Scout’s fuel is carried in two 9-gallon metal tanks located in the wings, which feed into a fuselage-mounted one gallon header tank to give a total capacity of 20 gallons although a pair of 13-gallon long-range tanks are an option.

Access to the cockpit is good. The front-hinged doors are enormous — they open 180° — and the surrounding frame is comfortably low. The doors are skinned with Perspex, and the top half hinges upward. If it’s warm you can fly with the top half open, or simply remove the entire door!

With a maximum width of 44 inches Scout’s cockpit and the extensive glazing gives it a very airy feel. The baggage bay behind the seats has an impressive volume of 17 cubic feet, and its open floor area can take up to 77 pounds. Unusually for an aircraft in this class the seats adjust, secured in position with a positive locking pin.

In another indicator of the high build spec there are toe brakes for both pilots. The tall, slightly curved sticks feel very natural, while levers for the flaps and trim are between the seats. The plunger-type throttle is mounted centrally just below the instrument panel, an easy reach from either seat.

Flight and engine instruments are a mixture of analog and digital — an MGL Discovery-Lite IEFIS — which shows both flight and engine information and even synthetic vision, with the analogue ASI and altimeter to its right. A Trig transceiver and transponder are mounted in the center of the panel along with the circuit breakers and electrical switches and analog oil pressure and temperature, coolant temperature and voltmeter on the right. On the left is the Master and a key-operated rotary unit for the mags and starter.

It’s all neatly and logically laid out, with very little to criticize. With the flaps deployed the trim lever isn’t quite so accessible while as fuel quantity remaining is only shown by sight-tubes in the wing roots.

The 912 starts easily (it is fitted with the “soft start system”) and runs smoothly, but I am soon reminded of what may be the worst feature of any 9-series Rotax: the powerful throttle springs. These are arranged to give full power should the throttle cable break, so unless you have the throttle friction wound right down, then the second you let go of the throttle that’s what happens. Of course, like most of us I generally keep my hand on the throttle when I’m on the ground, but even briefly setting the flaps, adjusting the trim, or any other task, can have the engine accelerating alarmingly quickly. Conversely, if the friction is wound right down, you have no finesse.

Preparing to Fly

With the minimal pre-take off checks complete and 25° of flap set I line up on runway 25 and smoothly open the throttle. I wouldn’t describe Keith and I as “overweight” — more “underheight” — but even with full tanks we’re still about 45 pounds below the 1,098-pound maximum all-up weight.

Ambient conditions are slightly above standard atmospheric, with an airfield elevation of 196 feet and an outside air temperature of 66°F. We had about ten knots on the nose, the grass is short and the acceleration excellent. I doubt we used even the first 300 feet of the 2,700 available. Scout’s climb rate was equally impressive, the best rate of climb of 55 knots produced around 900 fpm.

Aloft, I commenced my evaluation with an examination of the general handling, and a couple of steep turns and reversals reveal crisp, authoritative controls with delightfully pleasant stick forces. Controls all seemed agreeably light and reasonably frictionless, with low breakout forces and control around all three axes is very good, with the roll rate being particularly noteworthy. It’s fun to fly.

Visibility in the turn — and indeed every phase of flight — was very good for a high-wing aircraft. An exploration of the stick-free stability around all three axes revealed it to be strongly positive longitudinally, weakly positive directionally and positive laterally. Slowing down to examine the stall confirms what I already suspected: this is a very well-mannered flying machine.

As the flaps extend they produce a very slight nose-down pitching moment that is easily trimmed out. There is no stall warning but the speeds are so slow and the deck angle so high that it’s obvious that something isn’t going well. With any flap deployed and irrespective of the power setting it always broke straight ahead, although with the flaps fully up it did have a slight tendency to drop the left wing. With full flaps and a hint of power we got the IAS down to 31 knots.

At the other side of the speed scale I got the distinct impression that it would probably exceed Vne in straight and level flight, though we didn’t try due to some turblence.

With Keith diligently taking notes, an examination of the cruise revealed that 5,100 rpm at 3,000 feet produced a TAS of 96 knots with a fuel flow of a bit more than four gph. This means that the range at fast cruise is around 360 nm with at least 30 minutes’ fuel left. Pulling the power down to 4,000 rpm saw the fuel flow drop to a bit over two gph. Fit the optional long range tanks and the maximum endurance rises to a butt-bruising eleven hours!

