Plane and Pilot Magazine

Super affordable, low maintenance, doesn’t bite: Give this doggie a bone!

In the world of canines, as in the world of S-LSA, there are so many choices. Greyhound: sleek, beautiful, speedy. Australian sheepdog: smart and agile. Cocker spaniel: affable, frisky, great lap doggies. And then there’s the lovable mutt, that unique creature of indeterminate pedigree that plays when you want to play, goes where you want to go and never complains. The X-Air LS (www.x-airlsa.com) is that kind of lovable creature.

Sure, at 113 mph (98 knots), the aircraft is no greyhound. The ultralight-style, kinda boxy, sailcloth-envelope-covered airframe won’t garner it “Best in Show” honors, nor will its docile handling dazzle you with nimble sheepdog moves. But it will happily jump up for a Frisbee at a better than 800 fpm climb rate.

For flight schools, students and pilots interested in a dependable trainer or local-recreation S-LSA—one that’s easy and fun to fly, low-maintenance in its care and feeding, and never pretends to be more than what it is—the X-Air LS is a solid, affordable airplane that’s up for adoption.

Speaking Of Pedigrees…
On the flight line and in the air, the X-Air LS unabashedly wags its tube-and-fabric tail. For the uninitiated, these are the tangible benefits of this kind of construction:
1. Lightweight: The X-Air LS has a 660-pound empty weight and a 484-pound full-fuel payload.
2. Low cost: At $59,995, it’s half the price of high-end LSA ($125,000 and up).
3. Low repair and maintenance costs: Bend or break a tube? Bolt or rivet in another one. Tear the covering? Fabric repair or replacement is quick and inexpensive ($4,500 for an entire set of envelopes, plus a couple days of labor). Compare that to re-covering with doped fabric, aluminum skin or composite/carbon-fiber surfaces.
4. Foldable wings: These increase the storage possibilities.Yet the X-Air LS isn’t an ultralight: It’s an honest, capable LSA that offers a viable and durable alternative to the $100,000 LSA club.

AKA The Sleeper
Just before I shared its 43-inch-wide cockpit with X-Air General Manager Matt Verdieck at January’s Sebring U.S. Sport Aviation Expo, my preconceptions about the X-Air were deconstructed.

I built and flew many ultralight aircraft in the 1980s. I’m well aware that 254-pound, tube-and-fabric aircraft get bounced around like ping-pong balls in strong winds. And since Sebring’s weather was windy every day, I had assumed the X-Air LS would be one airplane that stayed on leash most of the time—I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Due to prevalent gusty conditions, demo flight ops for most aircraft were sharply curtailed—except for the X-Air LS. Routinely, when no one else was flying, I’d hear the snarl of an engine at climb-out revs, and look up to see Verdieck taking another demo passenger for a spin. If he meant to dispel any prejudice against the airworthiness of tube-and-fabric construction airplanes, he couldn’t have seized a better opportunity.
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A year after Piper shut down the Saratoga HP, the Matrix helps pick up the slack

When Cessna introduced the P210 back in 1978, I was one of those idiots who predicted they’d have a hard time selling “any single-engine piston airplane with a base price over $100,000.”

Despite my cynicism, Cessna did all right. Between 1978 and 1986, it sold about 900 of ’em. (The last 1986 Cessna P210Rs had an average-equipped price of $323,000.)

A few years ago, the base price of the Piper Malibu Mirage passed $1 million, and considering the overall success of the model, I now know better than to make stupid predictions. In the intervening quarter century, I’ve learned not to make value judgments.

Still, many pilots wonder what will happen to the Mirage and other high-ticket piston models if any of the VLJs make it into production at anything close to their proposed prices. No matter how spectacular the financial debacle of the Eclipse 500, Cirrus and Diamond are proposing small jets for prices below $2 million. Even if they come to market at $1.8/$2 million, what will that do to Mirage sales at a price point of $1.2 million?

