Air-Tech, Inc.

Simple, light, and affordable is not a throwaway line. Each word is pivotal. Like many of you, I have enjoyed the advancing development of the LSA space, leading to Mosaic LSA in about 15 months. Additional operational capabilities plus features like autopilot, synthetic vision, and powerful, compact engines… all these can build a very exciting […]

If I hear one thing over and over it is this: “I want a four-stroke engine for my Part 103 ultralight. Are any available?” For years the answer was, “Well, brand XYZ offered one but they disappeared from the market some years ago. One such winner I flew was the Bailey four-stroke out of England. […]

My moment of truth is fast approaching. Will I succeed or fail to predict the future? I have been repeating my forecast that FAA will announce a draft of their newest regulation, called an NPRM (Notice of Proposed Rule Making) at EAA’s big summer celebration of flight. I’m not betting the farm, though. I think […]

A year ago at Sun ‘n Fun 2021, I reported on a Rotax 503 replacement built in Russia. This information was warmly received at the time because the 503 powerplant was much beloved by ultralight enthusiasts. Little did we know last year that Putin would invade Ukraine and plunge both countries into disarray. The RMZ […]

One of the most successful airplane designs of all time is the Quicksilver. Van’s Aircraft of RV fame has delivered more kits, yet with 10,869 RVs presently flying, Quicksilver still remains far ahead with more than 15,000 flying. Naturally, such market success spawned other builders. Those who attempted to copy and duplicate Quicksilvers have mostly […]

Ah, the Quicksilver! Where to start with this veritable icon of the ultralight sector? With more than 15,000 flying, it even outranks Van’s Aircraft for kit aircraft that made it into the air — although Van’s has sold more kits in total and no one disputes the Western brand’s leadership position. The earliest Quicksilvers were […]

One of the major stumbles in the light aircraft world was the closure of Quicksilver Aeronautic’s southern California factory in Temecula. That ended a long-running era dating back to the 1970s. See articles here and here. Plenty of folks expressed concern. Their worry was warranted. As a kit supplier, Quicksilver was one of the most […]

You could say 15,000 aircraft buyers can’t be wrong and you’d be right. Quicksilver, in several various corporate iterations, has indeed sold 15,000 aircraft kits for its whole line including what they call the MX series and the GT series. Going back to the early 1980s — or even earlier when the company was a […]