Affordable Aviation

With good reason — that is, prices soaring past $100,000 for the most deluxe LSA — lots of recreational pilots are griping that the SP/LSA rule has priced them out of the market. To many, it seems all the carbon fiber, glass cockpit LSA airplanes are going to pilots selling out of their Bonanzas and […]

With events like Sebring and Sun ‘n Fun, AirVenture Oshkosh is a grand venue to introduce something new…or something coming soon. The mockup of the Cessna Sport won’t be the only new model. SportairUSA has represented the low-wing, all-carbon-fiber StingSport since LSA arrived on the scene and it has earned a spot in the top […]

Few will be surprised at this point, but today Cessna made their official announcement that they will proceed with their LSA program. Though we’ve already seen a proof-of-concept aircraft, the Wichita company says they will unveil a full-scale mockup and program details at Oshkosh in less than two weeks. “After conducting extensive market research, it […]

After 26 months and a few days, LSA now exceed 1,000 aircraft in the U.S. certified aircraft fleet. That sum represents an annual sales rate of nearly 500 aircraft per year. Since June 1st, another 49 fixed wing aircraft have been added, an annual rate of almost 600 aircraft. *** Of 1,030 registered as of […]

It’s been a couple quiet months since the last SLSA approval but we finally gained another. At Oshkosh 2005, an unusual LSA candidate from Russia grabbed the attention of many. Sigma is a high-wing tractor-engined airplane with a unique teardrop-shaped fuselage offering a helicopter-like view for the pilot and passenger. The aircraft from VVV Avia […]

Unless you’ve been off-planet, you’ve surely seen ads or publicity for Apple’s iPhone, which goes on sale today. The ultra-cool device has many nifty features but one service it offers is podcasts, some of which are about aviation. *** A favorite of many ByDanJohnson.com readers is Roy Beisswenger’s UltraFlight Radio. Podcasts are offered by segment; […]

The Czech Republic featured in the last few SPLOGs may not be well known to Americans, but Ukraine seems yet another world away. Indeed, our jetliner flew almost two hours further east to Odessa and then we took a three-hour car ride to Kherson, home to the primary production facility for German-owned Flight Design. *** […]

On the same field in the southeastern Czech Republic as used by Czech Aircraft Works is Evektor, builder of the #3-selling SportStar. Coincidence? Not at all. This region, including nearby Slovak Republic and Poland, forms an aviation-intensive region that has attracted many companies. CZAW occupies buildings used in the Soviet era by Let Aircraft, a […]

Who can blame you if you don’t get all excited about ASTM standard writing? But without this largely volunteer work by industry leaders, we simply would not have any LSA for pilots to enjoy. And…we don’t have FAA telling us what to do. You ought to love that part! (At the same time, I know […]

Since 2002 when the F37 Light-Sport Aircraft Committee was formed to write standards used to certify these new aircraft, competitors have sat shoulder to shoulder in meetings. Though pursuing the same customer base, these businesses cooperated in a model closely watched by the general aviation industry, the FAA, and many foreign regulators. They’ve done admirably […]