It’s true that pressurization is perhaps the ultimate luxury in an airplane (once you fly it, you’ll never want to go back), but it’s not for everyone, either operationally or financially. Modern pressurization systems are relatively automatic—set it and forget it—but some pilots don’t feel the need to breathe compressed air.

Piper’s thinking in late ’07 was that many Mirage pilots don’t often loft up into the flight levels anyway, so why not retain the popular Mirage but offer a model that would dispense with pressurization altogether?

Depressurizing an existing model isn’t a new idea for expanding a product line. Cessna did it back in 1980 with the Cessna 335, an uninflatable 340. That plan didn’t work, and the model was retired after only a year. Piper was aware of that failure, but it reasoned that the Matrix had a better chance of success because of its market and price point. Read More...

A born trainer, this spacious, docile workhorse flies like Wichita tin

You want to fly the MC?,” asks Flight Design’s amiable national sales manager, John Gilmore. I’m at the company tent during Sebring, Fla.’s U.S. Sport Aviation Expo, and the MC is on my must-fly list.

“Sure, when?”

“Right now!” exclaims John.

“Now?”

It’s late in the day. I’m tired. I haven’t flown in a week or so. And I haven’t flown at Sebring in a year.

A glance to the cloudy, hazy west reveals a low, low sun: We’ve got 45 minutes—tops—until LSA-legal sundown. I had hoped to have more time. Still, few people have flown the MC. And the aircraft will be swamped once the show starts.

“Let’s do it,” I say, and we head for the hangar. Soon, I’m shaking hands with Tim-Peter Voss—no less than the chief engineer of flight and ground test for Flight Design Germany.

The door sill is low to the ground: Climb-in’s a breeze. The comfortable interior feels familiar, as it should: It’s like the CTLS in which I got my sport pilot ticket.

“I haff not flown at the Sebrink,” Voss says in his crisp German accent, “and have no American license, zo you muss do everysink, the radio, the airspess, yes?”

Hmm. So now I get to demonstrate my ineptitude with the unfamiliar Sebring airspace, as well as fly a new airplane next to its test pilot?

Well, life is meant to be an adventure. If we must fail, fail grandly! Read More...

The Lycoming-powered Evolution turns in turboprop performance on a piston budget

The piston-engine Evolution is powered by a Lycoming TEO-540-AE2A engine and has a max cruise of 270 knots. The carbon-fiber airframe combines light weight with high strength.

About a decade ago, I was hired to fly an Aerostar 700 from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, to London, U.K., with Captain Mike Miller, chief pilot for Cathay Pacific Airways. In a sense, the trip was a little uncomfortable for both of us, as my job was to serve as check pilot for Miller, a 20,000-hour 747 captain with time in practically everything—except the Aerostar.

Perhaps perversely, Miller’s insurance company insisted that he fly a few hours with someone who knew a little about the Aerostar, and since I knew as little as anyone, I was nominated. Miller was planning to fly the airplane in the upcoming London to Sydney Air Race, and he needed to relocate the finished Aerostar from Idaho to the U.K. The airline captain was absolutely positive he could win the big prize in the 16-leg, 12,000 nm race. (He did exactly that, averaging 274 knots.)

During our three-day, 5,200 nm trip across North America and the Atlantic, we luxuriated in the airplane’s near-turboprop cruise speeds en route to Biggin Hill Airport, starting point for the event. On each leg, we launched and climbed straight to 25,000 feet, maintained power at max cruise and saw consistent true airspeeds of 260 knots or better. One leg—Narsarsuaq, Greenland to Reykjavik, Iceland—yielded a spectacular 330-knot groundspeed.

Despite (or perhaps because of) his jet experience, Miller commented that this was pretty impressive for an airplane flying behind piston power. In fact, there has never been another production piston airplane capable of generating such speed, regardless of horsepower. Back in the ’60s, the Piper Comanche 400 employed a huge eight-cylinder Lycoming IO-720, essentially a pair of IO-360s welded together, but without a blower under the bonnet, that airplane was limited to 200 knots.

