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ISSUE 1 JANUARY
2011 |
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Winter
Flying Fun
By
Dan Grunloh, Editor, Light
Plane World |
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Welcome
to 2011 and another season of winter
flying for some of us. The photo for
this column was taken after my last
landing of 2010. With a temperature
of only 15 degrees, my limit in an
open cockpit without artificial heat
was a mere 15 minutes. The
calculated wind chill at my flying
speed was minus 11 degrees. With the
right equipment and attention to
safety, winter flying can be a lot
of fun. Read
more
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Where
the Aviation Year Gets Started
By Dan Johnson
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Right
after Christmas, many aviators start
dreaming about Sebring. The show has
become a must-go for anyone
interested in light-sport aircraft
(LSA) as well as for those who want
to learn more about the lower-cost
end of manufactured aircraft.
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Drawing more than 10,000 visitors in
recent years, Sebring exclusively
features LSA, showing this newest
aircraft segment retains powerful
appeal. It isn't easy to create a
successful new air show. Yet even
during a recession, Sebring has
continued to develop. Read
more
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Flight
Design CTLS Fighting Fires in
Ecuador - and Four-Seater Coming! |
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A
firefighting department located at
8,300 feet mean sea level (MSL) at
Cuenca, the third largest city in
Ecuador, has acquired a Flight
Design CTLS light-sport aircraft as
its aerial support unit.
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Air Volunteer Fire Department of
Basin has begun operations at the
Mariscal Lamar Airport with
support from John Hurst and Jeremy
Endsley of Sebring Aviation who
both traveled to Ecuador to train
fire department employees in
assembly, maintenance, and flight
training for the CTLS. Read
more |
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Date
Announced for Illinois Ultralight
Safety Seminar |
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oldest and largest safety seminar
focusing on ultralights and
light-sport aircraft will hold its
31st annual event on February 26,
2011. The Illinois Ultralight
Advisory Council (IUAC) was formed
over 30 years ago to work with the
Illinois Department of
Transportation and the Federal
Aviation Administration to further
the safe growth of what was at the
time an emerging sport. |
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One of
the innovative ideas they brought to
the sport was the Illinois
Ultralight/Lightplane Safety
Seminar. Read
more
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Palm
Bay Police to Expand Paraglider
Team |
| The
Palm Bay Florida Police Department
has announced plans to expand its
four-man Search Operations Aerial
Response (SOAR) paraglider team to
include up to two more officers.
Team members have used
foot-launched powered paragliders
and a two-place powered parachute
to do things you can't do with a
patrol car during the year long
trial period, according to Palm
Bay Deputy Police Chief Doug
Muldoon. They want more officers
involved. Read
more |
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FAA
Prohibits Wheeled Powered
Paragliders Under Training
Exemption |
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FAA has issued an official letter
clarifying the intent of the
exemptions that have been granted
for training in two-place powered
paragliders. While everyone agrees
that wheeled tandem training would
be safer, the letter (designated
Regulatory Docket No.
FAA-2001-9032) states that all
exempted two-place operations must
be foot-launched. If it has
wheels, the craft is considered to
be a two-place powered parachute
and must meet the requirements of
the sport pilot and light-sport
aircraft regulations. Read
more |
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Sport
Pilot Training at the CGS Hawk
Factory |
| CGS
Aviation has announced plans to
offer full-immersion sport pilot
training at the CGS facilities in
Grand Bay, Alabama. Accommodations
will be available for students who
wish to train daily in the
factory's Hawk Arrow special
light-sport aircraft (S-LSA), with
the goal of returning home with
their sport pilot
certificate. |
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abbreviated version of this course
will be available for pilots who
intend to fly under FAR Part 103
ultralight rules. Anyone
purchasing a new Hawk from CGS
will receive a substantial
discount on this program. Read
more |
| Updates
From Zenith Aircraft |
| The
latest newsletter from Zenith
Aircraft includes a report (with
video) of a Zenith CH 701 builder
in Texas flying with a Garrett JFS
100-13A turboshaft engine. |
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| The
firewall-forward engine package
with mount weighs 183 pounds and
burns 12 gallons/hour at cruise.
Dates have been announced for the
two-day "Try Before You
Buy" Introductory Workshop
sessions in January and February.
The $375 package includes hands-on
experience building a complete
tail rudder kit, a tour of the
factory, and the opportunity to go
up for a demo flight. Zenair News
is published six times per year,
and each issue includes a DVD. Subscribe
here. Watch
the video. |
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Elektra
One Passes Static Wing Testing |
| Two
weeks ago (December 22) German
manufacturer PC-Aero successfully
performed static testing on its
Elektra One electric aircraft for
German ultralight certification.
