In late February, Texas Aircraft invited me to an unveiling ceremony. As it's always wonderful to witness the arrival of a new aircraft and sense the excitement and enthusiasm of its developers, I jumped at the opportunity.
Now that they've taken off the wraps, I am pleased to offer readers a first close look at the Colt 100.
“We cannot thank the people of Hondo enough for the loving welcome we have received since coming here,” Barros said. “The leadership and people of Hondo have made this possible. We are proudly genuine sons and daughters of Hondo. We are confident that we will make Hondo deeply proud of us.”
In addition to Hondo city officials including the mayor, Lyndsey Dennis represented Texas Governor Gregg Abbott’s Office of Economic Development and presented a certificate signed by the Governor congratulating the Texas Aircraft Manufacturing team with their accomplishment
Powered by a Rotax 912 swinging a Sterno composite prop, Colt is an all-metal, tricycle gear design based on a previous-generation aircraft that 
In late February, Texas Aircraft invited me to an unveiling ceremony. As it’s always wonderful to witness the arrival of a new aircraft and sense the excitement and enthusiasm of its developers, I jumped at the opportunity. Now that they’ve taken off the wraps, I am pleased to offer readers a first close look at the Colt 100. Known as Texas Aircraft Manufacturing, the company hosted an event to inaugurate its new development and production facility at South Texas Regional Airport in Hondo, Texas. Our hosts were Texas Aircraft Manufacturing CEO Matheus Grande and company partners Caio Jordão, Diego Jordão, Carlos Barros and Samantha Almeida. In his opening remarks Grande said, “Thank you very much for being a part of this special, historic moment. It is our honor to have all of you with us. Today, we are here to celebrate the first important step of this company and we are so very proud to present our new facility to you.” “Soon we will be launching our new Light-Sport Aircraft into the world market, and we invite all of you to join us at EAA Oshkosh AirVenture in July 2019 for that official introduction,” Grande said.
Something old. Something new. Hang glider pilots I know are very familiar with Horten designs, a form of validation for modern hang gliders …flying wings, aircraft with no tail or fuselage structures. Yet many pilots don't know Horton and have only a sketchy understand of flying wing stability.
In 1943, Reichsmarschall Göring issued a request for design proposals to produce a bomber that was capable of carrying a 1,000 kilogram (2,200 pound) load over 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) at 1,000 kilometers per hour (620 mph) — the so-called "3×1000 project." Conventional German bombers could reach Allied command centers in Great Britain, but were suffering devastating losses from Allied fighters.
At the time, no aircraft could meet these goals. Junkers turbojet engines could provide the required speed but had excessive fuel consumption.
Walter and Reimer Horten concluded that a low-drag flying wing design could meet all of the goals. By reducing drag, cruise power could be lowered to the point where the range requirement could be met. They put forward their private project, the H.IX, as the basis for the bomber.
The Government Air Ministry approved the Horten proposal, but ordered the addition of two 30-mm cannons because they felt the aircraft would also be useful as a fighter as its estimated top speed was significantly higher than that of any Allied aircraft.
In short, flying wings are lean and make efficient use of the weight of their structure. That sounds like worthy qualifications for a Light-Sport Aircraft or Sport Pilot kit.
At this time, the company is not disclosing any pertinent data about the aircraft but I will be at 
"You just saved my life!" It's not often anyone, even a medical doctor, hears those words. Back in the '90s I was sometimes on the receiving end of a call when a pilot phoned BRS to report a "save," a sparing of a life by the use of a parachute. It is a humbling experience to have someone exclaim that you (and your fellow workers) are the reason they are alive.
A few days ago, it happened again, for the 400th time. 
The system is designed to be a last resort for pilots and passengers when all other attempts to recover the airplane in case of emergency or pilot incapacitation have failed.
Numbers 400 and 401 entered the BRS save logbook when the pilot of a Cirrus aircraft with an engine out deployed the whole aircraft rescue system over water more than 20 miles from Grand Turk Island in the Turks and Caicos. BRS reported that pilot and passenger were uninjured and that they were picked up by a cruise ship.
