Aggressive New Evaluation Programs Will Be Featured ON ANN and
Aero-TV
E-I-C Note: Over the course of four decades
of involvement, first in flying limited sport aviation aircraft
that were little more than powered hang gliders, and then going on
to eventually test and evaluate hundreds more of them throughout my
career, it's become obvious to me that with over 100 LSAs to be had
on the sport pilot market, good solid credible information is
more valuable than ever. That being the case, we have decided to
create and undertake ANN's new 'LSA Challenge' program. -- Jim
Campbell, ANN E-I-C
The LSA/ Sport Pilot movement has had a tough birth... it
started out as a composite of a number of attempts at rule-making
through FAA ARAC gatherings, and eventually grew to some prominence
after the failures of the Recreational Pilot program. LSA has since
been touted as a much hoped for entry-level gateway and
(potentially) an indispensable aid to the rebirth of aviation.
Despite that; at some points in its genesis, when the ultralight
organizations were driving it, the overall concept of Sport Pilot
was not only misunderstood but in some cases rejected -- to the
point where AOPA was ignoring it, and EAA was trying to kill it.
But; with the FAA's final rule-making eventually establishing a
realistic Light Sport Aircraft certification and pilot licensing
program just a few years back, the powers that be have reminded
us of a much feared Chinese proverb, which loosely translates,
"Be Careful Of What You Wish For, As You May Get It."
Indeed.
Okay, that being the case we'd like to inject
additional credibility and realism into the LSA evaluation
process. With over 100 designs and dozens of companies competing
for what is still a small and fragile market (that can not possibly
support that number for the foreseeable future), we see good solid
evaluations and testing to be more critical now than ever before
for the potential buyer and/or operator of today's LSA. In an
effort to level the playing field on behalf of current and
future LSA pilots and owners, ANN is introducing its
new "LSA challenge" program.
Shortly, we'll start sending invitations, probably two or three
at a time, to a number of the LSA manufacturers to submit their
aircraft to a carefully selected committee of pilots and
technicians who, over the course of a number of days, will evaluate
the current crop of LSA's in terms of their performance, handling
qualities, overall fit and finish, construction, ease of
maintenance, and their suitability to certain segments of the
market.
In the process of evaluating these over the course of a
number of days, we will invite a proper number
of trusted, experienced and objective aviators, as well as
acknowledged technical experts, to look over these aircraft and
spend enough time with them to not only understand their technical
attributes, but get a handle on the overall personality and
capabilities of the aircraft. As a transparent committee, they
will render their observations and opinions as to what these
aircraft are capable of, and what they may potentially deliver to a
new buyer.
We've had some interesting discussions with a number of
luminaries from throughout the industry... such as Max Trescott,
Bob Miller, Rich Stowell, Phil Lockwood, and so on, who are willing
to help us put together a committee (and occasionally serve as
evaluation partners) who can meet for a few days at agreed times
and places to work according to a carefully defined series of
criteria -- and to put their expertise to work in order to render
solid credible observations and judgments about today's LSAs.
ANN may also invite a few "Honored Guests" to be a part of this
program... flyers with unique insights that may offer some
additional value and expertise to this program, as well as
some thoughtful counterpoints based on their experiences and
backgrounds. Already, several well-known industry leaders with
unique backgrounds have indicated an interest in helping out
on such a challenge... including a former Shuttle
Astronaut.
ANN and Aero TV will document the process and
publish written reports online, as well as make web video
presentations available (and eventually a DVD, to
provide additional and extensive detail) so that buyers and
operators can avail themselves not only of each expert opinion, but
the collective analysis of a number of highly knowledgeable
professionals working in concert with each other to produce solid
insightful data about what a specific LSA aircraft can and cannot
do -- and its suitability to today's market. The process will be
undertaken several times a year, and will be conducted in a number
of areas of the country in order to accommodate manufacturers
throughout the nation. We're leaning toward inviting aircraft of
similar formats and capabilities to be considered together in small
groups -- especially those that seem to be competitive with each
other in order to enhance buying decisions, i.e., Cub Replicas will
be evaluated with other Cub Replicas, Amphibs will be evaluated
with Amphibs, trainers will be evaluated with trainers, and so
forth.
We're in the process, right now, of researching and documenting
the criteria that we'll be working with, and are soliciting
suggestions and questions from those of you who are either involved
right now in making purchasing decisions or those who have gone
through this process, so that we may represent your concerns and
questions as we develop our evaluation criteria. ANN
Editor-In-Chief Jim Campbell (whose work on a number of SportPlane
Resource Guides seems tailor-made for this effort, as well as the
fact that he's probably flown more LSAs than anyone) will chair the
first few evaluating committees, and invite two or three test
pilots/flight instructors to offer flight test evaluations and
overall aircraft specification reports to each event, while at
least one technical expert will be selected to evaluate each
aircraft in terms of overall construction, the ease with which it
can be maintained, selection and use of materials and components,
and the aircraft's ability to meet its promised specifications.
ANN and Aero-TV plans to get the first LSA challenge conducted
early this summer with another tentatively set this fall. More
cohesive schedules will be set thereafter, once we've put a few of
these under our belts and have had a chance to shake out the
evaluation process. We're really looking forward to conducting this
program... we think it's been a long time in coming, and because of
the committee structure we are utilizing, we expect it will offer a
great deal of integrity and credibility not currently associated
with some of the associations and organizations who are directly
profiting off the LSA community (some with a number of inherent
conflicts, which we find questionable). And yes, while ANN and
Aero-TV do work with some LSA manufacturers as sponsors,
invitations will be sent out without regard for their status as a
sponsor while the selections will be discussed/confirmed with
a number of people who have no significant relationship with ANN.
At no time, during an LSA challenge, will any money change hands,
and as a matter of fact no manufacturer will be asked for a dime in
order to have their aircraft evaluated by ANN's LSA challenge
committee members. A manufacturer will be responsible for getting
an airplane to the agreed place of evaluation, adding our eval team
to their insurance policies for the duration of the challenge,
furnish manuals and aircraft documentation, and being
available for questions and feedback -- and that's pretty much it.
Heck; we're even going to pay for the gas for our flights. ANN has
earned a rep (the hard way) for speaking its mind and telling it
like it is, and it's pretty much understood that if we think
there's something wrong, we will say so and not be dissuaded by
other concerns.
ANN looks forward to presenting valuable info for those of you
with an interest in the LSA movement, and we hope we will be able
to count on all of you, our readers, listeners, and viewers, for
your input in regards to what questions, concerns, tests,
considerations, and qualifications you think we need to be
undertake when evaluating the LSA industry. We promise you that we
will be brutally honest with our observations and opinions.
ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (04.15.24)
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