The current turbocharged, intercooled Mooney Acclaim S manages to score 242 knots on only 280 hp, but that’s as close as anyone has come to marketing another production, 260-knot piston machine.

Enter The Evolution
Now, Lancair International of Redmond, Ore., plans to certify an airplane capable of topping the Aerostar’s quick cruise, and with only one piston engine out front. Some astute readers may remember that the turbine version of the Lancair Evolution was introduced two years ago (see “Lancair Evolution: Revolutionary Homebuilt,” Pilot Journal Spring 2009). At this writing, both the turboprop and piston models are offered as homebuilts, but Lancair is actively pursuing certification on both airplanes.

Of course, there’s the inevitable question: Why build two versions of the same airplane? The two models are identical from the firewall aft. Lancair COO Tom Bowen explains: “The most obvious reason is price. The basic Evolution airframe package costs $495,000 to build, excluding paint, interior and a few other items. Then, you have a choice between a $115,000 Lycoming piston engine or a $445,000 Pratt & Whitney turbine mill. Add $32,000 for the prop and $84,000 for all hoses, baffling, engine exhaust, tubing, wiring and hardware, and the cost for a fully completed, painted Evolution with a leather interior will be approximately $750,000 for the piston model, $1,150,000 for the turboprop. Hourly operating costs also should be dramatically less costly with the avgas model, for those who don’t feel a need for high altitude and 300-plus-knot speed on every flight.

“Finally, and probably the best reason of all,” Bowen continues, “our customers asked for it. We surveyed many of our Lancair IV customers, and the feeling was almost unanimous that there’d be a major market for a piston version.”
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Metal/composite construction, gorgeous lines, top-o’-the-line luxury—splendid!

This is the story of three jaw-dropping moments that followed my introduction to the gorgeous, new Tecnam P2008. The first agape moment came after seeing a photo online and trying to post about the plane on my P&P blog: My thesaurus ran out of synonyms for “beautiful” long before I ran out of enthusiasm for word-painting the new metal/carbon-fiber S-LSA. Here, I thought, is the complete aeronautical designer’s skill at work: form plus function, with a decidedly scintillating emphasis on form.

On my demo flight at Sebring, Fla., with Tommy Grimes, the affable president of Tecnam North America, he likened the new airplane—the first in America—to a supremely appointed Mercedes sedan. Tecnam has gone all out here. The construction and finish are top-drawer. Appointments and the glass-loaded, stylish instrument panel fully complement the sleek, flowing exterior.

Romantic visions sail through my mind. I imagine a corporate CEO and his companion—he in black tuxedo, she in a shimmering silk gown—floating with sublime gravitas to a nearby benefit gala in the P2008. “I say, Carlton, did you load my golf bag? Oh, behind the seats? Good man.” All that seems lacking is a name befitting this beauty: “P2008” just doesn’t cut the Grey Poupon, my good man.

Before we fly with the affable Mr. Grimes, a few words about Tecnam. The Italian company has a long and colorful aviation history dating back to 1948. Since 1992, it has focused on LSA, and with 3,000 light aircraft sold, it’s the largest light-sport manufacturer in the game.

Tecnam has the LSA model range fully covered, from the P92 Eaglet trainer—one of my favorite fun-flying LSA—to the P2002, P2004, P92 Echo Classic and, now, the P2008. With its recent acquisition of Spain’s CAG—the composite company that designed and built another gorgeous S-LSA, the Toxo—Tecnam now is well-versed in metal- and composite-building expertise.

As Tecnam North America’s CEO Phil Solomon told me at Sebring, the hybrid design was intended to maximize the benefits of both technologies: “We wanted it to look the best it possibly could by taking advantage of the strength and lightness of carbon fiber while not losing the capability for easy repair that metal structures bring.”

Inside and out, the P2008 is luxurious. But how does it fly? Read More...