Back at launch airfield I discovered that, as with just about every other aspect of flying the Scout, it’s a very honest aircraft in the pattern, with perhaps the single caveat that pilots converting to it from older, heavier machines need to bear in mind that it has considerably less inertia than a Cessna 152 or Piper Tomahawk. Indeed, for the first few hours it’s probably prudent to stay away from using full flaps because speed bleeds away quickly. Maintain speed at 50 knots over the fence and Scout will touch down where you want it every time. Having got comfortable landing on the long runway 25 I finish off with a smooth three-pointer on the shorter length of turf that parallels the taxiway. Great fun!

One more thing: Folding Scout’s wings is both a quick and simple process while all the controls remain connected. That’s great for those who want to use less hangar space or wish to trailer their Scout.

Conclusions?

I honestly feel that TLAC has got a winner here! Obviously care needs to be taken with the weight and balance of the lightest version, but with a typical useful load in excess of 517 pounds the larger Scout is a very practical machine, with good numbers for speed, range and endurance, and the ability to carry a good load into and out of rather short strips. The folding wings are a big plus, while the ability to reconfigure from a nosewheel to a tailwheel quickly and easily could also be very useful. I liked it, a lot.

Sherwood Scout
The Light Aeroplane Company Ltd

Length — 19 feet
Height — 5.75 feet
Wing Span — 28.5 feet / wings folded — 8 feet
Wing Area — 120 square feet
Empty Weight — 578 pounds
Gross Weight — 1,098 pounds
Useful Load — 522 pounds
Payload (with full standard fuel) — 402 pounds
Wing Loading — 10.47 pounds per square foot
Power Loading — 11 pounds per horsepower
Fuel Capacity — 20 gallons
Baggage Capacity — 77 pounds
Never-Exceed Speed — 115 knots
Maximum Cruise (True Air Speed) — 95 knots
Economical Cruise — 80 knots
Stall — 34 knots
Climb Rate — 1000 feet per minute
Take Off Distance over 50 foot obstacle — 600 feet
Landing Roll over 50 foot obstacle — 600 feet
Powerplant — Rotax 912ULS 100hp
Propeller — Composite three-blade fixed pitch

Oratex No-Paint Covering

Developed in Germany, Oratex is a water-based, solvent-free, pre-colored aircraft covering system that is available in two different weights, depending on the size of aircraft.

It is claimed to offer several significant advantages over legacy covering products such as Ceconite, Diatex, and Polyfiber. Unlike earlier systems, it is non-toxic and, being pre-colored, makes Oratex quicker and safer to work with, while the covered aircraft is invariably lighter, as you don’t have to paint it.

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Welcome to the two-seat Sherwood Scout. We previously presented Sherwood’s single-place Kub. Now, our favorite British writer, Dave Unwin — master pilot of many aircraft of widely varying types — reviews the UK company’s Scout model. All photos are by UK photographer extraordinaire, Keith Wilson. Thanks to both gentlemen. Enjoy! —DJ A handsome high-wing, side-by-side two seater, Scout’s lineage goes back to 1983, when Dean Wilson’s trendsetter-to-be Avid Flyer was first introduced. His often-imitated design was the basis for Kitfox, Rocky Mountain’s Ridge Runner and the Flying K Sky Raider. The latter morphed into the Just Aircraft Escapade. When The Light Aircraft Company — TLAC — bought the design in 2013 the first thing Paul Hendry-Smith and his team did was implement a significant number of improvements to both its design and construction. They improved stability, pitch authority, and decreased adverse yaw. After a year of flight testing various revisions, they enlarged both the elevator and rudder, cleaned up the junction between the wing root and flaps, added gap seals and implemented several other aerodynamic tweaks.

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Full-2019 Market Share Report for Light-Sport Aircraft and Sport Pilot Kit Aircraft

By Dan Johnson || January 15, 2020 6 Comments

We have a new year upon us. With our new reporting capabilities for LSA and SP kit market shares, we can now quickly report results from 2019.

