When Your Name Is 'Shark', People Pay Attention

By: Tom Woodward

The new kid on the block always seems to get kicked around a little before he is accepted but when your name is “Shark”, people pay attention, if for no other reason than to keep the Shark from sneaking up behind and biting them. This is the aircraft that LSAs, without all the limitations, could be.

Shark US is manufactured by Shark Aero at their plant in Senica, Slovakia. It is offered in the U.S. as a fast-build, Experimental-Amateur kit, but a factory built version is available. Shark UL is a two-place, light aircraft that is certified in Germany and the Czech Republic as an “Ultralight Aircraft”, but currently certified in the Experimental-Exhibition category in the U.S., which has it own issues. Currently, you have to inform the FAA in writing where you want to fly. This sounds ominous, but in reality you just send a list into your local FSDO at the beginning of the year of where you want to fly, or state you are flying for “proficiency”, and that’s it. No need to alert the Feds every time you take off.

I spoke with U.S. distributor John Baron of Warrington, VA who brought the Shark to Oshkosh. The airplane made the trip from Virginia with only one stop, averaging about 148 knots on 7 gallons per hour. John is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a 20-year Navy helicopter pilot, fleet instructor and fleet commander. He wanted to fly and own an aircraft that reminded him of the T34 he flew in basic training. “I was going to buy a Porsche but the price of my airplane and my Jetta equals the price of a Porsche 911 Turbo and the maintenance is cheaper,” John told me at Oshkosh, where he parked among a field of common RVs.

Baron has sold two ... going on three ... airplanes.  Delivery times have been lengthy in the past, but Baron said “within a year, production will be down to nine months." Today you can put $5000 down to hold a position, and as they begin to build your plane, you pay on a percentage ... 30%-40%-30% ... until the airplane is complete and you take delivery.

The Shark has a wingspan of 26 feet and is 25 feet long. It has an empty weight of 650 pounds and a MGTW of ,1320. VNE is 206 mph; max cruise is 180 with an optimum cruising speed of 155 kts., while stalling at almost 40 knots. Powered by the Rotax 912ULS producing 100 hp. burning 4 gph with 26 gallons of fuel at MTOW you can climb out at 1200 fpm. What make the Shark different from other European LSAs like BlackShape Prime and Tarragon is the Shark has a side-tilting canopy, glass cockpit and a side stick like an F-16. The stick adds to the coolness factor for the Shark.

Baron traveled to the factory before deciding on this airplane. He says, “It’s a dope airplane. The workers are all from the cold war and know what they’re talking about. They're all about safety.”

Whether these European LSA aircraft become popular in the U.S. may take some loosening of the U.S. LSA regulation, as the speed of these airplanes are faster than is currently allowed here in the US. If something comes from the rewrite of the Part 23 regulations perhaps these airplanes will be allowed to fly here without restriction.

(Image provided by the author)

FMI: Sharkaero.com