The Diamond Twin Star now has its own Austro AE300 turbo diesel engines

In seeming obedience to the time-honored directive on how to make a small fortune in the airline industry (start with a large one), the major people movers of the world are having a progressively more difficult time staying in business. From the purveyors of all cheap seats to those with additional classes of expensive buckets, only a continuing series of consolidations has rescued several of the major lines from having to park their airplanes in the desert sun and try some other line of work. We can only wonder how long it will be before, no matter what the destination or stage length, we’ll all be flying on either Unideltamerica or Britluftqantas.

Perhaps surprisingly, the pilot market to fly such aircraft is still fairly strong. Airline flying may not be what it once was, but it’s still near the peak of the aviation pyramid. Pay is good, time off is plentiful and perks are generous. Airline flying remains perhaps the most sought-after and competitive job in aviation, and the universal means to that end is a commercial/ATP license, an instrument rating and a multi-engine ticket.

These days, there are three new models of twin-engine aircraft amenable to the trainer role, all readily available to the UNDs and Embry-Riddles of the world: the recently introduced Tecnam P2006T, still something of a newcomer in the industry; Piper’s evergreen Seminole, the preeminent twin trainer in intermittent production since 1978; and Diamond Aircraft’s DA42 Twin Star.

Classroom Or Boardroom
Of these, the Diamond Twin Star is perhaps equally applicable to both the owner-flown and training market. By now, most pilots know the story of the Twin Star’s growing pains, but even the original airplane was an excellent adaptation to the multi-engine training role and the owner-flown market.

Diamond Aircraft, based in Weiner Neustadt, Austria, marketed the majority of its airplanes in places where avgas already was becoming scarce, so it was no big surprise that the first Twin Star featured a pair of FADEC-controlled Thielert turbo diesels. These engines are operationally closer to jets than to piston powerplants in all aspects except price, and they’re designed specifically to burn jet fuel. Perhaps ironically, the turbo diesel engines aren’t certified to burn diesel fuel (assuming you could find any at airports). Read More...

Nimble, solid, lovely, well-built and what a hoot to fly

A high, dense line of clouds has moved over Great Barrington Airport (GBR) in western Massachusetts. My erstwhile Remos demo pilot, recent Embry-Riddle grad Ron Glazer, has added an extra leg to his East Coast swing so I can fly the 2010 Remos GX (Aviator II edition). And I’m grateful: It’s a beautiful afternoon as we cruise over the lush, tree-covered undulation of country hills, farmland and quaint New England villages below. The GX motors happily along. And what I’ve noticed since right after takeoff keeps me smiling: the airplane’s sublime handling qualities.

The GX is one of the most vigorously promoted S-LSA in the U.S. market. Remos (www.remos.com) said a year or so ago that its goal was to be number one in America. Notably, the company posted 2009’s highest FAA registration numbers, in a decidedly down economic year, with 32 aircraft—one ahead of the CZAW SportCruiser (now the PiperSport). The German-based manufacturer has since refined its flagship airplane continuously. Well established in Europe since its debut in 1997, the company has a new factory an hour from Berlin and provides a consistent high-profile presence at major air shows here and abroad.

Until now, my experience was limited to admiration: the cute pod/boom lines, smooth, first-class composite construction of the bird and the gorgeous cockpit finish had never failed to impress. But I had missed out on the pleasure of its winged company.

The German-built Remos GX can climb at 1050 fpm and has a range of 745 nm. Remos demo pilot Ron Glazer (right) prepares to take James Lawrence up for slow flight, stalls and a series of landings.

Nice to be able to say then that I haven’t flown another LSA that felt more agreeably balanced, effortless to fly and well-mannered. Every aircraft has its balance of “Wow!” and “Hmmm...” attributes. Some are stable but drive stiff as a truck. Some are so twitchy you want to fly them with two fingers. Some need lots of rudder. Some are rather lifeless and not much fun to fly.

