Phoenix

The Top 50 video series has gone over very well and continues with this post about the Phoenix LSA motorglider. If you thought it disappeared and were unhappy about that, have I got good news for you! I am aware of a very positive development regarding Phoenix that I am working to confirm. As soon […]

With Aero mere days away now, excitement is growing for the electric aircraft event-within-the-event. Visitors can tour around the entry foyer hall where the e-flight-expo will be located. This year offers a few highlights, provided to me from my publisher friend Willi Tacke in Germany. One aircraft not many Europeans and even fewer Americans have […]

We were busy at Aero Friedrichshafen 2013, knocking out more than 30 videos for your viewing information and entertainment. That’s more than seven videos per day and a sum of more than five hours total running time (more than three Hollywood movies in minutes of viewing time). With these and all the videos shot at […]

I think Phoenix is one the loveliest aircraft in the LSA fleet. Of course, I have a rather large bias as I’m a soaring enthusiast and this is one fine soaring machine in the SLSA fleet, able to compete fairly with a pure glider. I’m also a fan of importer Jim Lee, a modest, soft […]

Our annual review of LSA Market Share brings our updated fleet chart and a second chart showing prior-year registrations. While sales of new SLSA remains below par, the market appears to be experiencing spotty but regular recovery from earlier low points. The first half the year foretold a better recovery but the last half of […]

We’ve been getting requests for market share information and I am happy to provide an update, thanks to my European associate Jan Fridrich who does the hard work of sifting through FAA’s database. I remind you that his efforts are not merely tallying whatever FAA publishes. In fairness, Jan has to evaluate many pieces of […]

Updates 10/4/11 and 10/5/11 — Congratulations to Pipistrel for their unprecedented third win at a NASA Challenge. Picking up a cool $1.35 million, the company won with their unorthodox dual Taurus G2 fuselages joined by a larger, centrally-mounted electric engine. The custom-configured, four-seat aircraft achieved an amazing 403 passenger miles per gallon of fuel (or […]

Serious sailplane, awesome cross-country S-LSA, comfortable, beautiful…wow!

Phoenix Motorglider Base price $149,000 Engine 100 hp Rotax 912 ULS Wingspan (ft.) 36 or 49 Glide (L/D) 32:1 Fuel capacity (gals.) 26 Max takeoff weight (lbs.) 1320 Empty weight, std. (lbs.) 708 Useful load, std. (lbs.) 612 G-load factor +4/-2 PERFORMANCE Max cruise speed (kts.) 118 (short wing), 114 (long wing) Rate of climb […]

Scoop time! I’ve been having so much fun lately writing the electric flight article (now rescheduled to Aug. issue of Plane & Pilot) that it’s bringing electrifying news from the universe to my email inbox. Jim Lee, that hard working, happy-flying distributor for the Phoenix motorglider I was gobsmacked with at Sebring, told me today […]