Affordable Aviation

Here’s an item we’ve all waited for: Cessna exercising it’s production mojo by shipping its 50th production Skycatcher S-LSA. *** The company manufactures and ships the C-162 from its Shenyang Aircraft manufacturing site in China to the US final assembly facility (Yingling Aviation, Wichita, KS). *** Current Cessna projections call for 30 total deliveries by […]

Aviator opinion is widespread about CH 701 and CH 750 being ugly ducklings. Fortunately, plenty of pilots don’t care about looks so long as an airplane flies well (750 does!) and for some the, ahem… distinctive look of 750 is a thing of pride. Think Hummer or the old Volkswagen Thing. Or in the aviation […]

In case you hadn’t heard, this is the Year of the Cub…the 75th anniversary celebration of that wonderful proto-LSA, the *** Piper J3 Cub. *** All aircraft have their special places in our hearts. But was there ever anything quite like the wonderful Cub? If you haven’t had the pleasure, take some dual just to […]

Welcome to summertime … in December, just after Christmas?!? True, down under in Australia or partway around the southern hemisphere in South Africa, weather patterns are roughly opposite of those in the northern half the globe. While it is presently cool or cold where many readers live, perhaps it is of interest to take a […]

You may have missed it. If so, this article provides another look at a LSA provider that I consider something of a “sleeper” … and if you do not know that term, it’s meant to be positive yet refer in this case to a company that does its thing well if somewhat quietly. I am […]

(Article udated) One of the most recognized aircraft in the LSA space is the SportCruiser, which ranks high on our LSA Market Share ranking (2012 figures). Solid in the #4 spot, they are likely to move up with another decent year in 2013, thanks to what some might call the “halo effect” of having had […]

It seems like we discuss seaplanes (the boat hull variety of airplanes) more than floatplanes (land planes with floats added). Rare are any of these a single seater and one that might fit in Part 103 for ultralight vehicles (meaning no pilot license, no medical, and no N-numbers are required). Yet some like the flexibility […]

The Special Light-Sport Aircraft version of Quicksilver Aeronautics‘ popular Sport 2 model is completing efforts to gain FAA acceptance. An FAA audit is scheduled in December and the company announced it has completed the entire flight test regimen required to comply with ASTM industry consensus standards. A recent update to the standard now demands that […]

Top selling aircraft models in the LSA space over the last couple years are manufactured by CubCrafters. It’s not too strong to say they’ve done well because the Yakima, Washington company got the formula right: Start with an iconic design; add features the original Piper version never dreamed of having; pump it up with lots […]

After a rush of interest owing to earlier reports (see here and here), the team at Vickers Aircraft went head down and began pushing even harder on their fascinating new amphibious LSA seaplane entry called Wave. As you can see by the photos, they’ve now unveiled the overall appearance though additional details of this rather […]