A huge thanks to our supreme “datastician,” Steve Beste for making such swift and accurate reporting possible. I assure you that I’ve looked high and low for every year LSA have existed to find no comparable information.

As always, be advised that our data comes from FAA’s aircraft registration database. That means it is impartial — hopefully meaning reliable and dependable — but it also means some massaging of the information is needed to be completely accurate. (See this article for more detail on the effort involved; it is not trivial.) Steve’s valuable ability to manipulate database resources combines with his knowledge of light aircraft to make an unbeatable combination.

As much as any data allows — and as the saying goes… “you can take this info to the bank.” It’s solid!

2019 In Review

Overview — Here’s the top line view: “It’s been a good year,” wrote Steve, as he noted aircraft registrations for our categories grew by 793 aircraft in 2019, a 10% increase from the year prior. Counting all types, the fleet enlarged from 8,028 at the end of 2018 to 8,821 by end of year 2019. While not as boisterous as the stock market was last year, this nonetheless suggests satisfying numbers for the light aircraft industry.

Compared to 2018, Steve observed, “Sport Pilot kit aircraft are gaining on LSA though not by much; the kit market slightly closed the gap with the LSA market comprised of both Special, fully-built LSA and Experimental, kit-built LSA.” Sport Pilot kits do not meet ASTM standards but have less regulations and the owner, having built his or her plane, is allowed to maintain it without oversight by an A&P.

As Steve uncovered, the market leaders involve the same seven brands that have been leading the pack.

However, as he added, “All did not have the same experience. Kitfox registrations increased by 60% (as the Idaho company appeared to lose some momentum in 2018). Van’s Aircraft grew by 44% and Rans by 20% but Zenair/Zenith and Sonex were modestly off their previous pace (see chart below).”

For reference, here is our 3Q19 market share report with additional details you might find interesting.

LSA Seaplanes — Icon continues to do well (but see the next paragraph). The last quarter of 2019 was good for SeaMax and Super Petrel. The latter gained two new owners in the last quarter while SeaMax gained three. Both companies are based in Brazil but SeaMax has been working hard on their U.S. presence (see more here) and, apparently, it is paying off.

Steve wrote, “Regarding Icon’s numbers, note that historical figures often differ from what was previously reported,” in this case with Icon and its A5. He continued, “This happens because FAA continues to perfect its data. For example, for 2018 the agency reported 57 Icon A5s as ‘2018’ aircraft but FAA data clerks switched 11 of those to ‘2019’ once their late-in-the-year paperwork was done. Thus, we now report fewer than 57 Icons for 2018.”

Despite these necessary adjustments, we maintain the figures used in this report are the best available and are of very high reliability. In fact, the adjustments Steve and I make are proof of the effort to report accurate, dependable data.

As always, I offer a loud and heartfelt THANKS! to Steve Beste for his work to make this information available.

Alternative Aircraft
(all other than Fixed Wing)

In general terms, Steve noted, “Alternate aircraft offer a mixed picture.”

He reported, “We have no change from our third quarter 2019 report: Gyroplanes registrations are slowing slightly but are still hot. Trike registrations are holding steady. Powered parachutes registrations are off a bit (nearby chart).

Gyroplanes — “The low-cost Tango is coming on strong,” said Steve. Tango is quoted quite well equipped for just $43,500. “It used to come with a Rotax 582 but their website says it now has a Yamaha engine that they say provides a four-stroke, three-cylinder, fuel-injected, 1,055 cubic centimeter engine outputting 130 horsepower.” That engine is part of the low price tag but even if you added every option shown on their website, you still might not break $50,000. No wonder it is attracting some attention. Of course, until the FAA’s new LSA regulation comes out, all gyros — other than AutoGyro’s Primary Category entry — must be built as a kit. (See chart below.)

Steve notes a new gyroplane entry, “The database now shows Airgyro and their AG-915. It’s a derivative of the Celier Xenon obviously, but with many changes.”

