Splog

Recently, I visited three brand-new LSA developments. All are American. All are propelled by young engineers and enthusiasts. All are remarkably sophisticated. All companies have been successful at raising funds. And, perhaps most notably, all projects were started specifically because of the emergence of the Light-Sport Aircraft rule. *** All three are emphatically not reconfigured […]

Reading the headlines these days shows the USA is flying through turbulence. Light-Sport Aircraft sales are suffering as are GA sales. Growth rates are off, without question, but not uniformly. We have a few companies that improved their positions in this difficult year. *** If you measure by the number of aircraft registered, top producers […]

At Oshkosh, FAA held a meeting to announce their LSA Assessment Project. The agency that gave birth to Light-Sport Aircraft in the summer of 2004 is now embarking on a fact-finding tour they say will judge the “health of the industry,” part of their “aviation safety oversight.” Sounds rather ominous, doesn’t it? However, officials also […]

Air Creation’s New Tanarg represents a leap forward in chassis design for the big French trike maker. In an upcoming article in Kitplanes magazine (5/05 issue), I’ll review this all-new machine. As you can see, it uses technologies and design not so different from a Honda Goldwing motorcycle. The pilot and passenger sit lower, making […]

OK, as with last summer’s SPLOG on SpaceShipOne, news about a jet may seem odd on a website about Light-Sport Aircraft. Well, it does have “Sport” in its name and it is the lightest of the new flock of Very Light Jets (VLJs). But mainly, I just think this is an impressive development of an […]

Does not the newly coined phrase “Aero-Trekking” sound like fun? John Kemmeries — proprietor of Kemmeries Aviation, the Ultralight Flight Center, and part owner of the French trike leader Air Creation — invented the new name and has been working hard to establish a unique way to have fun in the air. The result is […]

Lots more fun than a military build-up but bearing some resemblance, companies across the USA are preparing for Sun ‘n Fun starting Tuesday the 4th. I was on the grounds today and it already looks busy. I also traveled to Lockwood Aviation at the Sebring, Florida airport. A busy crew was assembling airplanes from Flight […]

Industry response was swift and varied to Cessna‘s announcement that the big manufacturer will study the LSA market for a possible entry. Also, an earlier announcement from EAA was updated to reflect that the Cessna mock-up (now called a “proof-of-concept” display) will be south of AeroShell Square…which means just north of, but very near, the […]

Using their characteristic low-key approach (unlike Cessna’s splashy introduction) Van’s Aircraft revealed their prototype RV-12 at AirVenture 2006. I spoke with legendary designer Dick van Grunsven about his new model to hear it shares some characteristics with sailplanes: quickly removable wings are modeled on a glider-type spar pin system, and full-span ailerons (which help simplify […]

At Sebring 2007, I flew an enjoyable airplane from Poland with the uninspiring name of 3X55 Trainer (see my blog post). A re-engineered and renamed Navigator 600 received SLSA certification on August 22, 2008. [UPDATE 2/19/09] — The North American importer is 3Xtrim Inc. *** Navigator grew up and now boasts a 1,320 pound gross […]