The Jabiru airplanes from Shelbyville, Tennessee-based Jabiru USA are funny airplanes. I don’t mean funny like a joke and I don’t mean the name sounds funny, though it may to those unfamiliar with the Australian brand. The Jabiru models are funny because from a distance they look rather small and they don’t seem to get bigger the closer you get to them.
Despite the illusion, the three Jabiru models that have earned their Special Light-Sport Aircraft (SLSA) credentials are actually quite roomy inside, even for larger American pilots. The J250 is better described as cavernous; it has perhaps the largest interior dimension of any SLSA.
The J170 is smaller, but certainly spacious enough for most occupants. A 45-inch-wide cabin is 5.5 inches wider than a Cessna 172 and it has headroom enough for all but the tallest pilots.
Based on the 2-seat Aussie kit, the J170 is aimed at flight schools.
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Earthstar’s Odyssey Continues
After flying many ultralight and light-sport aircraft, I’ve found the handling
and performance characteristics of Earthstar Aircraft’s machines
suit me as well as or better than any others. With that said, let me
tell you about some significant changes that may thrust this small
California company into the mainstream of light-sport aviation.
Mark Beierle created the Thunder Gull series of ultralights after working in the
aerospace industry … and being discouraged with the ultralights available in the
early 1980s. He was interested in perfecting his designs, so his priority was not producing
numerous units. Instead, he wanted to produce an aircraft with classic flying
characteristics. Customer response to his machines was excellent, but delivery
often stretched into months, even years. To own a prized Earthstar model, you had
to have patience. This situation gave another company, Titan Aircraft, a chance to
build a similar design, the Titan Tornado, and its business took off while Earthstar
remained deliberately small.
All the Plane You May Want
Over the years, Titan Aircraft has made their Tornado a familiar aircraft seen at flight parks and airports around the nation. Since it was introduced in ’91, the sleek, efficient plane has evolved into a variety of models.
This month we examine the fine work of Roger Bacon who created a lovely red-and-white Tornado II 912, powered by the 100-hp Rotax 912S 4-stroke powerplant expected to be commonplace on light-sport aircraft. Bacon’s airplane is licensed in the Amateur-built category but its facts and figures suggest it could be flown with FAA’s proposed Sport Pilot certificate (until FAA’s new rule is introduced, a private pilot’s certificate or better is required).
Usually I prefer to fly a factory airplane to make sure it correctly represents what a buyer might receive. However, Bacon’s model is so well done, Titan Aircraft encouraged a test flight. Thanks to Bacon for his willingness to let me take his pride and joy aloft.
Relive the World War II fighter experience
The Ending
In the remainder of this article I’ll tell you what I thought of this new offering from Titan Aircraft, the successful builder of the Tornado line of ultralights and light aircraft. But I must be forthright and tell you my hour and a quarter flight with this new airplane ended with a landing on its belly.
I rush to say it wasn’t simple forgetfulness; I didn’t forget to put the gear down. Instead, a simple mechanical problem in this prototype T-51 prevented the retractable gear from fully extending. The gear was partially down, but it refused to lock in position. A post-incident investigation revealed that a tiny activation pin broke off the gear-down microswitch when I tried to activate it with too forceful a movement. Because the micro-switch didn’t activate, the hydraulic system didn’t push the gear legs down all the way.
Considering the gear was down only about 50 percent, according to Titan President John Williams who was watching from the ground, my touch down was remarkably smooth, and the T-51 rolled for quite a few yards.
Why Not Rotax?
So, Why Not Stick With Rotax?
Why take a chance with any new brand, even if it is a Japanese engine? Why not stick with a familiar brand name?
HPower’s Tom Peghiny relates airshow conversations with a wide range of sport aviators, not only ultralight pilots. He reports: “Not a single person wanted to compare price or weight with the Rotax 582, against which the HKS engine competes. In fact,” he adds, “they overwhelmingly said simply, ‘Thanks!’ for offering an alternative.”
A few good reasons explain why the 700E may represent a better value than the 582. On the face of it, a ready-to-fly 582 will run about $5,400 retail, while the 700E is $6,500 with stainless steel exhaust.
The extra cost comes from the parts count on a 4-stroke engine. More pieces cost more money. And to make these engines last longer, they must be built of components that can endure long operating periods.
Single-Seat Gull 2000
In a flying world that seems to think a 2-seater is mandatory, Mark Beierle has released another single-place ultralight. And what a sweet ultralight it is.