Weight Shift Trikes — Looking only at the weight shift trike segment, Steve wrote, “Something strange is happening.” He clarified, “Evolution Trikes, a leading producer of trikes, registered none of the top-end Revo models in 2019. Instead, the Florida company’s hot models are designer Larry Mednick’s Part 103 Rev and his new RevX (2 registrations). Larry told a prospect at Oshkosh that he’s back-ordered for months on both of them.” These two models don’t appear in the data we collect because Rev is a Part 103 vehicle and RevX is a single-seat machine that we are not counting as being LSA-like. That shows a bias against single seaters, which we never intended. All aircraft on our SLSA List are two seaters. We will start to include single seaters in the future, though we have no way to add Part 103 vehicles because they require no N-numbers.

“Wild Sky’s Goat by Denny Reed has done well,” exclaimed Steve! “What on earth are those Goat buyers doing with them? Could they all be flying back country,” he asked? Our earlier report and video will tell you more about this trike entry.

About this Report — “SP Kits” means Sport Pilot kit aircraft referring to amateur-built aircraft that can be flown by a pilot possessing a Sport Pilot certificate, or a pilot holding a Private Pilot certificate or higher who is exercising the privileges of Sport Pilot — meaning no aviation medical is required. Since Sport Pilot, as a form of pilot license, only arrived in late 2004, we collect information from FAA’s Aircraft Registration database for all applicable kit-built aircraft that can be flown by a Sport Pilot plus, of course, all Special or Experimental LSA. Although some of the same kit aircraft existed before January 1, 2005, we omit them as it cannot be said those older aircraft could be flown by someone with a Sport Pilot certificate. This also evenly and fairly compares SP Kits with SLSA and ELSA.

** When using our online market share reporting system called Tableau Public — please do have a look; it’s free! — be advised this website may appear best on your desktop or laptop. Smaller screen smartphones and tablets do not portray the information as conveniently.

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We have a new year upon us. With our new reporting capabilities for LSA and SP kit market shares, we can now quickly report results from 2019. A huge thanks to our supreme “datastician,” Steve Beste for making such swift and accurate reporting possible. I assure you that I’ve looked high and low for every year LSA have existed to find no comparable information. As always, be advised that our data comes from FAA’s aircraft registration database. That means it is impartial — hopefully meaning reliable and dependable — but it also means some massaging of the information is needed to be completely accurate. (See this article for more detail on the effort involved; it is not trivial.) Steve’s valuable ability to manipulate database resources combines with his knowledge of light aircraft to make an unbeatable combination. As much as any data allows — and as the saying goes… “you can take this info to the bank.” It’s solid!

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Texas Aircraft in 2020 — Logs First Customer Delivery of Colt Light-Sport Aircraft

By Dan Johnson || January 9, 2020 1 Comment

How about this for a great way to start off the new year — a brand-new airplane? Both pilot and manufacturer are smiling and with good reason: both are winners in this transaction, as it should be.

Hondo-based Texas Aircraft Manufacturing announced today that the new Light-Sport Aircraft builder delivered its first new-generation Colt to Richard “Ricky“ Youschak, of Gainesville, Florida.

Colt has a history. While a clean-sheet design, the all-metal high-wing aircraft follows a successful design from Brazil, the Conquest 180. Built especially for the LSA market, Colt benefits from the earlier manufacturing exercise. Approximately 300 were delivered by the older Brazilian builder.

Colt gained its Special LSA approval last year. More details are available in this earlier article.

Texas Aircraft

Ricky Youschak accepting the keys to his new Colt from Texas Aircraft Manufacturing’s Customer Engagement Specialist, Scott Musselman.

“I cannot express how happy and proud I am of our entire team. Just a year ago, the Colt LSA was still in development, and we had just opened the doors at our facility here in Hondo, Texas,” Texas Aircraft Manufacturing’s co-founder, Matheus Grande said. “To be here today and to deliverour first Texas-built Colt is truly a blessing.”

“It is also exceptionally gratifying to have Colt number one going to Ricky, a young man who exemplifies what Light-Sport Aircraft are all about,” Matheus added. “He and his father were looking for an aircraft that they can both enjoy flying. Ricky is a Private Pilot and his father has a Sport Pilot certificate.” Texas Aircraft believes Colt fits their needs as a modern, capable and safe airplane. “Colt is not only fun to fly, but extremely efficient for their frequent recreational flights.”

Why Colt?

