Owner Says His Mission Is To Put 'Sport' Into Light Sport Category

In the days immediately preceding the Sebring LSA expo, Renegade owner Christopher "Doc" Bailey and his new Director of Marketing Philip Wyatt were busy securing a brand new 70,000 square foot, four million dollar facility at KFPR ... Saint Lucie County Airport in Fort Pierce, FL. This addition from Lee’s Summit Missouri was one that was a long time coming for this LSA Company, and will take the Lycoming-powered fleet of aircraft forward at a rapid pace.

Bailey says the move puts Renegade right on track to form a co-op, specifically targeted to Light Sport manufacturing community, all under one roof. “Our Plans have always been to bring the TOP 1 percent of light sport under one umbrella to lower costs and to make a co-op of all American made, the best of the best LSA aircraft," Bailey said. "Many have talked about bringing this concept to fruition, but once again Renegade pulls it off. The new Renegade facility will now host a full engineering department, composite / paint shop, along with full line of LSA Avionics department and a new department that will completely focus on bringing new models and improving existing LSA aircraft or concept aircraft to meet conformity to the new ASTM and FAA 8130.2g standards. Nowhere in American can one get this kind of expertise all under one roof. In most cases we can go from concept to the drawing board, to producing the tooling, to full production and finally, full certification in as little as 14 months. This facility will also host the progress of our vast accelerated programs including the new FAA approved LSRM Light Sport Repairman’s Certificate.

“We are positioning the company where potentially new clients will finally be aware that there is a real alternative to Rotax powered LSA’s. We will continue to explore the advantage of a Lycoming Powered aircraft in this rapidly expanding market”

"We are striving to produce 100% American built airplanes all out of the 70,000 square foot facility on Florida’s Treasure Coast with engines sipping 5 gallons and hour at 2600 rpm," said Renegade marketing director Philip Wyatt.

“Our aim with this facility is to provide a one stop training and manufacturing facility allowing Pilots and soon to be pilots the opportunity to train in a multitude of different light sport aircraft,” said Bailey. "So this will be an LSA Mall in many aspects as each LSA category will be covered. Should a prospective client want a high wing aircraft we’ve got it with the New BOT Speed Cruiser. Low wing well here is our Falcon, Biwing, how about a Carbon Pitts, Amphibian well were not letting the cat out of the bag on that one just yet. When we advertise an aircraft we will be able to deliver what the client sees, not just tease clients for years to come but deliver on what they put their hard earned money down on. But we will cover all the LSA bases within the 2013 season though."

Bailey has been on the ASTM F 37 Committee as a representative of Light Sport Aircraft manufactures for 4 years now. He has recently been appointed to the F-38 UAV committee. This committee will set the FAA/ ASTM standards for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in the Civilian airspace requirements. "The biggest issue for the move is just how many people are already lining up to take one of Renegades new aircraft and that the move has to be made immediately in a matter of weeks to keep up with orders,” Bailey said.

“The general consensus has unfortunately been that overall sales in this industry are what makes great aircraft, but why would one purchase a Ford when for the same amount of money they could be flying a Ferrari?," Bailey said. "Ferrari and Rolls Royce wouldn’t be on the top 50 most sold automobiles on any ones list. But I think we would all agree, I would much rather be driving a Ferrari than a Ford Taurus. We at Renegade feel we offer a far superior aircraft in regards to performance; we offer them the absolute top 1% in this market of all LSA aircraft, we now represent a top notch high wing with the new BOT Speed Cruiser that can train paraplegic students and once we make the move to Florida our new Wounded Warrior program will officially kick off."

A biplane aerobatic version, the new Renegade Carbon Pitts, is now in the final stages of development. The Falcon is the pride of the fleet with both conventional and tricycle gear and made a huge splash last year at the Sebring Expo 2012.

This year’s unveiling of the new super-charged Lycoming-powered amphibian ... an airplane Bailey says will rival the ICON A5 "only we will have in house production and can actually give our clients a delivery date. Many of our fans have to come ask, 'we haven’t heard much from you guys lately.' That’s because we were busy getting ready to take the LSA market by storm in 2013."

Bailey said his plan is provide the LSA market with the latest in innovations. "Renegade has always thought outside the box and not followed the conventional Rotax clone heard," he said. "We believe given a choice that folks will have to make their own minds up on this top Ten Category listings as they look at the upcoming plans for Renegade Light Sport in Fort Pierce as these are exciting time indeed for both Renegade Light Sport and the LSA community. The Renegade operations will see a full flight school, Wounded Warrior program and light sport repairman course for all engine types."

“It’s a question of feeling comfortable in an airplane in my opinion," Wyatt said. "When I looked at what I personally wanted to fly there was only one choice for me, even before I worked for Renegade. I was convinced that my personal preference was in a Lycoming or low RPM motor in a superior airframe. Renegade gave me all that choice and then some; I was a Falcon client before I came to work for Renegade, I actually purchased a Falcon and liked it so much I decided to join the company. We want to provide the people who love aviation with an aircraft that they just love to fly!"

FMI: www.renegadelightsport.com