Numerous European and U.S. ultralight and experimental aircraft use the system, including Lancair, Carbon Cub, Kitfox, Glassair, 
Light-Sport Aircraft have accomplished much in the 15 years this new class of aircraft have existed: 
"Our new training partnership with 
"It is safe to say that Able Flight would never have existed without the influence of 
Jon passed away on February 15th at the age of 83. Aviation lost a good man after many productive years. Rest in peace, old friend.
Jon and Ron, twin brothers like Jon's sons Mike and Mitch, last year made another donation, this one to Mt. Vernon Airport, home of the 
"We are Arizona's newest aircraft manufacturer," said Garrett Komm when we finally located him and his bright blue and silver aircraft.
A fan of this particular flying machine had approached me at Copperstate and said, "You gotta go see this airplane. Tell him Russell sent you!" (Thanks, Russell!)
After wrapping up a couple other video interviews, Videoman Dave and I left the main exhibit area to seek out Russell's discovery. As we came upon it, parked among other transients to the light aircraft area at Copperstate, we both found it vaguely familiar. Well, it was vague for me. Dave was sure right away.
That's because 
"Merlin was one tough little aeroplane," said Dave Loveman. "John Burch was a Canadian ultralight instructor and needed a better aircraft for his flight school. The 42 inch wide cabin is quite comfortable for even the largest of pilots." Mule is a bit wider at 46 inches.
After Burch's Canadian operation, Merlin was for a period offered by AeroComp on Florida's Atlantic coast, at the Merritt Island airport. Now Gair-Planes is offering the kit from Arizona, all part of the interesting migration of designs that prove their worth.
As with Merlin, Mule is built around a welded 4130 chromoly steel fuselage and tail structure, all fabric covered. Wings use aluminum D Cell construction, with styrofoam ribs. The result was tested by the Canadian creator to +4 and –2 Gs.
Mule is a taildragger, in a tractor configuration, with side by side seating. Controls are standard stick and rudder with a center Y-stick.
"We are not the fastest airplane out there," observed Garrett, "but we believe that we are one of the best for low and slow backcountry flying."
Powered by a 
With an airframe kit price of $18,700, adding an engine for a similar amount, plus paint and basic avionics, you should be able to get a Mule airborne for less than $50,000.
"Building time is about 400 hours," said Garrett, though agreeing that this can depend on builder experience and how detailed the builder wants to go.
At a major show in China called Zhuhai visitors saw something: a new 6-axis LSA flight simulator. The developer is 
Chinese citizens play games, including flight simulators, as much as (or perhaps even more than) Americans do. Sitting at their computer or using a mobile smartphone or tablet is commonplace.
They know this activity and it may provide a bridge to people going aloft in an actual airplane like CTLS.
Imagine if you had never, ever seen a small plane of any kind. Would you rush to fly it? It's hard for Americans to envision this situation as we have small airplanes everywhere and airports in nearly every town in the nation.
AeroJones may truly be on to something developing their full-motion simulator.
“At the Zhuhai Airshow 2018, our AeroJones 6-axis of motion CTLS simulator was shown for the first time to the public,” said Michael Chou, who handles marketing for the company. He reported that reception to the new simulator was very enthusiastic.
AeroJones is deep into planning for their new aircraft factory in Zhenjiang, China — where, presumably, they will also build the simulator. With the new facility, all manufacturing steps will be easier, less costly, and much more efficient, which will contribute to better values for customers buying the CTLS. Flight schools or other buyers of the modern and sophisticated CTLS will be able to fly to Dalu General Airport to see the factory and take demonstrations flights to confirm their purchase.
At the time the new factory was announced, Mr. Jones Chen said, “We are very pleased about the relationship with leaders of Zhenjiang. We look forward to a long and prosperous relationship."
On Day 3 of 
Flying Legend's Tucano is a scale replica of well-regarded original. Embraer's EMB 312 Tucano is "a low-wing, tandem-seat, single-turboprop, basic trainer with counter-insurgency capability developed in Brazil," according to 
Stalls were surprisingly slow considering how clean the aircraft looks, down into the high 40 knot range. A LSA version should readily meet standards for stall.