Most LSA are a breeze to fly. They’re designed as recreational aircraft, so our perceptions of feel and performance are ultimately more about our subjective preferences than true attributes of the airplane. For example, ultralight-style, Dacron-envelope covered LSA generally won’t feel as tight, smooth, solid and weighty as a $125,000 composite bird.

Still, the GX’s friendliness is a direct result of solid aerodynamic engineering. That discussion has to include the push-pull control tube linkage, which delivers smooth, rather light stick forces: No muscling required here, but no overt twitchiness either. Rudder input is nicely harmonized with the stick, too. After overdoing it initially, Ron Glazer has me do quick left/right bank reversals with no rudder input at all—the poor man’s Dutch roll. Read More...

Cirrus Design now offers a turbocharged model with a factory Continental

Has it really been a full decade since Alan and Dale Klapmeier introduced the first version of the airplane that would eventually conquer the general aviation world? Is it really possible that the “new age” of general aviation aircraft has been with us for nearly a dozen years, heralding such innovations as carbon-fiber construction, full airframe parachutes, multiscreen electronic instruments and a BMW 5 series interior? Did someone invent the airplane of the future and forget to tell us?

Cirrus has been a consistent leader in producing aircraft that embrace 21st century technology, not only in construction materials and techniques but in avionics, aerodynamics and creature comforts. The Columbia (now Cessna Corvalis) line of singles and the Diamond models have brought new ideas to the marketplace, enticing buyers with more options. While changes haven’t all been earthshaking, they’ve represented a steady improvement in the breed. Cirrus has chosen to introduce new features one at a time, as they’re ready.

Such is exactly the case with the new Cirrus SR22T. Cirrus Aircraft recently flew a new 22T out from the factory in Duluth, Minn., for us to fly. In my job evaluating airplanes, I meet a variety of check pilots, and Matt Bergwall was one of the most thoroughly prepared I’ve come across. He was way ahead of me on every question, and there was nothing he needed to refer to the factory. It’s nice to work with pros.

The motivation for the newest version of the SR22 was directly related to the industry’s concern over continuing availability of leaded avgas. Then too, there’s also some concern about continued availability of avgas of any kind. Mobil already has dropped avgas from its inventory, and Chevron recently made allusions to “realigning” its avgas suppliers. Any way you read the signs, it’s apparent that avgas supplies are contracting worldwide, and 100LL may be disappearing altogether in the not-too-distant future.

Accordingly, Teledyne Continental Motors began work a few years ago on a big-bore, TSIO-550 engine that would run on lead-free, 94 octane avgas. The new mill, technically known as a TSIO-550K, employs a 7.5:1 compression ratio rather than the standard 8.5:1 ratio employed on the 100 octane LL engines.

The new Continental is rated for 315 hp at 2,500 rpm and 36 inches mp continuous, and retains that rating all the way to cruise height. Once you’re off and headed uphill, you can pretty much set power and forget it. (In the full-blown version, currently utilized on the Lancair IVP, the engine is rated for 350 hp at 2,800 rpm and 38 inches mp).

In order to maintain cool heads under the cowling, the new 550K utilizes several minor mods to improve airflow. The updated TCM powerplant mounts additional NACA vents to streamline cooling flow and some other minor cowling mods. There’s also a minor mod to the nosewheel fairing. Read More...

Light-sport floatplane that's a joy to fly

America has far more lakes than airports. By itself, my home state of Minnesota has more lakes than the entire nation has airports. Given this 50:1 advantage, floatplanes or seaplanes make a lot of sense; there are many places you can land, plus you can reach interesting locations you never considered in a land plane.

Lucky me. I’ve gotten to fly lots of light floatplanes and I get a huge smile on my face every time I launch from water or splash down in a lake. The sensation has no match in landplanes. Once you’ve flown a floatplane, you’ll forever look at flying through a new lens.

Imagine flying a mere wingspan above the water, safely…hopping over small islands and zooming down to the water’s surface on the far side, always landing directly into the wind, taxiing up to a dock or beaching on the sand or stopping to do a little fishing while standing on one float. Let me put a finer point on it: If you haven’t tried float flying before, you’re missing out on one of the truly fun things to do with an aircraft.

