Our first quarterly report in many years should have come about April 1st. It did not. That date came as 
Digging deeper, the chart shows that longtime market leader 
Strong SP kit suppliers include 
Looking at cumulative registrations, Zenith/Zenair clearly holds the top spot among Sport Pilot kit aircraft sellers. Rans, 
Yet the real surprise comes when you look at our final chart of this article. Kits appear ascendant since 2013, especially when compared to Special LSA that seems to have found a stable registration rate of around 200 aircraft per year. However, when you combine SLSA with Experimental LSA, you can see that all LSA types number closer to 300 units per year, compared to all SP kits at just shy of 400. Specialty registrations like Experimental Exhibition are steady but at a far smaller unit count.
Any ELSA must be shipped from the factory as a bolt-for-bolt copy of the SLSA model, as required under the regulation. No producer can sell an ELSA without first getting approved for a SLSA, so to my mind, combining SLSA and ELSA makes for a fairer comparison to Sport Pilot kit aircraft.
If you love these numbers, please visit 
A funny thing happened on our way to quarterly reporting of LSA and Sport Pilot kit market shares. Our first quarterly report in many years should have come about April 1st. It did not. That date came as Sun ‘n Fun was getting underway separated by only one day from the German Aero show. So involved were we in those season-starting events that we just blew past the date. Five Months In Combined Report The first chart reflects both LSA and SP kit registrations through May of 2019 and also depicts the equivalent performances for the full years of 2017 and 2018. What the chart suggests is that 2019 is a solid year with the light sector on track to hit 725 aircraft for the year, up about 5% over last year and up more than 10% over 2017. For space reasons the chart only shows ranks 1–18 but all are available on Tableau Public.
Seamax
Inside the tent, we did an interview with 
Sebastien Heintz of 
Deane's STOL CH 701 is powered by a 130-horsepower 
Because we are about 50 miles away, the sound of these (count 'em) 27 rocket motors traveled to Daytona in about four minutes. The rumbling from those huge motors throbbed on and on, longer than any launch I can remember. The winds need to be rather calm for the sound to travel this far and today we got lucky.
Cool! Go private space companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and others. I'm a NASA fan, too, but I want to see these private enterprises take the baton and race outward to the planets …and it's happening.
I just hope that Tesla can find a parking spot when it gets to Mars orbit.
https://youtu.be/RSc__x0rO9k
https://youtu.be/Tk338VXcb24
Engine suppliers must love 
Zenith reported, "Winning performance by Jan Eggenfellner flying a Zenith STOL CH 750 powered by a Viking 110 engine." To win the competition you had to do well at both takeoff and landing, an appropriate way to show off the potential for Zenith's high-lift CH 750 STOL. Jan won the contest with a very impressive 219 feet, comprised of a takeoff at 110 feet and landing in just 109 feet. Of course, as an engine producer this was very satisfying as he flew a handsome burgundy CH-750 powered by one of his Viking engines producing 110 horsepower. As do other powerplant providers, Viking works to assist buyers with is often called a firewall forward package, sometimes containing a nose cowl that encloses the engine that can help performance. Despite some challenges beginning this company (see last paragraph), Viking has successfully installed engines on several aircraft types (nearby photo). At the Missouri Open Hangar Day event, four Viking-powered Zenith models attended including three that made the lengthy trip from Florida plus another from Ohio. Three CH 750s were joined by a low wing CH 650.
Viking offers a bit more power than the Continental or Rotax engines that lift so many Light-Sport Aircraft in the USA and around the world. UL Power can provide several engines with even more power but Viking prides itself on the performance achieved by their attractive powerplants. The Florida company reported that a Cessna 150 using a Viking engine with a custom cowling can cruise at 135 mph even without wheelpants. That's impressive. I once owned a Cessna 150 with a 150-horsepower Lycoming engine that didn't cruise that fast (though it did empty the standard fuel tanks in a couple hours). One builder of a Van's RV-12 sent airspeed indicator photo proof of cruising 145 miles an hour with the Viking, though we didn't hear the atmospheric conditions at the time. A Sonex reportedly can achieve 170 mph in the speedy, low-cost design from Oshkosh Wisconsin and a Just Aircraft model likewise sent a photo of his ASI showing 115 mph. On the other end of the spectrum, at least one powered parachute operator fitted the Viking ... but speed isn't a factor. Powered parachute speeds are dictated by the canopy wing, not engine power. The Florida engine maker reports fitting 32 air frames in their five years of existence. See our video for 
Jan Eggenfellner (photo) is the designer of the Viking Aircraft Engine. For 15 years, from 1994 to 2009, he built and sold aircraft powerplants based on Subaru engines. His goal was to hold down the cost of engines, which as any homebuilder knows, can be a significant investment. By his own telling, a low profit margin and a worsening national economy drove him to bankruptcy in 2009. He wrote, "Some customers lost money. I personally lost everything, providing refunds until no money was left." In 2010, he restarted his engine business based on a Honda block and remaining Subaru parts. "Some interest was gained by showing the engine at a local airshow for Light-Sport Aircraft," he wrote. "An initial cost of $9,900 brought enough customers onboard to form a new company." The Viking engine project was started and financing secured. Today, Jan reported, "Viking Aircraft Engines, LLC is a sound company with 11 people actively working to produce engines in Florida." Reflecting on the earlier enterprise, he admits, "I am sorry that my previous company was unable to survive. I have some critics." He requests that potential customers "ask any Viking Aircraft Engine owner" and to that end, he provides 
"The first Zenith kit aircraft in North America to fly with the new Rotax 912iS engine was a collaborative effort involving Zenith Aircraft Co., which supplied the aircraft kit, Rotech Research Canada, Ltd. which installed the engine, and Skytek Aircraft Services which assembled the airframe," reported the company. They added that Skytek developed the firewall-forward package for completing the engine installation. "Both the aircraft and the engine performed flawlessly," said Sebastien Heinz, President of Zenith Aircraft. "We put 7.5 hours on the CH 750 on the first day and had no squawks. Rotax has done it right." 
Zenith said installing the fuel-injected 912iS was more complicated than a standard, carbureted 912ULS engine. "However," Zenith added, "the new model has considerably more redundancy, increased efficiency, reduced pilot workload and is certifiable. It operates without primers, carb heat, or mixture controls." The engine and accessories are monitored constantly by a built-in computer that alerts pilots to any issues that arise on the ground or in the air. The result is a higher level of reliability and enhanced safety. The Rotax 912iS is a four-cylinder, four-stroke engine with opposed cylinders that is cooled by air and liquid. A dry sump features lubrication from a separate 0.8-gallon oil tank. Hydraulic valve tappets provide automatic adjustment. The 912 iS provides two redundant electronic fuel injection systems, an engine management system, dual electronic ignition, electric starter and an integrated reduction gear. TBO (Time Before Overhaul) is 2,000 hours.