Handling was very well behaved. I found the stick a mite heavy in roll but it was exceptionally precise. Again smooth air helps but Tucano held even steeply banked 720 turns with ease and a light touch. Trimming was not necessary to hold altitude, even in 45-degree banks.
Slow flight was easily controllable suggesting landing would be very manageable. It was and my first touchdown showed this Tucano has very good manners.
Throughout all maneuvers, visibility is glorious, a panorama in any direction except straight down. From the aft seat the wing blocked my downward view though it looked better from the front seat where you solo. The downside to that expanse of acrylic is heating in the summer in places like Texas, where Flying Legend USA is based. Additional air inlets are in the works.
Let me be fair. Other West Coast aviation events have interesting qualities but none has ever risen to the level of AirVenture Oshkosh or Sun 'n Fun. Those two dominate general aviation events. Both are "back East."
With big pilot and aircraft populations in California, Arizona, and Washington, why have we no major shows in the West? No one I've asked can explain the riddle but could Copperstate Buckeye Air Fair be the right combination? Only time will tell yet on Saturday, crowds were as thick as Oshkosh, albeit in a much smaller area. City planners offered an airshow and lots for attendees to look at plus the Copperstate trade show alongside the Buckeye Air Fair gave the public close access to pilots operating all manner of light aircraft.
Serious airplane buyers encouraged vendors on Thursday before the public attended. They came out in huge droves on Saturday. Vice Mayor Eric Orsborn, whom I interviewed on video, estimated 15-20,000 people that day. It looked like it and we have video proof. By the way, Eric is not only a city leader, he's a pilot who just earned his ticket. His wife is also pursuing flying lessons and is going through ground school now.
If Sunday is equally strong, most will consider this pairing of city air fair with industry trade show to be a resounding success. Vice Mayor Eric said the city was very pleased about the link-up and sees good things in the future.
In two quickly linked flights, they let me compare 915 to 912iS. That was most helpful but I did not know either airframe well so it was challenging to compare performance with my earlier experiences. Now, I have a better picture.
At Copperstate a couple years ago I flew Sling 4 with Rotax's 914 Turbo. I was very impressed, feeling it flew as well as the Sling LSA. Dare I admit I actually liked the four seater's flight qualities better than the LSA?
Like Sling 4, Sling TSi is not a Light-Sport Aircraft. It cannot be flown with the Sport Pilot certificate. Several reasons explain why, even though the new model closely resembles the Sling LSA.
First, it's a four seater. Secondly, it has much higher power. That's allowed but the 
Acceleration was fast, we rolled less than 500 feet and climbed quickly from the start and kept going. Jean d'Assonville and I flew perhaps 300 pounds under gross but 
The wing itself is a fresh new airfoil and wingspan is about 16 inches shorter on each side.
The tailplane has counterbalanced surfaces to reduce chances of flutter given Sling TSi's speedier ways.
Aloft we saw 128 knots at modest cruise power and 3,500 feet MSL. Coming out to the show Jean and Wayne reported seeing better than 160 knots TAS and 180 knots GPS groundspeed, thanks to a tailwind. Fuel burn was a bit over six gallons an hour. Climb out of Buckeye (1,000 foot field elevation on a cool day) averaged 1,000 fpm and we saw 1,500-1,800 fpm on successive climbs from a touch and go.
Stalls in all configurations were very mild, even with full stick aft and no quick effort of recovery. At full power, Sling TSi would not stall and only wobbled the nose to signal the pilot — well, that and a clearly audible stall warning plus a very steep deck angle.
Handling was very responsive but steady with a light touch even in steeply banked 720 turns. My efforts at dutch rolling produced acceptable results either fast or slow.
The landing was straightforward. Sling TSi manages energy very well — an LSA-like feel, it had — making roundout and touchdown quite easy. Visibility is good, a very good thing at a busy Buckeye Municipal (KBXK) when numerous airplanes entered the pattern to pay a visit.