Two drawbacks to floatplanes are price—water-capable airplanes can easily cost more than your house—plus some loss of performance or carrying capacity. However, consider light-sport floatplanes and amphibians. They dramatically lower the price point, and some perform as well as their water-averse landplane counterparts in the LSA fleet.

Assuming you take the bait, where might you go to find the LSA float-plane experience?

Who’s Got The Floatplane?
Based in Sebring, Fla., Float Planes and Amphibs (FPNA, www.fpna.com) is an amazingly versatile light-aviation organization. They cater to floatplane enthusiasts, but the company represents a wide range of light-sport aircraft, including powered parachutes and trikes. Plus, they do training in multiple locations.

FPNA’s Capetown floatplane can be purchased for less than a hundred grand. That’s the base price, and you’ll surely find some accessories irresistible. Yet floats alone for larger GA airplanes can exceed that cost.

The Capetown is the FPNA variation of the Aeroprakt A-22, the original design from Ukraine. It’s distinctive on any ramp because of what appear to be acres of window, mostly clear, bubbled-out doors and a large skylight. Plus the fuselage aft of the cockpit is see-through. If you prefer to be surrounded by thin sheets of aluminum, the Capetown may not be your airplane. But if you like sightseeing from aloft, few airplanes hold a candle to the Capetown. Read More...

CubCrafters’ top LSA offers a big surprise when the throttle goes forward

I used to have a buddy in the drag-racing business who claimed that given enough horsepower, you could push a Peterbilt through the Mach in a quarter mile. That’s perhaps a little extreme, but there’s no question horsepower solves (and creates) a number of problems associated with motorcycles, cars, boats and airplanes. Back in the ‘60s and ‘70s, I watched Lyle Shelton build his surplus F8F Bearcat race plane Rare Bear in the hangar next to mine at Compton, Calif. There was no question that more power was high on the list of gotta-haves.

Lyle replaced the Bearcat’s P&W R-2800 engine with a huge Wright R-3350, and in combination with water injection, higher turbo boost and a number of other tricks, Lyle claimed the engine
was churning out well over 3,000 hp. I never found out if that was an actual dynamometer readout or just a dream, but he did have remarkable success with the airplane on the air-racing circuit—six national championships.

Such raw power may also be a key to Rare Bear’s world time-to-climb prop/piston record (91.9 seconds from sea level to 3,000 meters—9,843 feet) and its three-kilometer propeller speed record (529 mph).

The folks at CubCrafters in Yakima, Wash., don’t have any such grand plans for their Carbon Cub SS, but the airplane certainly is the most enthusiastic LSA you’re liable to encounter. Though CubCrafters’ Carbon Cub (previously known as the Super Sport Cub) is saddled with the same 1,320-pound gross weight limitation as on other LSAs, the airplane sports an impressive 180 hp, the most powerful engine in the class. The Carbon Cub’s engine is a new modified mill known as the CC340, developed by ECi of San Antonio, Texas, and CubCrafters, specifically for application to the Carbon Cub product.

The SS’s motive force is a variation on the famous Lycoming O-360 powerplant, with special emphasis on weight reduction.

Accordingly, the CC340 engine has an all-up weight of only 242 pounds. It features a lightweight CATO composite propeller, 40-amp alternator, a purpose-built ultralight starter and electronic ignition. The result is 35-50 pounds less weight on the nose compared to a standard O-360 Lycoming installed in a Piper Archer or in CubCrafters’ own Top Cub. Unlike the Lycoming 360, the CC340 develops its full 180 hp from only 340 cubic inches of displacement.

In addition to lighter weight forward of the firewall, the SS features remarkable weight reductions in other areas. In contrast to the Super Cub, the Carbon Cub contains 50% fewer parts, and the total airframe is 250 pounds lighter than its Piper predecessor. The fuselage is of 4130 aluminum, and the wing is the traditional Piper USA35B airfoil. Read More...

