Affordable Aviation

“It’s the only airport in the country,” stated organizer Jim Pellien, “where you can literally walk to a snow ski chair lift, or a golf course, a restaurant, or your condo.” Indeed Sky Bryce airport (VG18) at the Bryce resort in northwestern Virginia is a rare fly-in destination where a rental car isn’t needed. The […]

After four years of intense development (and more money than you might expect), the Seagull Aerosports Escape Pod made its flying debut at AirVenture Oshkosh 2006. Pilot Eric Rasmussen, proprietor of UFlyTrikes, a weight shift flight school and AirBorne dealership, took the sleek, retractable gear single place soaring trike aloft before a fascinated crowd at […]

On a glorious fall day over the undulating hills of northeast Connecticut, I returned to flight after a five-month hiatus. Encouraged and accompanied by my old friend Tom Peghiny we enjoyed an hour sightseeing flight over the verdant countryside surrounding Tom’s Flightstar Sportplanes enterprise at the Woodstock airport. Gosh, it felt great to get back […]

A dozen aircraft were available for a crowd numbering close to 500 people at the first and only east coast version of EAA’s Sport Pilot Tour. After being threatened by poor weather the week before due to Hurricane Ernesto, the Lawrence, Massachusetts stop 30 miles north of Boston enjoyed ideal weather. Weight shift trikes made […]

I hope you enjoyed your Labor Day holiday. Over this long weekend Randee and I headed to Boston for the EAA Sport Pilot Tour on Sept. 9th. At that event, visitors can complete a survey. Not only is it a chance to tell the leading seller of LSA what type of aircraft you want, but […]

At the Minneapolis Sport Pilot Tour, RANS exhibited their S-6 and S-7LS. At a fly away price of $75,000 S-7LS Courier SLSA represents a strong value. Coyote S-6 remains a 51% kit, one of the most popular in the world. Either can be flown with a Sport Pilot Certificate. Earlier this year the Hays, Kansas […]

The race continues and yesterday it was joined by another American producer. The race is to obtain Special Light Sport Aircraft airworthiness certificates, allowing an airplane to be fully built and sold for instructional use or rental. A company with an SLSA approval can also elect to sell an ELSA kit. RANS plans to do […]

EAA’s Minneapolis Sport Pilot Tour, plagued at first with some logistical challenges, came off very well. More than 500 LSA-interested attendees showed up at Airlake airport south of the Twin Cities metro. The local Sport Pilot school, LSA North at the Aircraft Resource Center, exhibited their CTs along with the Sportstar, KP-5, RANS S-6 and […]

Perhaps it’s the start of a new trend…early consolidation. Or maybe it’s simply a good fit between two top LSA providers. Either way, customers and sport pilots win in my opinion. Today, a joint announcement was issued by SportairUSA (national importer of the StingSport) and Czech Aircraft Works (builder of the Mermaid, Parrot, and SportCruiser). […]

In the last couple weeks, the number of FAA-approved Special Light-Sport Aircraft grew to 13 models. EAA keeps a current list, proved by copies of the airworthiness certificate, but I’ll list them here as: Festival, Breezer, C42, Legend Cub, Kappa KP-5 (photo), Bravo, T-211 Thorpedo, StingSport, Echo Super, Sierra, Allegro 2000, the CT, and SportStar. […]