Affordable Aviation

The first Canadian company to win SLSA approval was Summit and their powered parachute, itself the first (and still only) such to declare compliance with ASTM standards. Now comes the High River, Alberta-based Savannah (photo). Skykits Corporation president Eric Giles — whom I met at his display at the Arlington Fly-in — called to say […]

Summer fly-ins are an institution in recreational aviation. I attended one last weekend at Don Zank’s field near Bloomer, Wisconsin (north of Eau Claire). Of 50 or more planes that flew in, one was a handsome Just Aircraft Highlander “Marine” decked out in sleek amphibious floats. This time of year, while plenty of outdoorsmen pursue […]

As a new season of flying for fun starts the Legend Cub from Sulphur Springs, Texas made its first flight. Company founders Tim Elliott and Darin Hart say their new Cub lookalike (it isn’t identical, for example, it’s got a wider cockpit) is for “recreational flyers of all ages around the world.” That’s a big […]

Legend Aircraft‘s Cub is one of the top selling SLSA, ranking up high with Flight Design’s CT, Fantasy Air’s Allegro, Evektor’s SportStar, and TL Ultralight’s StingSport. Both American-made Cub-like designs (Legend’s and CubCrafters‘) have been 100% Continental O-200 powered because that engine is close to what was used in the original Piper J-3 Cub, which […]

Matt Liknaitzky, the U.S. importer for the French-designed DTA weight-shift aircraft is the newest winner of an Airworthiness Certificate for this world-spanning trike. A DTA Voyageur was used in a spectacular 1999 flight from the tip of South America through the USA across the Atlantic and back down through Europe to South Africa. This immense […]

After Rotax announced ASTM compliance for their lightweight 582 two-stroke engine, many American pilots celebrated. This lighter, simpler powerplant (compared to the 9-series engines) gave ultralight builders seeking SLSA certification more flexibility while significantly lowering cost for buyers. Now HKS enters the arena issuing a Statement of Compliance for the horizontally opposed, twin-cylinder, four-stroke, 60-hp […]

CubCrafters, builder of the Part 23 Top Cub, won their SLSA airworthiness today, becoming SLSA #37 to make their Statement of Compliance under ASTM consensus standards. The Washington state company brings the third J-3 Cub-like product to the market following Texas-based Legend Cub and the Zlin Savage from Italy. CubCrafters’ version follows their conventionally certified […]

One of the most beautiful areas in the 48 states is Washington state, especially in summer. So, no wonder the third largest fly-in of the USA takes place north of Seattle in July. Some 50-60,000 visitors attend. With Boeing nearby, tons of seaplane activity, plus being relatively close to aviation-crazy Alaska, Arlington is the major […]

Summit Powered Parachutes beat a group of companies working toward the first Special Light-Sport Aircraft PPC. The Vernon, British Columbia, Canada-based powered parachute producer won their SLSA Airworthiness Certificate on Thursday, April 27, 2006. I flew and reported on the Summit II in the 11/03 edition of Ultralight Flying! Magazine. I found Summit II to […]

IndUS Aviation’s Hot Thorpedo performs more energetically than the Continental-powered version. When you install a non-certified Jabiru 3300, six-cylinder engine into a 58-year-old certified light aircraft, you make one lively machine out of it. This relatively new company is doing things for this CAR 3-certified aircraft that legendary designer John Thorp could never do (for […]