Yes, it is a NEW airplane

To stare out at the world from either seat in a Waco is to wonder where we’ve been and where we’re going. At first, it seems a confusing mélange: struts and brace wires and fairings and wings and wind and sky everywhere.

This is definitely old-school flying: a throwback to an easier time when skies were uncongested and life was less complicated. In those days, most airplanes had one round engine; fixed, conventional gear; and little more than needle, ball and airspeed on the panel. Most often, the sky above or the earth below (assuming you weren’t inverted) was separated from the aviator by nothing but air. Open cockpits, goggles and leather helmets were the rule rather than the exception, though with an eye to the future, Waco was also building a few cabin biplanes.

It’s true, from a distance, the 2010 Waco YMF-5D doesn’t look all that different from the old Waco UPF-7 of the ‘30s, and that’s deliberate rather than accidental. Waco Classic Aircraft of Battle Creek, Mich., wanted to preserve the classic, art-deco lines of the original airplane, and to that end, you can be forgiven if you regard a new Waco as an incredibly well-built replica.

Under the skin, however, you’ll find a myriad of improvements, something like 300 in all. After all, despite appearances, the 2010 Waco is a new machine, from spinner to tailwheel. Just as in the 1930s, each Waco is built entirely by hand, involving some 5,000 hours of labor. The fuselage is now constructed of 4130 steel tubing rather than the milled steel used in the 1930s. The Clark Y wing is still meticulously glued together with Sitka spruce, the original material, and the airplane is fabric covered, both highly labor-intensive pursuits.

It’s a design true to the original concept of the Waco UPF. A team of fanatical engineers and craftsmen set about producing a modernized, authentic replica of the antique biplane in 1986, and since then, Waco Classic has produced some 120 examples.

If you deal in averages, that’s only five airplanes a year, a rate that would bankrupt other companies, but Waco is a very small manufacturer, not looking to sell in vol-ume. In fact, the very scarcity of the type unquestionably contributes to its novelty value on the ramp and in the sky. Waco owner Peter Bowers purchased the company in 2008, and he hopes to eventually sustain production at eight airplanes a year. Read More...

We fly the latest turbocharged Corvalis two years after Cessna bought the Columbia line of composite singles

If you fly most of your flights on the West Coast or rely on your airplane for on-demand business or personal travel to virtually any destination, turbocharging is more than a convenience. I’m a perfect example of the practical application of turbocharging. Three of the six airplanes I’ve owned over the last 40 years have been turbocharged, and there’s no comparison between the places I’ve gone with and without turbocharging.

These days, I fly a normally aspirated Mooney that used to fly behind an aftermarket Rajay turbo. (It’s a long story, not worth telling.) Last August, Pilot Peggy and I wanted to take another couple flying and considered our options. Santa Barbara was a good possibility, San Diego another reasonable destination—both on the coast.

Unfortunately, Big Bear wasn’t so reasonable. Big Bear is a mountain strip 6,750 feet up in the San Bernardino Mountains and the most spectacular choice. Density altitude at Big Bear on a typical summer day can reach 8,500 feet, a height at which the family Mooney would be down to about 70% power. The runway at Big Bear is long and usually departs over a lake, but I wouldn’t even consider flying out of that airport with a gross load on a typically warm, 75-degree F summer day.

The Corvalis models feature gull-wing doors and side-stick controls. The spacious cockpit measures 49x49 inches, and its plush seats are reminiscent of a luxury sports car.

A turbo reduces the risk in such situations. The case for turbos is easy to make for those pilots with a legitimate use for a blower, and even for those who want one simply for the extra margin of safety, regardless of any real performance justification. That’s one reason so many manufacturers offer both a normally aspirated and a turbocharged version of the same airplane.

