Who Had LSA's at the Sport Pilot Expo?
Here's a guide to who the exhibitors were at Sebring last week.
We started with the ones the Expo listed and added the ones that we
personally saw and spoke with that weren't on the list. One
exhibitor at least (Titan) couldn't make the new dates.
We use the same categories as we did in our report on Day 2:
Reborn Legends, Young Turks, Legacy Kits, Trikes, Gyros, and
Powered Parachutes.
Here's the Reborn Legends...
American Legend Aircraft Company
Makers of the Legend Cub, the name of their company and their
airplane tell the tale -- the Legend Cub is a faithful clone of the
circa 1946 Piper Cub, with a few welcome updates like a 100 HP
Continental O-200 in place of the 65 HP original. There isn't a
massive amount of customization with a Legend, because a small-l
legend is what they assume you want. So you start by deciding
whether you want a cowled engine, or one with J3 style exposed
cylinders....
Cub Crafters
The name pretty much says it -- the item they were promoting,
even though they didn't have it here, was the SLSA Sport Cub.
Standing in for it was a Top Cub, Cub Crafters' top of the line
model which is certified to FAR 23 and boasts a most-un-LSA-like
180-hp engine. Cub Crafters' Cubs are less a faithful reproduction,
than a modern update of the classic Super Cub.
Cub Crafters got its start as a Super Cub restoration and
upgrade shop, and it still does that as well as build SLSA (Sport
Cub) and fully Type Certified (Top Cub) new Cubs.
Taylorcraft Aviation
Many mistook the gorgeous T-Craft on display at the Expo for a
restoration. In fact, it was about as new as they come. "We got our
LSA registration for it on Monday," CEO Harry Ingram told
Aero-News. While most vendors boasted solid prospects developed at
the show, Ingram pointed with pride to an actual name on his
schedule board.
The move to Brownsville, TX, from LaGrange, in search of a more
motivated workforce, has been a tremendous success with the line
workers taking pride in each Taylorcraft that comes off he line.
Ingram admitted the idea for the move wasn't his -- the Brownsville
area was suggested to him by Texas governor Rick Perry. Harry
Ingram evidently has friends in high places.
The future holds increasing production -- 2006 is very nearly
sold out -- of both the BC-19 Taylor Sport SLSA and the F-22, and
the reintroduction of the Taylor Cub -- a tandem classic with
Taylorcraft wings for more speed. They'll also do an extremely
thorough resto of existing T-Craft for $25k.
Well, that's it! If you were at the show, exhibiting, and
somehow we missed you, drop us a line (editor@aero-news.net) and we'll
update this listing, which we expect will be perennially
popular.
If you want to attend next year's US Sport Aviation Expo, it'll
be in January again, from the 11th to the 14th of January 2007, and
we'll see you there! (Note that the website hasn't been updated
yet. It will be in due course).
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