By Dan Johnson
Slinging It Around the World in a New LSA.
Normally I don't write about record attempts or exceptional flights until they are completed and even then only if they are significant. Too many grand voyages end prematurely. But I've known Mike Blyth for decades and he's already accomplished several daring flights. For example, his South to South expedition went from the southern tip of South America up through the USA across the Atlantic through Europe and back down to South Africa, all in weight-shift trikes. Plus they made a very watchable movie from this large experience. Thus, if Mike says he is launching Around the World Expedition 2009 with a stop at Oshkosh on the way, we need to pay attention. Mike and his business partner James Pitman leave South Africa on July 17th and AirVenture begins the 27th. So, throttle up, boys! The trip is unusual in a few ways. One, their Sling LSA, from the business the two aviators co-own, called The Airplane Factory, has just completed flight testing. Secondly, this flight will take place near the equator requiring some very long legs over water. Thirdly, they will go west around the globe; most go east. The duo will make their 28,195-mile flight in the brand new D6 Sling, except they say they've modified this airplane to hold 118 gallons of fuel (about 24 hours worth!). A regular Sling will carry 29 gallons of fuel. Cruising at about 115 knots, they'll have to log more than 200 hours to get back home.
New LSA Milestone; CT Delivers 300th
Sales are subdued all over aviation but it isn't stopping the top performers in the Light-Sport Aircraft marketplace. As our last market share update illustrated, Remos, Tecnam, SportCruiser, and Jabiru have all done reasonably (or very) well in the last 18 months. Always among those contenders is longtime market share leader, Flight Design. Just a couple days ago, eastern distributor Flight Design Mid-Atlantic delivered CT#300 to owner Kenneth D. Griffin of Southampton, New Jersey complete with his personalized tail number (N74KG)... interestingly, CT#200 also got a call sign identifying its owner. In the Something-for-Nothing Department: Flight Design will be giving away the first MC at AirVenture when EAA completes its 2009 Sweepstakes and awards some lucky person a brand-new design as well as a brand-new airplane. Big flight school and mail order house, Sporty's, is giving away a 2010 Cessna SkyCatcher. Want a low wing? Enter the Get-a-Gobosh sweepstakes in Pilot magazine. Plus a rumor is circulating about another LSA giveaway from a major player. Sounds like at least four lucky people may become an owner of a $100,000+ LSA for nothing.
Independence Day Treat! -- Past LSA Leader Returns
Allegro 2007 is back! This modestly-priced LSA -- the third ever approved, back in May 2005 -- is returning to market from a company associated with Sadler Aircraft and its Vampire. Some have likely forgotten that the Allegro was the third Special Light-Sport Aircraft ever certified, following only Evektor's SportStar and Flight Design's CT. It was also a market leader early on...in fact, it did so well, Fantasy Air (the now-bankrupt Czech designer and producer) still holds the #12 position even without a sale in nearly two years. The founding company's troubled history is now being replaced with an all-American manufacturing effort based on the revised Allegro 2007 model that saw improvements to better suit the American market. Allegro USA LLC, the newly-formed company, announced in June that Allegro will now be built completely in Roseburg, Oregon. Allegro USA believes this will eliminate concerns for warranty, parts, delivery, and financing. *** Some LSA suppliers may be cautious in today's economy but Allegro USA is taking strides to regain its market position. "We believe in the Allegro and the American LSA market, and will continue with our expansion of the Allegro for the United States market and beyond," stated Doug Hempstead, president of Allegro USA LLC. "It has never been easier, nor a better time to own a new Allegro light sport aircraft than right now." The company has not announced prices yet nor is its website up. But the reasonably-priced, now all-American Allegro is returning to marketplace and for cash-strapped American pilots, that seems like good news.
Arriving from Shanghai...Electric Power Two Seater
Two Chinese delegates attended ASTM meetings in Freidrichshafen Germany in April, the first time the nation has been represented. Those reps indicated they believed ASTM acceptance in China may not be far off. Meanwhile, Shanghai-based Yuneec company is moving forward, and upward. Yuneec's E430 will be featured at AirVenture along with a distinctly American design: the Flightstar Spyder (single place, Part 103-capable ultralight) fitted with a Yuneec electric motor. Using a 6-battery setup on their two seater, E430 expects 1.5-2 hours of flight and with such an installation, payload is a respectable 400 pounds even with a 45-foot wing span. A 10-battery setup may fly 2.25-2.5 hours. A video gives a hint to the sound level (turn your speakers up loud). Yuneec International announced, "The E430 is a twin seat, single engine, LSA class aircraft designed to be simple to use, easy to fly and with virtually zero vibration. It's very smooth [with] low noise, no emissions, no [petroleum] fuel, extremely low maintenance and...it's environmentally friendly." The company continues, "Charging times of 3 hours for as little as $5 make electric a low cost way to fly." On Saturday June 20th at an Airfield North of Shanghai the E430 performed two flights of around 15 minutes and did a series of basic test maneuvers. Under full power E430 rolled 260 feet, rotating at 40 mph. A climb rate of nearly 1,400 fpm was achieved during the second flight. Top speed in level flight was 94 mph.
Announcing PlaneFinder 2.0...Find Your Best LSA!
Just over five years ago when ByDanJohnson.com went live, we planned a feature called PlaneFinder. It was to be an key element of this website, offering advice to help pilots select your ideal aircraft. That was version 1.0 and it proved to be more complicated than needed plus the ultralights and kit-built light planes we spent years evaluating were giving way to Light-Sport Aircraft. Reluctantly, we quietly put PlaneFinder on hold while we followed the emergence of LSA within the world of aviation. ByDanJohnson.com went live on April 1st, 2004... four months before the SP/LSA rule was announced. Click forward five years and we now have an astounding 97 Special Light-Sport Aircraft models from 70 manufacturers. Every one is listed on our SLSA List with links to find out much more about them. Now, we add a crowning touch: PlaneFinder 2.0. This automated, interactive system asks your preference to 24 very simple (this-or-that type) categories, for example, "High wing or low wing?" As you answer, the Matching SLSA list will quickly narrow your search to those with your preferred qualities. You don't have to answer all 24 categories; just pick those important to you. PlaneFinder 2.0 will show you all SLSA that match your selections. You can change your category responses as often as you wish to refine your ideal feature set. Or you can Reset and start all over. Give it a try. ByDanJohnson.com offers PlaneFinder 2.0 completely free of charge, though you will have to register and receive a password. (Of course, we'd sincerely appreciate your $29 membership to support this website.)