Affordable Aviation

I once followed judging at shows like AirVenture and Sun ‘n Fun. In fact, an aircraft I helped inspire — a modernized primary glider called the SuperFloater — won Outstanding New Design at Sun ‘n Fun 1995. Judges closely examined homebuilts, kit or restored vintage airplanes, and warbirds. If they included factory built aircraft, I […]

I thought I’d share a couple interesting videos recently posted on the Icon Aircraft website.  There’s a multimedia gallery of high-profile, appealing eye candy, including YouTube videos chronicling various aspects of the ongoing test program for the company’s A5 amphibian S-LSA. *** Two I found particularly interesting: a stall sequence and a potpourri of recent […]

Michael Combs’s epic Flight For The Human Spirit odyssey just made it into Chicago a few hours ago after a whirlwind tour of the Northeast (he just missed some premature, summery 90-degree weather — and nasty thunderstorms). *** Since Michael’s flying a new Remos GX, I thought to make a sympatico gesture by taking the […]

Way back near the dawn of Light-Sport Aircraft… in 2007, two Indian military pilots flew a CT around the world to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Indian Air Force. (CT later became one of the first LSA used in an Indian flight school.) *** On April 30th, two Swiss airline pilots took off on […]

Not a company to rest on their laurels, TL Ultralight — represented in America since the beginning of LSA by Sportair USA — debuted their Sting S4 at the German Aero show in April. Besides developing an all-new high-wing design (the TL-3000 Sirius …photo inset) — the S4 is the newest generation of the Czech […]

Another LSA (and another from Czech Republic!) is about to land on our shores.  It’ll be featured in my Cool Stuff overview story in the June issue of P&P, but here’s a sneak preview of the cute little low wing, and why I think it could be a winner for potential owners. *** It’s called […]

I had the distinct pleasure of closing out my 8 day stay in Florida for Sun ‘n Fun’s airshow with a visit to the MySky company at the fabulous Spruce Creek aviation community near Daytona, FL. *** My host was Prez Dieter Canje, who along with company principal and 30,000 hour pilot Tim Plunket, introduced […]

Hands down my favorite of the entire Sun ‘n Fun show was the iFly 700 GPS which has nothing to do with the iPhone but is, for pilots, just as cool for its innovative features and really affordable price: $499! *** Super easy to do a flight plan: Tap an airport with your finger on […]

Sun ‘n Fun 2010 is history. Overcast skies and rain all day kept the crowds away — in droves.  Still, it was a good show, with positive signs for the Light Sport Industry in the weeks and months ahead. *** I’ll be recapping highlights from the entire six days over the next several days; there […]

Kids, don’t try this at home… or in the air.  Well, unless you leave yourself no other choice. *** While flying a new LSA on the day after the Sun ‘n Fun airshow, my demo host and I were enjoying the puffy cloud kingdom somewhere not too far from Lakeland Linder Field in central Florida […]