“We looked at several new LSA, and while they all had their merits, the all-new Colt really stood out as something special,” Ricky said. “The Colt flies like a much larger aircraft, so the transition from the 172 to the Colt was very easy for me.” Among other attributes, Colt uses control yokes that have been experienced by nearly all students in the last few decades.

“While the new Dynon EFIS and airframe parachute were strongly in the Colt’s favor, the biggest advantage [became clear] when my father and I visited the factory in Hondo, Texas. We saw the pride and passion that went into building the Colt,” Ricky expressed. “They truly made the whole experience delightful for my family and me. That kind of passion and attention to detail has to create an outstanding airplane.”

“Texas Aircraft is raising the bar on quality, safety, and service,” said Ricky’s father, Richard Youschak, Sr. “Their professional staff made the experience of buying our airplane fun from the design phase through delivery, and their exceptional service didn’t end there. I’m extremely happy with our Colt and Texas Aircraft.”

Go Gators!

Ricky Youschak (L) and his father Richard Youschak with their specially painted and decorated “Gator” Colt.

One of the special touches provided by Texas Aircraft was an orange and blue paint scheme, inspired by the school colors of the University of Florida Gators.

“I’m studying Nuclear Engineering at UF, so I am really looking forward to showing off my ‘Gator Pride’ at all the airports as my father and I fly throughout northern Florida, the Bahamas, and to and from my family home in Fort Myers in the southwest of the state,” Ricky said. “My father and I enjoy flying together and our new Colt will be the perfect airplane for us to share our airborne adventures for years to come.”

“I can’t tell you how happy everyone at Texas Aircraft is about being able to help Ricky and his family achieve their dream of aircraft ownership. Giving people the gift of affordable, reliable, and safe aircraft operation was the reason we developed the Colt S-LSA in the first place,” Grande said.“We are extremely grateful to the entire Youschak family for putting their faith and trust in Texas Aircraft.”

Facts about the Texas Aircraft Colt-SL

Semi-cantilever, high-wing design, approved as a Special LSA
All aviation-grade aluminum airframe with all solid metal rivets
Wide cabin with welded Chromoly passenger safety cell
Engine Type — 100 horsepower Rotax 912 ULS
Propeller Type — Sterna composite, three-blade
Maximum Speed at Sea Level — 119 KIAS
Cruise Speed at 75% power — 105 KIAS
Stall Speed, Clean — 44 knots
Stall Speed, Full Flaps — 38 knots
Takeoff Distance (over 50 foot obstacle) — 1,085 feet
Landing Distance (over 50 foot obstacle) — 1,044 feet
Climb Rate (Vy) — 800 feet per minute
Four-point passenger safety harnesses
Airframe ballistic parachute system
Dynon 10-inch SkyView HDX touchscreen display with Synthetic Vision with 3D graphics
Dynon Mode-S Transponder with ADS-B Out/In and TIS traffic
Dynon WAAS enabled GPS Receiver
Dynon digital autopilot with Level Button
Dynon Electronic Engine Monitoring System

*All specifications and features are provided by Texas Aircraft and are subject to change without notice.

Take your pick: our short (3-min.) video or the following longer Video Pilot Report, both recorded at the Midwest LSA Expo 2019.

Compress Post ...

How about this for a great way to start off the new year — a brand-new airplane? Both pilot and manufacturer are smiling and with good reason: both are winners in this transaction, as it should be. Hondo-based Texas Aircraft Manufacturing announced today that the new Light-Sport Aircraft builder delivered its first new-generation Colt to Richard “Ricky“ Youschak, of Gainesville, Florida. Colt has a history. While a clean-sheet design, the all-metal high-wing aircraft follows a successful design from Brazil, the Conquest 180. Built especially for the LSA market, Colt benefits from the earlier manufacturing exercise. Approximately 300 were delivered by the older Brazilian builder. Colt gained its Special LSA approval last year. More details are available in this earlier article. Texas Aircraft “I cannot express how happy and proud I am of our entire team. Just a year ago, the Colt LSA was still in development, and we had just opened the doors at our facility here in Hondo, Texas,” Texas Aircraft Manufacturing’s co-founder, Matheus Grande said.