I love the Thunder Gull series of ultralights. When people ask me what I personally like of the hundreds of ultralights evaluated, the Thunder Gull always springs to mind (among a few other designs). My interests may not be your interests, but I’ll bet most pilots would love to fly the Gull 2000.
Offered for sale here in the new millennium, the Gull 2000 is an appropriate name that seemed well aimed at lots of American ultralight enthusiasts.
Welcome to Gull 2000
For the new century, the Gull 2000 adds to, rather than replaces the older models from Earthstar Aircraft. The company will still sell their Thunder Gull J single-seater and their little-publicized Soaring Gull, which uses a very small engine and long wings to create something of a motorglider.
Swedish LN-3 Seagull — Tandem-Seating LSA Seaplane …Plus, Breaking News!
LSA seaplanes are a segment all to themselves. [See Breaking News at bottom!]
It isn’t only that seaplanes can offer “triphibian” capabilities (a term once promoted by MVP) because they can operate from land, water, or snow. That makes them versatile but amphibious craft must incorporate retractable gear and since they require a sturdy hydrodynamic boat hull as well as aerodynamic aircraft structures, the engineering task becomes significantly larger than land plane designs.
Icon took years with their A5 and Vickers is still working on their Wave. Both took more than a decade to reach market. Several other LSA seaplane projects required similarly lengthy development.
Now from Svenska Flygfabriken (Swedish Aviation Factory) comes LN-3. This new entry is distinctive because it is a tandem-seating seaplane. Yes, I know lots of Cub-types on floats are tandem but among boat-hulled seaplanes, I’m not aware of any others like this.
Top 50 Video Review: Lisa Akoya, an Innovative, Sleek LSA Seaplane
“Lisa Akoya: You’ve Never Seen Anything Like It,” trumpeted the lead image. Ten-year-on translation: “You’ve never seen it.”
Inspired design, cutting edge ideas, elegant sleekness, and unique features set the French LSA seaplane apart and may inspire successive designs but Lisa’s Akoya never made it to market.
No wonder,” exclaimed some! More than a decade back, they approached a retail price of $400,000. After ten years of dollar inflation, that number would be way past $500,000 today.
Remarkable as it may be to those of us with normal incomes, buyers for high-end products seem often to emerge. Cirrus and their steady sales of million-dollar-plus four seaters is proof of that. To appeal to such well-heeled pilots, a company better deliver a beautiful, functional, well-supported aircraft. Doing that expertly at a premium level gets expensive.
Here’s Looking at Lisa
Lisa Akoya dates to the very beginning of Light-Sport Aircraft. In 2004, two aviation enthusiasts, Erick Herzberger and Luc Bernole, established Lisa Airplanes in the heart of the French Alps.
Aero ’23 Continued — Superpowered Niki Aviation Cruiser Gyroplane Shows Stylish Innovation
If the bright green didn’t catch your eye, the unusual placement of the propeller probably did. Or maybe it was one of a dozen other fetching attributes to this handsome rotary-winged aircraft.
What you could not easily see was the engine selection. As up-to-date as they can be, Niki is offering either a 141-horsepower Rotax 915iS or the just-released 160-horsepower 916iS. The latter with a lighter load can reportedly climb better than 2,500 feet per minute.
As I cruised the immense (basketball gymnasium-sized) halls of Aero 2023, I saw all manner of beautiful flying machines. In four days of the show, I find it unlikely you can even visit all of them much less become well informed about a majority.
When I happened across Niki, I remembered they had sent an invitation to come by and look at their engaging designs. Company co-owner Miglena Kopcheva was kind enough to show me around the green machine you see nearby.
Nisus Gyro “Spacecraft” — Faceted Yet Sleek, Side-by-Side, and Loaded with Cleverness
All week at Sun and Fun 2023 my eye kept drifting to a rather distinctive gyroplane. We’ve seen side-by-side before (AutoGyro, Magni, and Rotorvox, the latter being closet to Nisus). I liked those for the same reason as most pilots. Generally, we enjoy sitting next to our cabin mate although some prefer the “dual solo” configuration of fore-and-aft tandem seating.
Since it wasn’t side by side that did it, was it the way the canopy seemed to hinge forward and nearly off? Was it the dual-boom empennage?
No, it was something much simpler.
Several years ago, Cadillac redesigned their line of luxury cars with what I’d call a “faceted” look, that is, body panels composed of straight or flat surfaces with angular lines (something like the “facets” that help a cut diamond catch the light). I had car-geek friends that simply hated Cadillac’s look.
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