In all, Sling TSi is a commendable achievement, a further refinement of the original Sling LSA introduced in 2009. In that decade, Sling has delivered more than 500 aircraft, Jean indicated.
We recorded a full Video Pilot Report with cameras on and in the airplane. When it's done in editing, this will provide much more detail and very few complaints about 
The Copperstate airshow is on in Arizona! Put on by a new combination of Copperstate leadership in cooperation with the town of Buckeye Arizona — which has been hosting its own 
In many years of reporting on light aircraft, I have flown a lot of weight shift control trikes. I love flying trikes. I've flown simple ones, super-deluxe ones, tough ones, and ones that weren't so tough. Most I enjoyed.
Yet I've never seen one built so sturdily as 
"Talk about heavy-duty, this is simply the roughest, toughest Weight Shift Control (WSC) trike in the world," said Sid. After my own close look at Goat, I cannot dispute his description.
"Our impact testing exceeded 6 feet high at maximum gross weight in several configurations & trajectories," explained Denny. ASTM requires that a trike be dropped in various ways including nosewheel first …but from 16 inches, not six feet. I've seen these kinds of tests; they are very demanding of an airframe.
"Finally," Denny added, "we focused on short take off & landing (STOL) with emphasis on being easy to setup & transport coupled with “easy-to-fly.”
"Goat is one of a kind, said Denny. "It doesn’t need special care. It is not fragile. It just needs good fuel, your respect, and a little love once in a while. If anybody can build something better, we’d like to be your first customers. Until then, we’re looking to build our team of true adventurers. We hope to share what we’ve learned & hope to learn from you too."
"After all, aviation is not about the planes, it’s about what you do with them." Who can argue with Reed's logic?
Here's a quick (2-minute) teaser video about Goat:
https://youtu.be/zBwU02qt2xQ
Yet again, I am motivated to give Steve Beste an enormous "Thank you!" for his dedicated effort to take FAA's data, make complete sense of it (no small task), and to then work with the folks at Tableau to make this information available to you. Even better, you can adjust the data to your liking in ways I never envisioned with our earlier years of reporting these facts.
Thanks to Steve and his impressive skill set — and his willingness to spend his personal time — we now cover every aircraft registered since 2005, a year we picked because in April of that year FAA issued the first two Special Airworthiness Certificates (to 
Because a large number of you visit this website via your smartphone, you can now see images that fit your screen better (nearby image). Given a wide variety of phone sizes, screen resolutions, and browsers, not every phone will look like these images but the data is much more accessible via smartphone than it was when we launched late last fall.
Of course, iPads and desktops or laptops with their larger screen real estate can see the data more comprehensively, but even on those larger devices or computers, the data now make more sense thanks to Steve's continuing effort to improve the look.
The "
Note that this is somewhat different than "Certification," which offers more detailed ways to narrow the field solely to aircraft types that interest you.
The effort Steve and I have made together (well, mostly him; I primarily gave feedback or specific knowledge of aircraft) attempts to give pilots, businessmen, and government more data about the sector of aviation we enjoy most.
Any comments about how we can make this even more useful will receive careful attention.
"Duck and cover" was a phrase to describe the morning on Thursday, Day Two at 
Some, like Scott Severen of 
L600 importer Deon Lombard said he expecting his first with the 
Sebring 
I attend seven or eight airshows every year. I've done this for many years. I'm here to assure you that the night before opening, the place is utter pandemonium with no possible hope in sight of having everyone in position and ready for business by morning. It can't happen. …yet it does!
One of the most marvelous transformations to be seen is a lonely expanse of concrete ramp turning into a colorful, energetic, ultimately cool place to hang out, look at lots of pretty airplanes of all kinds, talk flying to your old pals and new friends, catch a forum, participate in a work shop, take a demo flight if you're in the market — heck, take several flights. That's one of the main reasons people come to events like Sebring and the main reason vendors are here with their shiny airplanes. It's a match made in heaven and you're invited!