Weighing 208 pounds empty, the
aircraft with a 27-foot winspan
boasts a 26:1 glide ratio, giving
it 3-hour endurance on its 21-hp
electric motor. The carbon fiber
aircraft may receive future
improvements like solar cells in
the wings; however, an empty
weight less than 264 pounds to
qualify in the ultralight class is
the main goal, thus avoiding the
requirement for a pilot medical
certificate. Read
more and see the video |
| Piper
Announces End of the PiperSport
LSA |
| Citing
differences in business
philosophies, Piper Aircraft Inc.
announced Wednesday it would
terminate its business
relationship with Czech Sport
Aircraft, which produced a
light-sport aircraft (LSA) that
Piper marketed as the PiperSport
and introduced at last year’s
U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in
Sebring, Florida. Read
more |
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Have
You Ever Seen a Deere Fly? –
Conclusion
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Last
month in part one of this story,
Jackye shared her experiences flying
hang gliders and ultralights that
have led her to decide to build her
own trike wing.
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I flew a
few more times and was finding
myself thinking about zooming off to
places farther than my ultralight
restrictions would realistically
allow. I didn’t have the funds to
buy a bigger engine four-stroke
trike that I’d have to build a
better hangar for or spend more
of my flying reserves on county
airport hangar rental if one was
available. Ding dong! I was going to
just work with what I have and what
I could learn to do. Read
more
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Fifi's
Big Adventure at AirVenture 2010
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This
daily journal from EAA AirVenture
Oshkosh 2010, written for members of
EAA Chapter 1128 in Two Harbors,
Minnesota, captures the experience
for everyone.
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Pilots
are a very small percentage of the
general population. We sometimes
fancy ourselves an exclusive, even
elite group. Pilots who fly to
Oshkosh for the annual EAA
convention are a very small
percentage of that exclusive
group.
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This
year, thanks to Fifi, my Kolb
Firefly, I rejoined that happy
crowd. My new girl slipped us past
the velvet rope with a sexy wink and
we danced the week away. Read
more
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When
Student Pilots Freeze at the
Controls
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Looking
over the posts in a nice little
website called Trikepilot Social, I
stumbled across a thread about
students freezing up on the
controls. For all you instructors
out there, old and new, heed a few
words of warning if you’ve never
had a student freeze up on you in
flight.
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After
talking to many ultralight (both
trike and three-axis) and general
aviation (GA) instructors on my
travels, many, if not most, had
never experienced a student freezing
up on the controls. Read
more
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From
the EAA Light Plane Community
The message forums at
Oshkosh365 are alive with
activity. Here are the latest
discussions!
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| Videos
from the light plane world |
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Quad
City Challenger Winter Rendezvous
2010 at Chateau Montebello, Quebec,
Canada, is "full action"
on wheels and skis. View
the video
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Air
Sport Russia sets winter powered
parachute flying to the tune
"Love Struck Baby." View
the video |
| Submit
light plane videos that you just
had to watch again; and probably
forwarded to your friends. Send
them to LightPlaneWorld@EAA.org. |
| Featured
Photo Gallery |
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Top
12 Unforgettable Photos from
Experimenter's Back Cover
Light Plane World Editor Dan
Grunloh selects his top 12
outstanding photos as seen on the
back covers of EAA Experimenter
magazine from 1987 to 2003. Some
haven’t been seen for 20 years
except by EAA members who collect
the magazine. View
the gallery
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Engines
Q. What are
the advantages and disadvantages
of a two-cycle engine?
Answer
Powered
Parachute
Q. How does
propeller torque affect a powered
parachute (PPC)? Answer
Weight
Shift Trikes
Q. What happens to
trim speed as weight increases?
Answer
Fixed-Wing
Airplane
Q.
How can I make a good
transition during roundout while
landing in a crosswind?
Answer
Rotorcraft
Q. What is a
Fenestron tail rotor design?
Answer |
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An
Australian Storch With an
International Flair
Experimenter, February 1995
 While
living in Australia, Yugoslavian
Nestor Slepcev designed and built
a 3/4-scale replica of the German
Fieseler Storch and powered it
with a Rotax 618 engine. Nestor
started the design process by
building a 1/3-scale (12-foot
wingspan) radio-control model of
the Storch. Thanks to help from
many friends, it was crated and
shipped to the United States, then
reassembled and test-flown so it
could fly at EAA Oshkosh 1994. Read
the article
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| Want
a Plane With Folding Wings? Watch
this Webinar!
A
plane with folding wings isn't
just for the Navy; now you may
have the chance to build one
yourself. Join Sonex Aircraft's
Jeremy Monnett as he talks about
the Onex kit, which includes, you
guessed it, folding wings!
All
webinars begin at 7 p.m. CST. To
find out more about upcoming EAA
webinars and to register, visit
the webinars
page.
EAA
gratefully acknowledges the
support of Aircraft
Spruce and Specialty Co. for
its generous sponsorship of the
webinar programs.
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| Q. What's
your favorite type of landing
gear?
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