Affordable Aviation

After a detailed review, ASTM’s Weight-Shift Control Sub Committee got their Design and Performance Standard through final ballot. This was reported at the mid-May ’05 ASTM Committee meeting for Light-Sport Aircraft. Once FAA issues their Notice of Availability trikes can be manufactured and sold as S-LSAs, joining fixed wing airplanes and powered parachutes. AirBorne trikes […]

How can a Part 103 use a four-stroke engine? Well, you can elect the half-VW from Hummel…or you might try a rotary engine as seen at the 2005 Mid-Atlantic Fly-in. This innovative racing cart engine is being developed for Part 103 ultralight use (yes, to make the weight, with electric starter!) by Erik Pederson, the […]

Italy’s largest light aircraft producer is Tecnam and pictured here is their new Bravo seen at Aero 2005. Bravo is the replacement to the company’s popular P-92 Echo. Tecnam also makes the P-96 Golf low wing (see my pilot report in EAA’s 5/05 Sport Pilot magazine). The new Bravo makes a big step forward by […]

In Aero 2005’s massive display halls, light-sport aircraft from eastern European companies dominated. Yet one creative idea traveled from France. The Isatis 01 from AeroJames appears to have no room for its tractor engine…no wonder as the BMW engine is in the rear spinning its prop through a carbon fiber driveshaft. The logic is to […]

Europe’s major aviation show Aero in the southern German town of Friedrichshafen is underway. The show is housed in seven huge halls. Three of these hold light-sport aircraft of all kinds and one of the most beautiful aircraft seen is this Corvus Corone from Hungary. With a superb finish, excellent features, and a most distinctive […]

ByDanJohnson.com Launches New Features:SpecCheck, Pros & Cons, and PlaneView ST. PAUL, MINN. – The Web’s largest resource for ultralight & Light-Sport Aircraft pilot reports, ByDanJohnson.com, recently launched new features aimed at improving a site member’s experience. The new features are SpecCheck, Pros & Cons, and PlaneView. Another eagerly-awaited feature, PlaneFinder, remains in development. SpecCheck helps […]

ByDanJohnson.com Launches New Features and Content;Celebrates First Anniversary Online ST. PAUL, MINN. – For pilots and newcomers interested in light-sport aircraft (LSA) and ultralight pilot reports, ByDanJohnson.com offers the Internet’s largest database of pilot reports. On its first anniversary, the website added “SPLOG ByDanJohnson,” a web log (or blog) of light sport aviation observations by […]

Finally! ByDanJohnson.com Goes LiveST. PAUL, MINN. – After three years of effort, Dan Johnson is pleased to announce that his Web site will go live on April 12th, 2004, the day before the season-starting Sun ‘n Fun airshow opens. ByDanJohnson.com is intended to be a source for literally hundreds of pilot reports on a wide […]

America’s top hang glider manufacturer released their new T2 topless hang glider by offering demo flights to qualified pilots at Florida’s Wallaby Ranch located a few miles south of the Disney complex. Just before the Sun ‘n Fun airshow opens, Wills Wing traditionally hosts an event at the hang glider tow park. In one busy […]

From the designer who brought you the popular SkyBoy comes the MD3 Rider currently being marketed by FlyItalia based near Milan, Italy. This attractive LSA-type airplane was created by Jaroslav Dostal, the man behind the Interplane SkyBoy. Jaro started with an interest in hang gliders and went all the way to FAR 23 commuter aircraft […]