Who Had LSA's at the Sport Pilot Expo?
(Editor's Update: ANN asked those vendors
we may have missed in the first run of this article to
tell us so, and sure enough, they did. Turns out we missed two of
the most established aircraft in the LSA category -- and what's
worse, is that we've spoken highly of both airplanes in the past.
See below... and if we missed you, too, LET US KNOW!)
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 Young Turks...
Aveo Tech International
Sport Rider, made in Italy, aluminum alloy wings on a steel tube
cockpit cage with composite "cowlings and covers." It's a high-wing
plane with a lot of glass area in the cockpit and a large,
distinctive vertical fin. Aero-News's John Ballantyne has discussed
this ship in depth here.
EsqualNA
The sleek composite Esqual VM-1 from Spain was once actually
going to be a production LSA -- and a Mooney. Whatever happened to
those plans? It's now available only as a kit, although the
importer offers a very comprehensive builder assistance program. It
can be registered as ELSA or Experimental-Amateur Built. We haven't
flown it yet, but hope to soon.
Evektor America
Also known as Sport Aircraft International, LLC, they're the US
distributor for the Evektor SportStar light-sport aircraft, which
Jim flew during the show. The SportStar is priced at the high end
of the SLSA market, at about $105,000 equipped. (It's also
available as a kit). Evektor also has a new four-seater which is
(obviously) not a light sport aircraft, the Cobra, of which
photographs only were on show at Sebring. Evektor planes are made
in the Czech Republic of bonded and riveted aluminum, and have
extensive anodizing for corrosion-proofing.
Fantasy AirUSA
The FantasyAir Allegro 2000 is a high-wing aircraft with a
composite fuselage, a T-tail, and metal wings. It's made in the
Czech Republic. It's available as a ready to fly SLSA in regular
and float versions, and also as a kit for Experimental builders.
Along with the importer, SE US dealer Southeast
Sport Aircraft was on the scene at Sebring.
Flight Design
[NOTE: This entry was inadvertently left
out of the story as originally published]
The Flight Design CT has been one of the most visible of the new
aircraft. For some reason, female pilots especially seem attracted
to this plane, which looks like a Cessna 150 redrawn as a character
in a children's cartoon... it's adorable as a puppy.
One thing it isn't, which surprises people because it's so small
outside, is cramped inside. It might be smaller than a 150 (think
hangar-friendly) but inside you have more shoulder room than a 172
and incredible visibility. It's also capable of prodigious range
for an LSA, thanks to large tanks and an economical Rotax 912 --
the manufacturer website has the story of a delivery flight from
Germany to Canada on the North Atlantic route. Flight Design's
local distributor was here with two machines which
spent most of their time in the air.
Over 200 CTs have been delivered worldwide, and it's also been
in most of the magazines, who have universally praised it, but we
haven't flown it yet. We can't wait!
Jet Fox USA, Inc.
Their airplane bore the URL http://jetfox.com/ but in
the immortal words of Bones McCoy, "It's dead, Jim." The Italian
web site works, but it's in Italian (an English page didn't work
for us). This unusual-looking plane has been trying to break into
the US market for nine years now.
Kappa Aircraft
The Kappa KP-5 light sport aircraft, made in Czech Republic by
Jihlavan SRO, are imported by this US firm, reassembled and
test-flown prior to delivery. It's an attractive Rotax 912S-powered
low-wing two seater of conventional metal construction.
LightSportFlying.com
This vendor offers the AeroStar Festival Made in Romania, or, as
some builders bill it, the Yak Festival. The styling high point of
the Festival is its jet-warbird-like canopy, which opens up and
back so you can style like the 'Birds or the Blues -- or keep the
cockpit cool while taxiing in the Florida sun. The downside is the
somewhat agricultural-equipment vibe of the rest of the plane;
new-Socialist-sturdy, like overfulfilling the five-year-plan. It's
all metal and powered by the ubiquitous Rotax 912S 100HP
four-banger. Typically equipped Festivals are selling for
$75-80,000.
LSA Aero
Gannet Seaplane, developed in Spain. I was tipped to this
company by a reader, but never managed to catch anyone in the
booth. They didn't have an aircraft as far as I could see, just
pictures and brochures.
