Affordable Aviation

As the deadline approaches for ultralights needing to convert to LSA, companies are recognizing the need to get products ready for the new age of light-sport. The latest: Six Chuter, one of the original producers of powered parachutes…but one that took their time hopping on the bandwagon. *** Director of Communications, Doug Maas (who also […]

Unless you’ve closely scoured the Internet or shows like AirVenture, you may think Light-Sport Aircraft are mostly foreign. By FAA registrations, that’s still correct; some two thirds are imports. But Yankee companies aren’t playing dead. *** An Orlando, Florida company says it has secured funding and is proceeding with a proof of concept aircraft called […]

In my work for the LSA industry since its birth in the summer of 2004, a common lament I’ve heard is that we have “too many…” new aircraft names, company names, importer names. These statements were from people actively working with the industry so newcomers are surely confused. *** Although I believed I had good […]

Now we count 32 new Special Light-Sport Aircraft that have won certification…all within less than one year! The newest arrivals come thanks to work by veteran light aircraft distributor Rollison Light Sport Aircraft and two manufacturers. The Indiana importer gained approval for the handsome German Remos G-3* and their Aeropro EuroFox (lower photo). The G-3 […]

Odds are you’ve heard of LAMA, the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association, founded in the earliest days of ultralights and gaining renewed importance in this era of Light-Sport Aircraft. Most leading LSA businesses (not only manufacturers) are members; look for the LAMA logo on many websites. *** For 2007, the LAMA business organization has a new […]

Within 24 hours of getting home from Sun ‘n Fun, several industry leaders including Evektor America’s Jeff Conrad, Flight Design USA’s Tom Peghiny, Jabiru USA’s Ed Ricks, and BRS parachute’s Gregg Ellsworth packed up and headed off to California. What motivated these men to depart so soon after a long week in Florida? They all […]

Want to win a free Light-Sport Aircraft? You missed one chance but the other is still available. Organizations like EAA, AOPA, and Sporty’s have given away airplanes as incentives. Now, LSA have “arrived.” *** At the May 2008 Alaska Airmen event, CubCrafters supported the organizer’s fundraiser; a $50 ticket bought you a chance to win […]

You can hardly doubt the headline. A cruise through our SLSA List will show almost a quarter of all (12 of 50) designs that have won certification are from the Czech Republic. Even the USA counts only 11 SLSA models so far. Yet perhaps showing global cross-pollination, at least two Czech producers are owned by […]

In the auto industry “hybrid” infers the use of multiple technologies (think: Toyota Prius). In aviation, hybrid could mean an airplane designed in one country and built in another. Even Boeing farms out subassemblies worldwide, integrating them in America. Car companies coined “domestic content” to state what portion of a car is “Made in the […]

A couple approvals snuck past my radar in the last month of travel. Welcome to a Canadian bush plane and an Australian trike. Back around Tax Day, April 17th, AirBorne Australia gained their second SLSA airworthiness certificate with the XT-912 Outback. And on June 4th, the BushCaddy was signed off by a U.S. Designated Airworthiness […]