Splog

Welcome to the newest Special Light-Sport Aircraft …except that it isn’t so new(1). Indeed, we’ve seen the Ekolot Elf for a few years in this country. Here’s what I wrote on its introduction in 2017. I was immediately drawn to Elf for two reason: One, I love soaring flight, which represents one of the most enjoyable […]

Special LSA seaplane maker, Seamax Aircraft, announced, “This week [we] delivered the first Seamax M-22 aircraft designed with IFR (Instrument Flying Rules) capability. The delivery was completed at DeLand Municipal Airport in Florida (home to the Deland Showcase).” “Following a recent certification process with extensive inspection of its new factory,” the company reported, “Seamax’s R&D […]

Although Special LSA plus Experimental LSA run neck-and-neck with Sport Pilot eligible kit-built aircraft in U.S. aircraft registrations, America remains more kit-oriented than most other countries. Most western nations have kit programs of some kind but since their regulations have longer allowed fully-built aircraft, the European brands tend to slightly lead in SLSA deliveries while American […]

Don’t hate me… I know this short article is not about Light-Sport Aircraft. Call it another break from the never-ending news about coronavirus. You can call the title “clickbait” if you want, but I’ve long had a strong interest in space flight and SpaceShipOne certainly was far lighter than any manned spacecraft NASA has launched. […]

American are very gracious with their donations to good causes. Charitable giving in the USA exceeded $400 billion in 2018 alone. Even during uncertain times as the world currently find itself, Americans still prove surprisingly generous. It makes me proud. I’ve joined in when it comes to Able Flight, having on several occasions given money […]

Can you believe it? No, I am not writing about Oshkosh cancelling their big summer celebration of flight. (If you somehow missed that aviation news Earthquake, now you know.) Instead, I want to take you back in time, way back to January …a whole four months ago. What a different world we lived in then. […]

Our most-read story of 2020 was this breaking report on Blackwing’s assault on the world speed record for the Microlight category. Since we published that article, Blackwing Sweden CEO Niklas Anderberg offered more details and — because this was a popular read for many visitors — it is worthwhile to tell you, as famous radio […]

In the rush of coverage of Vintage Ultralights and other late-breaking stories such as the Blackwing speed record, I had to set aside a few news items. Here’s a catch-up… I am pleased to serve a need for news during a month when we should have been covering Sun ‘n Fun and Aero Friedrichshafen. As everyone […]

Having celebrated the inventiveness of ultralight designer Wayne Ison in the last post, it seems quite appropriate to recognize another, Ernie Carlson. Does that ring a bell for you? One hopes. Ernie was the man behind Carlson Aircraft along with his wife, Mary. This pair introduced Sparrow, a Part 103-capable single-place ultralight plus larger models […]

The grand finale to this series on Vintage Ultralights during the month of April 2020 focuses on an airplane that can be very inexpensive if bought used. However, even new models are quite the bargain brand new — $6,195 for a complete Mini-Max kit, not including engine, instruments, or paint — from Team Mini-Max LLC. […]