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Start the Countdown: Four Years Will Bring Huge Changes to Light-Sport Aircraft

By Dan Johnson || January 2, 2020 32 Comments

As we kick off a new year and a new decade, it feels like the starter’s timer has just been clicked into action. The next four years should prove to be highly interesting — and for all of aviation, not only Light-Sport Aircraft, Sport Pilot kit aircraft, and ultralights. Change can be difficult, but it’s coming. For the most part, I feel this is heading in a great direction even if some may struggle with elements of the new rule.

Earlier, an often-shared report discussed the changes FAA plans as part of a “deregulation” of Light-Sport Aircraft. Below, you can see a video that stimulated numerous comments.

An updated report is still being prepared from a late-fall 2019 discussion with FAA rule writers. That will be sent to LAMA members first with specific details. Other industry pros will get a simpler update so all the makers of our great aircraft can be prepared when the rule is issued no more than four years from now.

In this article, I will answer some common questions. The goal is not to repeat the earlier info but to provide clarification. Call this an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) review.

Light-Sport Aircraft are being presented with new opportunities and I hope both manufacturers and pilots will take full advantage of all the new rule may offer.

Wait, Weight! Do Tell Me

A common misconception is that “FAA is raising the weight of LSA.” Nope, they are not. They are creating a Power Index that will describe the aircraft’s size while trying to keep LSA “safe, simple, and easy to fly” yet encourage them to grow and develop. That short phrase is FAA’s stated goal, so, simplistically, larger airplanes will require larger wings to keep their flight qualities docile.

The striking Bristell RG (retractable gear) may be available as a Light-Sport Aircraft. Also see Bristell USA.

Aircraft will indeed be permitted to be heavier, perhaps even as high as the 3,600-pound number once stated (though more likely topping out at 3,000 pounds). The fall 2019 speculation was wrong but weights of LSA will indeed rise.

FAA’s goal here is not to fit Cessna 150s and 172s or Pipers or other legacy GA airplanes into the mix (though they may qualify), but rather to increase the capability of LSA and to “bridge the gap between present-day LSA and certified aircraft meeting Part 23” (which itself is changing), said FAA personnel.

Texas Aircraft‘s Colt 100 is a clean-sheet design approved in 2019.

One hard number associated with FAA’s Power Index — basically a formula that hopes to assure agency goals — is stall speed. While horsepower may also be capped at 200 horsepower, it is nearly certain that stall speed will be limited to 50 knots while using devices like flaps and other wing modifications.

Many LSA do NOT need to get heavier. I think of weight shift trikes, powered parachutes, gyroplanes, and motor gliders. Many fixed wing designs are also perfectly fine as they are. A heavier aircraft, requiring more raw material and needing more power will surely be more costly although they should offer additional capabilities. Some producers strive to keep prices low and affordable so they might stay at 1,320 pounds or their present weight… nothing wrong with that, of course.

Other Benefits

ByDanJohnson.com office manager, Randee Laskewitz, went up in the Magni gyro with expert gyronaut, Greg Gremminger of Magni Gyro USA.

I reported that LSA may also get: • in-flight adjustable props, • more seats, • higher speeds, • electric or hybrid propulsion, • fully-built gyroplanes should arrive, and — the big one: we hope for • commercial use of LSA. Some pilots will see this as a chance to pursue a new business and manufacturers may embrace this as a way to sell more aircraft.

Many have asked about retractable gear. While I did not report this earlier, that configuration is also in planning. However, as stated earlier, none of this is certain even if it is likely. Several other FAA departments have to weigh in and then it will (later, perhaps in 2021?) be released for public comment, which could further change it.

FAQs from the Video Below

As you can read for yourself if you wish, many comments were posed after the video was uploaded. Here is a brief summary of what I read among the comments:

Higher speeds — Yes. While not 200 knots, it seems entirely possible LSA may be allowed to zoom past 120 knots, perhaps to 140 or more. As with all parts of the proposed rule, this is still being decided and any number of FAA entities, including the tough Legal Department, have to (hopefully) add their blessing.

Why Build Now? — One commenter asked, “Why produce something under the old standards if there are changes coming?” As mentioned above, some aircraft do not need to change; I can think of many that are ideal as they are now. However, an ambitious manufacturer will see new markets to explore with larger, faster, more capable aircraft. Just because a 2024 LSA could weigh 3,000 pounds doesn’t mean it must. However, if a builder does wish to pursue a new model, they need information sooner than later.

