Affordable Aviation

Light-Sport Aircraft can be working aircraft (think: flight instruction and rental, each potentially a commercial activity) but read about this new twist. *** Recently, Flight Design USA delivered a customized Light-Sport Aircraft to a sheriff’s department in California. A CTLS fitted with police camera, radios, and custom controller was dubbed CTLE for “Law Enforcement.” The […]

Here’s a tale of two planes. One has been seen and sold in the U.S. (Lambada motorglider). The other has a fascinating history and should look familiar to you… quite familiar. It’s now known as the NG 5 LSA and that probably rings no bell. However, NG 5 and the #2 ranked SportCruiser share a […]

Anyone still in doubt that we’re in the midst of the birth of electric flight need look no further than this story, just posted today on the online tech zine Gizmag.Pascal Chretien, an enterprising electrical/aerospace engineer and chopper pilot, made the world’s first fully electric helicopter flight in the prototype he designed and built almost […]

One of my joys at AirVenture 2011 was visiting a seemingly revitalized Ultralight Area. Though a shadow of its former self in the 1980 heydays, new life seemed to be springing up, whether through electric powered aircraft or affordable Part 103 fixed wing designs. Proving the naysayers wrong (again!) were at least two intriguing Part […]

The FAA just published a petition for rulemaking from EAA, AOPA, NAFI, and GAMA that calls for sport pilot instruction hours to count toward Private Pilot and higher ratings. *** The petition calls for a change in the current regs that disqualify flight training hours for counting toward higher ratings, if those hours were taught […]

Stephan Boutenko has a big vision…and he’s taking it to E-street. *** Anyone familiar with Bend, Oregon’s Lance Niebauer, the successful Los Angeles graphic artist who decided to design an airplane and spawned the highly successful Lancair series of homebuilts, which evolved into the production Cessna Columbia composite four-seater, should check out another Oregonian with […]

In a series of posts from time to time, I will explore the relationship between government(s) and aviation. I plan to take a global view but the essence is this: Since the beginning of aviation (or at least since near the beginning) government has approved any aircraft the public may buy and fly. A newly […]

Sportair USA thinks the American Cub replicas — those from CubCrafters or American Legend — are rather expensive. After all, when LSA started and the European aircraft began arriving, those across-the-Atlantic manufacturers enjoyed very low wage rates and lower general costs allowing them to sell at prices below that U.S.-based producers could match. A couple […]

Reports continue positively for results at AirVenture 2011… despite FAA’s partial shutdown, a media frenzy over the USA’s debt ceiling, a roller coaster ride in the stock markets, and a continuing bum housing market plus general uncertainty. If you can smile after all that, things must be improving. *** GAMA’s report of Type Certified aircraft […]

Many pilots speak of airplanes they cannot afford. Indeed, $150,000 Light-Sport Aircraft are priced beyond common budgets. One way to solve this is through a partnership or fractional ownership… and I will be writing about partnerships later this year. *** Another way involves a ready-to-fly aircraft for under $15,000. You read it right: $14,995 for […]