(UPDATE: The same Aero-News reader has
tipped us that they DID have an airplane -- at Lake Jackson, giving
rides. Which also explains why the booth was often unattended! Our
reader was impressed enough to put down a deposit on a Freedom, the
amphib version (the Gannet, above, is a straight seaplane). Keep
those updates coming folks...)
Pipistrel USA
Was promoting something completely other than Sport Pilot: its
Pipistrel Sinus motorglider, which can be flown with a glider
license and no medical at all. The Sinus is made in Slovenia and
has a wingspan of almost fifty feet and a glide ration of
30:1.
The website appeared to be down, but
information is available here:
Rollison Light Sport Aircraft
The Remos G-3 (sometimes called the G-3 Mirage) is a carbon
fiber high-wing of German design and Polish and German manufacture.
This aircraft is often mistaken for the CT, but not if you see them
side by side. The Remos G-3 is larger outside, with a much larger
wing with the outboard taper of a Cessna wing, and has rear-quarter
windows. Rollison also represents the Eurofox Kitfox knock-off.
Both aircraft have folding wings (so they fit on the hangar deck of
your aircraft carrier...) and are priced in Euros.
Recreational Mobility
This company represents the SeaRey and Aventura UL/HP/II
amphibians, and the Flightstar, Toucan, and CT2K landplanes. They
had a nice SeaRey at the site.
Sky Arrow USA
The Sky Arrow is sold as a kit, a fully certified (FAR 23)
aircraft, or now, as a light sport aircraft. It's been held back in
the US market by trainer performance and a high price (the
certified version is $100k or more). The stress is on the Sky Arrow
600 Sport SLSA version right now.
SportAir Aviation
These friendly guys are the US importer of the Brazilian-made
Corsario kit, one of the better deals at the show at $40,000 for a
fairly complete kit. That buys you a very simple amphib, which
falls about in between the SeaRey and the Aventura. Unlike some
manufacturers, they had no difficulty getting their products
registered as ELSA, as long as they are placarded for the gear not
to be operated in flight.
SportAir USA
[UPDATE: Here's another vendor we
overlooked in the first run of this article... even though we
talked to them and took pictures of their plane, and have featured
it previously! Awk! If we did this to you, let us know and we'll
add you).
SportAir USA of Little Rock, Arkansas imports and sells several
LSAs, including Associate Editor Rob Finfrock's favorite: the Sting
Sport. The carbon-fiber Sting probably has the most free-feeling
bubble canopy of the bunch. NC Dealer Wing Sport
Aviation was also on hand.
Sport Aircraft Works
This Czech/American hybrid was promoting several aircraft at the
show, including the Mermaid amphibian, which remains locked in FAA
registration hell, the well-thought-out Parrot, and the new Sport
Cruiser, a machine designed to hit a lower price point than the
$75-85,000 of the other two.
Sportplanes.Com
This company with the catchy net-centric name has visions of
itself as the General Motors of light sport aircraft... well, with
GM looking like it gets managers from the airlines, maybe that's a
bad analogy. But they want to be a major importer with a dealer
network, and they back that up by bring several unique airplanes
into the USA, almost all of them "Young Turks." The most
exotic-looking is the Russian-made Sigma, which combines George
Lucas styling with Cessna performance numbers; the meat of the
program seems to be the German-made Ikarus Breezer (low wing) and
Ikarus C42 (high wing) sport planes, and there's a Zodiac 601XL
SLSA built with a Rotax 912S for the value-conscious customer.
TECNAM
They were represented by Hansen Aire Group, the US distributor
of the Tecnam light sport aircraft (Golf, Echo, Bravo, Sierra). The
high-wing Tecnam aircraft are, to us, a bit funny looking, but the
build quality, fit and finish is extremely high. The low-wing
Tecnams are just as well built without the odd greenhouse of the
Echo and Bravo high-wing models.
Wings of Paradise
Represents the German FK9 Mark IV light-sport aircraft. At a
glance, it looks like an overgrown trigear Kitfox. Examined more
closely, it's a much more sophisticated machine, primarily
composite but with a GlaStar-type safety cage of steel.
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).
ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (04.16.24)
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