The Airplane Factory USA flies the Sling 2 in formation with Sling 4.

Why Buy Now? — Impending rule change can cause market paralysis, which would be a most regretful result. Please, potential buyers… remember that this rule will not become effective for around four years. If you wait for something later, you will miss out on lots of good flying over those years. You can always sell what you have now or may acquire during the next four years; used LSA sales are a growing phenomenon and offer more affordable prices.

Super Sexy? — Ekolot America‘s shapely Topaz lives up to its registration numbers. photo by Pawel Hawrot

If you cannot live without an in-flight adjustable prop or retractable gear or four seats or other promises, well, you’re stuck. You must buy a much-more costly (probably older) certified aircraft. Others could spend the hours to build a kit or buy one some other person built. If you fly for fun, you have so many choices now it’s hard to choose the ideal one for you. Need help deciding? Try PlaneFinder 2.0; it’s fun and may help you select your perfect LSA.

Badland Aircraft’s F-series Part 103 entry was a hit when it debuted at EAA Airventure Oshkosh 2019.

Won’t Current LSA Lose their Value? — Legacy Cessnas, Cirruses, or Pipers have faced this music for decades. Anything new — car, boat, RV, etc. — will lose some value after purchase. However, LSA will hold up much better than your current computer or TV, both of which will lose nearly all their value within weeks after you take it home.

You are urged to keep in mind that enjoying a present-day LSA is a thing of joy… now! If you wait, think about all the great flights you will miss. You have 150 models to choose between: see our SLSA List.

Flying GA Airplanes with a Sport Pilot certificate (without an aviation medical) — A commenter asked, “Will this new rule will allow planes like the Piper Cherokee to be considered as acceptable for LSA status and [can owners] change their certification [to LSA]?” Simply, we don’t know yet. I am quite sure the effort to allow weight to rise and to add other features was not to bring in legacy GA designs to become LSA. FAA’s usual pattern is that when an aircraft is certified or accepted as one type, it generally cannot be changed to another classification.

Perhaps more to the point, will FAA allow you to fly a 2,500-pound GA airplane with a Sport Pilot certificate …without getting a Class 1-2-3 medical? Alternatively, can a Sport Pilot fly a 3,000-pound new LSA? We don’t know this either.

Our hope is that FAA will allow the Sport Pilot certificate to be used to fly heavier, more capable aircraft perhaps using the logbook endorsement method employed today. For example, a basic SP certificate does not allow flight into Class B airspace until the pilot has received additional training for this. However, after getting more instruction, a SP ticket holder can fly into Class B once securing only a logbook endorsement (no further testing is needed).

Shockingly short takeoff roll and a blistering climb makes Sportair USA‘s LSA true to its name.

Multiple Engines on LSA — A commenter asked, “How about a multiengine LSA?” LAMA has posed this question to FAA and it may be possible. At least for electric propulsion, the idea of what’s often called “distributed lift” — that is, multiple motors/props driven by a common energy source — is being considered by rule writers.

Bad FAA? — Although a number of commenters threw darts at FAA for not being more responsive or for taking too long with this regulation, LAMA advocates for industry have seen FAA be very open to new ideas for LSA and for letting industry handle more of the approval process. The agency has been remarkably receptive to every idea LAMA has presented and they specifically say they want to be “less restrictive, less prescriptive.”

The one-and-only Arion Lightning taildragger has that go-fast look.

Yes, 2023 seems a long way off now, but two points are worthwhile: (1) to be all completed by the end of 2023, dictated by a congressional mandate attached to FAA budget funding, rule writers must complete their final drafts by the end of 2021 or so; (2) this is a sweeping, comprehensive rule with lots of detail. I have observed FAA personnel working diligently on this but it will take a couple years more to sort out hundreds of points… especially as this significantly changes how FAA does business (giving industry more leeway to devise methods and standards). I urge patience.

U-Fly-It‘s Aerolite 103 is so popular they can barely keep up.

