Affordable Aviation

A most remarkable thing happened recently. No, I don’t mean the sudden resignation of EAA president Rod Hightower. I refer to a recent (September 27, 2012) approval of a brand new Special LSA. Why is that noteworthy, especially as it is #128 on our SLSA List? Everyone in the business of LSA and most other […]

I posted this in a comment to my *** SeaMax story yesterday after finding it on an Aussie website. One of the big no-no’s in traditional floatplanes and perhaps (I honestly don’t know) traditional amphibs like the Lake Amphibian and others is landing with the wheels down. On a float plane, it can cause a […]

Again, I heard a common refrain. This time was at the recently concluded AOPA Summit 2012 in Palm Springs, California. I was speaking with some GA fellows, the kind — like so many — that know well of Light-Sport Aircraft but have opinions about them based on speculation or heresay. This time it was the […]

While looking for images for my RV-12 post the other day, I came across the smile-worthy video below. It was put up on YouTube by an RV-7 owner who treated his little brother to a flight, with some aerobatics thrown in for grins, and what a delight to see the sheer joy on the little […]

LSA America builds the Czech-designed Allegro in America as one of the first companies (but not the last, I suspect) to cross the Atlantic. Ironically, this results in an aircraft less expensive than other LSA that come from Eastern European countries where we once thought low wages and high aviation skills would upset U.S. airplane […]

We’ve been wondering when/if the highly popular *** Van’s RV-12 E-LSA kit airplane would ever be produced as an SLSA. That question is now answered with the newly announced SLSA version, and at a very attractive price: $105,000. *** In addition, 12 “Signature Edition” models with all options at $115,000. The purpose, says Van’s, is […]

AOPA during its annual Summit convention that ended October 13th announced during the event a program that makes a lot of sense: a national network of flying clubs with the aim to grow general aviation at all levels. We’ve been talking about alternatives to the modern steep cost of private flying for some time now, […]

Honestly, I didn’t expect much LSA news at AOPA’s Summit in Palm Springs, California this week. Despite several LSA on display (Kitfox, Evektor, Flight Design, Arion, Jabiru, SportCruiser, Skycatcher, and CubCrafters), the AOPA event is not a common place for Light-Sport announcements. Certainly I didn’t expect the world’s largest * supplier of kit aircraft to […]

Do you support the idea of “energy independence” by using ethanol blended into your fuel? Are you aware that politics drives the use of ethanol? Do you know that ethanol is reaching what’s called a “blend wall” — as soon as next year — and that this could have major consequences for ethanol-laced fuel? Sounds […]

For my next column for Plane & Pilot magazine, and to grow a dialogue here on the blog (diablogue?), I’m putting out a call to all Light-Sport pilots across the country (and around the world!) for your input on some topics we all think about and kick around with our flying pals. Think of it […]