Affordable Aviation

Most folks following the Light-Sport Aircraft development know the Sting, refreshed for the U.S. market with the S3 model. I covered the development announcement of TL Ultralight’s new high wing. Now, welcome to the TL3000 Sirius as the newest SLSA to hit the market in a blur of new offerings seemingly triggered after the industry […]

A few years back I evaluated Ramphos. Now, the boat-hulled trike is our newest Special Light-Sport Aircraft amphibian — SLSA #102. Priced at less than $40,000 for the Rotax 582-powered version to something north of $50,000 for the four stroke Rotax 912 powerplant, this seaplane qualifies as a bargain. Ramphos Trident won its SLSA approval […]

Reaching SLSA model number 100 produced loads of media attention and a feeling of pride in reaching such a benchmark in less than five years. How do you follow that act? With SLSA #101, naturally. *** Welcome to the Cheetah from Rainbow Aircraft in South Africa, imported by Midwest Sport Aviation based in Wisconsin. While […]

We all love the big aviation trade shows like Sun ‘n Fun and AirVenture. They offer something for everyone who flies… and that’s their problem. At such large shows you must walk extensively (or ride trams) to see all the aircraft in the Light-Sport Aircraft community. LSA Malls at these events help, but they can’t […]

[UPDATE: The Krucker Cygnet won approval on July 3rd, making that weight-shift LSA #99… so Van’s RV-12 is technically the #100 LSA model to win an airworthiness certificate. It was previously reported as #99.] The top-selling kit airplane producer, Van’s Aircraft of RV-xx fame, secured an airworthiness certificate for their fully-built RV-12 Special Light-Sport Aircraft […]

Ah, sweet Part 103 ultralights. These lightest of powered aircraft have the least FAA regulation of any flying machine. A single piece of letter paper holds the entire rule. But how do you learn to safely fly a single seater? Oh, there’s the rub. *** Through January 31, 2010, two-seat ultralights converted to ELSA status […]

Triple digits! In five years the LSA industry has reached SLSA model #100. Actually, here’s another one that slipped by our radar. Info now shows SLSA #99 was the Krucker amphib trike named Cygnet and Van’s RV-12 was technically #100. Our SLSA List shows Special Light-Sport Aircraft in order of their approval. *** “We got […]

We sit on the edge of hitting triple digits of Special Light-Sport Aircraft. Just before Oshkosh started, Van’s Aircraft announced their RV-12 qualified for SLSA airworthiness (which also allows the Oregon company to sell ELSA kits). People have started to ask, “Who will offer Number 100 SLSA?” One possibility is the SeaRey from Progressive Aerodyne. […]

Here come the new tandems. And I do mean new! Suspending a full flight-trial regime, U.S.-based MySky took their new MS-1 on a long maiden voyage from Daytona Beach, Florida to Oshkosh 2009. And just yesterday, the Slovak Republic-based sportShark, from Shark.Aero, took its first flight. *** Tandems seat occupants fore and aft like some […]

Like any new aviation segment, early incidents attract disproportionate attention. Now that we are five years into Light-Sport Aircraft, the outlook is good. Sure the industry still has work to do as it creates a new industry from the ground up, including writing all its own certification plans. But the heavy lifting is done and […]