Changing Part 103 Ultralight Vehicles — (A fair number of comments spoke to Part 103 ultralights.) Nope, no changes coming. While some think this is imperative, many experts feel certain that to ask for changes will be to upset the least-regulated form of manned flight in the USA. Other countries have adopted similar hands-off rules (SSDR in England; 120-Kilogram Class in Germany, etc.). Many believe that asking for any change to Part 103 could potentially ruin the charm of these lightest-of-aircraft… ‘er “vehicles.” Perhaps later, but no change to Part 103 is sought at this time.

North Wing makes wings for many trikes plus their own LSA models.

The good news about Part 103 is you have several good choices now (Kolb Firefly, Aerolite 103, Badlands F-series, and others plus a number of trikes or PPCs or PPGs). Those aircraft are selling well enough that the first two mentioned are backed up trying to satisfy demand.

More? — It’s great that pilots are reacting to this news and that manufacturers are studying everything they can as they plan their next steps. Indeed, the next four years will be very exciting — both positively and confusingly. Change is coming. Our mission is to give you more info, to help you stay informed, and hopefully all will see ways the coming changes will be good for them.

Nonetheless, to repeat, LSA manufacturers are building some fine aircraft today, in a dizzying number of models and configurations. Pilots have never seen a better time to buy and fly something you love. So, get out and do so — but be smart and safe in your enjoyment.

Happy New Year!

The lead photo seen on the home page was of a Progressive Aerodyne Searey LSX dubbed “Phaeton” and owned by Robert Richardson. It depicts the Maryland state flag in its graphics. A Searey is used by RS Aerotech’s project to develop single lever control for an in-flight adjustable prop.

Compress Post ...

As we kick off a new year and a new decade, it feels like the starter’s timer has just been clicked into action. The next four years should prove to be highly interesting — and for all of aviation, not only Light-Sport Aircraft, Sport Pilot kit aircraft, and ultralights. Change can be difficult, but it’s coming. For the most part, I feel this is heading in a great direction even if some may struggle with elements of the new rule. Earlier, an often-shared report discussed the changes FAA plans as part of a “deregulation” of Light-Sport Aircraft. Below, you can see a video that stimulated numerous comments. An updated report is still being prepared from a late-fall 2019 discussion with FAA rule writers. That will be sent to LAMA members first with specific details. Other industry pros will get a simpler update so all the makers of our great aircraft can be prepared when the rule is issued no more than four years from now.

Expand Post ...

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Some Key Messages

Common Question — When?

FAA Proposals Under Consideration

More on Weight Increase — Power Index —

More Questions Answered

T E C H T A L K

“Power Index Explored More Deeply”

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How About a Used Part 103 Ultralight?

First Up — Buccaneer XA Amphibian

Buccaneer XA Who, What, How?

Dave’s Recommendations

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Why “Norden?”

Describing Norden

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Centrally-Based Rainbow Aviation

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Psych’ Up ⬆️

What To Do, NOW

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No Aero Until Next Year

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New Dates Announced

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Not Just China’s Problem

Sun ‘n Fun 2020?

Some Good News…

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Looking Up to Tom & Tom

Airtime for All

More About Super Sport

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Which Is Bigger?

Since 2005

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Mike Jefferson — Hang Gliding Instructor —

Mike Jefferson — AirBike Pilot —

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Flying Legends Tucano …with Rotax 915iS

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Gair-Planes Mule

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Gone Flying!

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Long, Illustrious History

Numerically Speaking

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Describing Scout

Preparing to Fly

Conclusions?

Oratex No-Paint Covering

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2019 In Review

Alternative Aircraft (all other than Fixed Wing)

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Texas Aircraft

Why Colt?

Go Gators!

Facts about the Texas Aircraft Colt-SL

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Wait, Weight! Do Tell Me

Other Benefits

FAQs from the Video Below

Happy New Year!

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More on Weight Increase
— Power Index —

“Power Index  Explored More Deeply”

How About a Used
Part 103 Ultralight?

Buccaneer XA
Who, What, How?

Mike Jefferson
— Hang Gliding Instructor —

Mike Jefferson
— AirBike Pilot —

Flying Legends Tucano
…with Rotax 915iS

Alternative Aircraft
(all other than Fixed Wing)