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 Legacy Kits...
Advanced Aero
This startup has been promoting its "Inverted V Tail" LSA for a
couple of years now as it tries to raise funds. At previous shows
it's had an aerodynamic and flight-physics model available to fly
in the aero-engineer's flight simulator of choice, X-Plane. This show there was
something new, the company's single-seat technology demonstrator,
based upon a 1980s-vintage Sadler Vampire ultralight. The point of
the demonstrator was to prove out the inverted-V tail in a subscale
flying demonstrator, but now people want Advanced Aero to make
THOSE, too... they're seeking qualified investment to continue
flight test and prepare for LSA production.
BlueSideUp Aviation
This Fort Lauderdale dealer, which has been an AMD Alarus dealer
for some time, was offering the factory-built Zenair Zodiac CH601XL
SLSA for $75,000. This is the Zenair factory version, built by AMD
alongside the Part 23-certified larger Alarus, with a Continental
O-200 engine. I asked a representative of the firm why the
Continental, when generally the Rotax and Jabiru engines are more
popular in the LSA market. "Someone at the factory thought it would
be a good idea to put an aircraft engine in an aircraft," he
said.
Bushwhacker Air
The firm offers a variety of a/c, mostly with Ultralight roots;
they are also working on their own LSA prototype; or is it Stace
Schrader's LSA prototype? Apparently Queensbury, NY, based
Bushwhacker is an agent for Nampa, ID based Schrader. It's also an
agent for the Aerostar Festival (seen under Young Turks).
Flight Crafters, LLC
Is the Southeastern US CH601 SLSA dealer. Their website was very
unreliable but we were finally able to bring it up, but the links
didn't work. They were displaying a well-crafted CH601 with the
Continental O-200 engine that marks the Light Sport variant. "Most
of the planes we have sold so far go to flight schools," one of the
Zenith dealers explained, "and they want an engine their mechanics
know well."
Float Planes And Amphibians
This Sebring-based start-up couldn't be better situated for
participating in the Expo, and Shawn Okun has a one stop shop for
everything that flies, and the training to fly it safely. He brings
his airline experience to another end of aviation, representing the
Drifter, the AirCam, and the Ukrainian Spektrum STOL light
aircraft, all of which were formerly sold out of the Sebring area
by others. Some of FPNA's products are SLSAs, some are not, and
some can be provided either way; and they can provide sales,
service and training on PPCs and Trikes as well.
Freebird Extreme
This is a recycled 1990s kit plane that despite having flown,
but never took off in a commercial sense. The plane being wheeled
around in a custom built trailer is actually the very same
prototype. Although it hasn't flown in its new iteration, it also
was the most expensive SLSA on display, with a price of $134,000
quoted for a ready-to-fly aircraft.
IndUS Aviation
This Indian-American outfit makes the Thorp T-211, a design
that's clearly got a bit of the philosophy that would later go into
the Piper Cherokee. The Thorp differs from the Cherokee in that
it's smaller, and the wing ribs are external stiffeners (Piper
should have done this with the ill-fated Traumahawk). But anyone
who's ever looked at a Piper will be nodding in recognition during
a T-211 walkaround. There are two SLSA versions, the Sky Skooter
with a Jabiru 4-cylinder, and the Thorpedo with the same company's
120-hp flat six.
Jabiru USA Sport Aircraft
The company was represented by the distributor and also the
local dealer, Suncoast Sportplanes (http://www.suncoastjabiru.com/).
With their modern design, composite construction, and pricing,
these planes from Down Under would fit in the "Young Turks"
category if they hadn't been available as kits for years and years.
The Jabiru range includes three aircraft available as ELSA or
factory-built SLSA: The Calypso, the J-170, and the J-250, which is
an version of the Jabiru 4-seater experimental airframe de-rated to
meet LSA rules. Jabiru USA is a distributor and build center. Their
website has a lot of excellent information, including some
comparisons to other kit and certified planes (with more
promised).
Just Aircraft, LLC
The company was here with an Escapade tri-gear demo plane and
they were just flying the living daylights out of it. This
relatively new company is down in the "legacy" section because of
the design and construction of its kits, which resemble the classic
Idaho Avid/Kitfox/Sky Raider/etc. bush planes. The brightly
decorated Escapade demonstrator is a good climber; a neat feature
is easily interchangeable tricycle and conventional gear.
M-Squared Aircraft, Inc.
The company manufactures a fleet of ultralight-like airplanes,
with a heavy concentration on machinery that can stand up to hard
use and salt-water operation on floats. If you need an LSA that can
be rode hard and put away wet, call these guys.
Pioneer: Orlando/Sanford Aircraft Sales
This firm represents the Italian metal Pioneer aircraft. One
model, the Pioneer 200, can be built as an ELSA or turnkey as SLSA.
The Pioneer 200 looks a little like a Zenith, but you can be sure
Alpi Aviation (the manufacturer) didn't crib any of Chris Heintz's
structure: the Pioneer is made of wood!
Quad City Sport Aircraft Corp.
The long-standing company that makes the Challenger -- all four
models of which qualify as ELSA -- was represented here by dealer
South Georgia Ultralight & Sport Planes, with owner Danny
Tyre's white and red 2-seat Challenger ultralight trainer on
display.
RaceAir Designs
This is another one from the vendor list that we didn't see
personally, but Ed Fisher markets several ultralight or
experimental designs under the RaceAir rubric, most if not all of
which fit within the Light Sport Aircraft parameters. He is also
developing a Sportsman level aerobatic single-seater to ELSA
standard, Li'l Bitts, and expects to have kits available this
year.
RANS Inc.
This longstanding vendor offers an entire line of great kit
aircraft, all but one of which can be built and flown within the
limits of the ELSA rule. In addition, the factory-built RANS S-7LS
is certified as a SLSA. The factory was on hand with an S-7LS and
it seemed to spend the whole show in the air! The S-7 is also
available as a kit, and has been made in a FAR 23 certified version
as well. The SLSA version sells for $75,000 fully equipped
(including name-brand radio and transponder, etc).
SkyRanger Aircraft Company
The SkyRanger is another example of an aircraft that could as
easily have gone in another category: like the Young Turks, it's
European (specifically, French). However, it's tube frame and
dacron construction, and its strutted high-wing design, make it
seem a better fit here.
Titan Aircraft
All Titan's a/c except the retractable-gear T-51 Mustang qualify
as ELSA (there is a fixed-gear slower ELSA version of the T-51
also). But we didn't see their display at the show, which might
have been an oversight on our part (or they could have been one of
the outfits that couldn't reschedule from October to January at
short notice). The Titan Tornado is one of the undersung Good Deals
in lightplanes. So far, Titan hasn't made a factory-built SLSA
version of their aircraft, so all Titans are kits.
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-Term (04.20.24): Light Gun
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