Here's an early glance. Come on down to 
"This variation will now be reintroduced to the Americas," reported Tom Peghiny, President of 
“The approval allows the company to deliver certified aircraft for delivery in Europe and the rest of the world,” said Joerges.
“This is good news for owners of CTLS-ELA aircraft currently operating under EASA’s Permit-to-Fly and for new customers looking for an advanced EASA certified light aircraft,” explained Flight Design general aviation COO, Daniel Guenther. “We can now offer owners of CTLS-ELA aircraft operating across Europe to bring their planes back to Flight Design for upgrading and conformity confirmation to allow them to have a permanent Restricted Flight Certificate (RTC).” Planning for the upgrade program is in the final stages and customers will be informed about the details in February 2019.
Flight Design observed that the company’s CT-series aircraft have been sold around the world since 2008 as Special Light-Sport Aircraft. "CTLSi-ELA brings a well proven platform, the security of an all carbon fiber airframe with an aircraft emergency rescue system and the high technology of all Flight Design aircraft," officials said.
If you like Light-Sport Aircraft and if you like statistics, you are going to love this article.
We report details in two primary ways for two primary periods. The periods are "All-Fleet," meaning all LSA or other Sport Pilot-Eligible aircraft that have been registered since 2004 when the rule was released; and, "Calendar Year" meaning the January to December period of the previous year. We have been doing both for several years but our reports were confined to fixed wing or "Airplane" Special Light-Sport Aircraft. That is now changing to a broader view that includes all registrations (see next).
In the Kit/Other category, Zenair/Zenith (616) leads Van's Aircraft (531) and Rans (436). The trio of leaders are well ahead of the next tier that includes AutoGyro (167), Progressive Aerodyne (153), CubCrafters (144), Kitfox (119), Powrachute (110), 
Above, we reported fully-built aircraft separately from kits and other types in this post but you can combine them using Tableau. You can also arrange in several other ways or look at a single or few brands.
Both fully-built LSA and kit aircraft — using our ASTM compliance qualifier — can be flown by someone using a Sport Pilot certificate. Therefore, we include all LSA-like aircraft that are technically not a Special Light-Sport Aircraft — Experimental Amateur Built kits, for example — as "Sport Pilot Eligible (SPE)," a term coined by a former EAA representative, Ron Wagner.
Not only can we rank Special LSA and SPE kit builders separately — as we should; they are very different business models — but we trust you observed that we can also include weight shift control "trikes," powered parachutes, motorgliders, Lighter-than-Air, all the classes of LSA beside fixed-wing airplanes. We further accommodated modern-style gyroplane as SPE kits because they are strong sellers could qualify as Special LSA if FAA decides. We were never able to include all aircraft types in the past due to data entry challenges that Steve Beste solved by his rigorous definition and execution of how we collect the numbers. See his explanation 
All of us who enjoy flight know much about this, but things are changing and perhaps fast enough to push many of us current-aviation experts into a discomfort zone.
As you have 
However, for short-range urban transport, multicopters may be unstoppable.
Such transportation is the goal of Lift Aircraft, a Texas startup that hopes to change the way people travel.
An article in an online publication called 
Lift has also listed many features they believe provide 
"Divvying up the skyline" where skyline means airspace sounds rather threatening to current pilots. Many pilots have told me they worry about drones or multicopters interfering with the enjoyment of their aircraft, or worse, causing safety problems.
Those concerns may be real but the new flying machines identify the weakness in our current ATC system, great as it has been for aviation safety. It simply takes so many highly-paid controllers with hundreds of facilities and a need for ever-increasing equipment sophistication.
That paragraph quoted above sends a message. ATC depends on up to 6,000 workers to move 5,000 aircraft around the skies safely. Imagine millions of new flying machines and the old system begins to look creaky. Already, many criticize FAA for using out-dated computers and other equipment and federal employment system that creates high costs. Can the tech world improve on this?
Every day, the FAA's Air Traffic Organization provides service to more than 43,000 flights and 2.6 million airline passengers across more than 29 million square miles of airspace. 
