The Longest Flight

U.S.Sinus motorglider owner/dealer Rand Vollmer recently flew 1170 statue miles nonstop at mostly economy cruise settings from Oshkosh to Florida on one 24.5 gallon fill up in his Pipistrel Sinus, 49-foot span motorglider.

Color me green with envy and drooling from sheer lust for flight.

For the trip, Rand's average speed was 102 knots. Fuel economy: 50 mpg!

He said he had a bit of a tailwind for part of the journey, and just squeaked in under the fall of the twilight curtain.

This and other tales I've heard about the super-slippery Pipistrel aircraft speak volumes about how you don't need a lot of engine muscle to have spectacular flights.

Pipistrel's all-composite airframes are pushing the envelope of aerodynamics for the LSA industry. I know they've got some secret tricks up their sleeves, can't wait to pass those along once I get the go-ahead.

James LawrenceWriter

"If it flies, it's cool" pretty much nails the ethos of James Lawrence. Milestones along the taxiway include boyhood obsessions with airplane models and science fiction; first flight lesson at 15 (Piper Cub); cadet at the U.S. Air Force Academy, (class of '67); sailplane lessons in the California desert when he could afford it; built and flew his first hang glider (1973); magazine and book author and actor (TJ on tv's SWAT); former Editor (Ultralight Aircraft, Outdoor Photographer, Plane & Pilot); freelance writer/photographer since 1992; current LSA Editor-at-Large. Rents a local Piper Cub in Great Barrington; still loves the sky, from ground and air.