Affordable Aviation

Some folks wonder about the new Statement of Compliance to ASTM standards. Is this a true certification system? FAA doesn’t do the certification, so how do we know it means anything? Good questions. A manufacturer certifies their airplane. A Designated Airworthiness Rep (DAR) examines it. Companies behind each approved SLSA (now 38 aircraft) must also […]

Rob Rollison imports the gorgeous Remos G-3. [2007 UPDATE: The new importer is Remos USA. Call: Toll Free: 888-838-9879] He is working closely with German designer Lorenz Kreitmayr to certify G-3 as a Special Light-Sport Aircraft. Early sales will be to sophisticated buyers that see the sleek machine as a personal aircraft with impressive performance. […]

At Oshkosh I took the chance to speak with several general aviation leaders — CEOs of top general aviation companies and presidents of leading membership organizations. All have been kind to me with their time and generous with their support for the Sport Pilot concept, but I sensed they didn’t yet accept LSA deep down. […]

The early reviews — mine included (report here) — were excellent. The Breezer design from Germany is a great flying aircraft. Then problems arose…though fortunately not with the airframe but with design rights and such. Now that those difficulties are resolved, new aircraft are again arriving in the U.S. “The new Breezers are here!” declared […]

FAA registration data through August show continued growth with another 58 SLSA listed for a total increase in 2007 of 557 aircraft (88%) in just eight months. The lone share change in the Top Twelve was CubCrafters rising another notch to 6th, pushing Fantasy Air down to 7th. CubCrafters has been rising steadily after their […]

Bostik Industries is known to some LSA buyers as “the other supplier” of emergency ballistic parachute systems (Magnum). Indeed, that activity appears to be thriving as major producer BRS Parachutes intensifies its focus on larger GA airplanes and light jet projects. *** An affable Joe Bostik (airline captain and champion hang glider pilot) is also […]

Sport Hornet is the second fixed wing “ultralight” to make the jump to Special Light-Sport Aircraft certification.* Some consider Hornet a “true ultralight” as it uses an aluminum tubing airframe. Builder Higher Class Aviation made numerous changes: The upside-down two-stroke Rotax 582 gave way to right-side-up four-stroke Rotax 9-series engines. Gross weight was increased. New […]

EuroFox has remained one of the value price leaders among all 57 LSA models. Now, U.S. importer, Rollison Light Sport Aircraft announced that a taildragger version is available. Many experienced aviators feel a taildragger looks faster and has a more appealing appearance (though experience flying a taildragger is a plus). RLSA expressed, “EuroFox is ideal […]

As if 57 models of Light-Sport Aircraft from 44 companies were not enough, some companies have unusual breadth in their product line and have models yet to introduce to Americans. Canada’s Skykits company offers several variations on their Savannah, but I refer to something different. Tecnam has two high wings and a low wing model, […]

Recognize that tail? You’ve seen it twice before on designs that earned Special Light-Sport Aircraft approval: Interplane’s Skyboy and FlyItalia’s Sport Rider. Designer Jaro Dostal’s signature is the shark fin vertical stabilizer. Skyboy is sold in the U.S. by LSA America. SportRider (MD-3 Rider in Europe) is not presently available in the USA. *** Now […]