From Columbia To Cessna
So it is with Cessna’s Corvalis. Under the Columbia banner, the models were known as the Columbia 350 (normally aspirated) and 400 (turbocharged), and Cessna’s renamed versions are the Corvalis and Corvalis TT, respectively. (“TT” stands for twin-turbocharged.) From the outset, Lance Neibauer’s Columbia airplanes seemed an unusual choice for stablemates to Cessna’s all-aluminum, high-wing singles. When the giant Wichita company purchased little Columbia Aircraft in 2007, the new Cessna products presented an interesting contrast to the time-honored designs Cessna has become famous for in the last half century.

If Cessna has been criticized for its lack of innovation, the Columbia 350 and 400 presented the company in a very different light. The new airplanes were a flash of innovation, as modern as the new millennium and possessed of performance that matched their modern appearance. The Columbias were part of the new age of light aircraft. Like Cirrus and Diamond, Columbia found new ways to smooth more and more rough edges off what had come to be regarded as the conventional airplane. Read More...

Elegant, sexy, high-performing...and oh so friendly

It’s not every day you fly an airplane where sensuality in form joins a flying function so affable, you wonder if you’re flying the same airplane you climbed into. Case in point: the TL-3000 Sirius, from TL-Ultralight. The Czech company, which has delivered 650 light-sport-style aircraft worldwide, makes the excellent Sting S3 composite low-wing S-LSA (the all-time #10 U.S. seller).

Sirius is a carbon-fiber composite, a sleek, sculptured beauty that evokes, in profile and planform, the clean, flowing lines of a thoroughly modern airplane. TL’s engineers used CAD programs and extensive physical prototyping to minimize drag, from the engine-hugging, “conformed cowl” design, to the flap and aileron actuator housings on top of the wing. Yet Sirius’s sensuous lines belie a flight experience that’s anything but haughty. This airplane has the heart of a tomboy. To illustrate, let’s jump into the middle of my demo flight with SportairUSA’s chief cook and bottle washer, President Bill Canino.

Classy, Smooth And Friendly
We’ve just climbed up through a hole in the broken deck of clouds. Performing maneuvers, I’m handling the airplane, especially one as elegant as this, with decorum and kid-glove respectability. I would no more yank Sirius around the sky than I would jerk a date all over the dance floor.

Seeing my reticence to “man up” at our near-stall speeds, and no doubt stifling a yawn or two borne of his decades of flight experience, former Air Force pilot Bill says, “Here, hold my beer and let me show you what this airplane can do.” (Just kidding about the beer.)

He takes the leather-covered right yoke (Sirius also has dual, adjustable rudder pedals and hydraulic toe brakes—great for training) and sets up a simulated short final approach at 40 knots. “We do this low-speed maneuverability training a lot,” he says of his CFI training operation in Little Rock, Ark. “We have owners set up a 30-degree bank at 40 knots, where we’re just nibbling at the stall.”

“Okay,” I say, “you’re turning base, near the stall—whoa, there’s an airplane! Turn, turn, turn!”

To demonstrate, he rolls the yoke hard to the right a lot faster than I expect, the left wing shoots up, and we’re going the other way—all this at 40 knots. But the fun isn’t over. He gives the airplane back to me and barks, “Okay, there’s another airplane—quick, turn, turn!” and I roll the yoke fast, back to the left with some rudder, and by golly, down comes that left wing, quick as you please.

For half a minute, we super-Dutch-roll through the sky like a couple of kids who drank too much Kool-Aid, and the airplane—at 40 knots, remember—hangs right in there. “Wow!” I say, genuinely impressed. I’ve flown some LSA that don’t roll that fast at cruise speed—true story. Read More...

Largest of the Bonanzas, the G36 nevertheless retains the type’s excellent performance and control harmony

It’s hard not to love a Bonanza, especially if it’s the stretched model 36. The Bonanza has been around in one form or another for some 64 years, and though the current six-seat models are a far cry from the originals, it’s easy to understand their longevity. Like many pilots, I’ve been flying F33s and A36s for as long as I’ve been a pilot, and I’ve come to regard them as the peak of the pyramid in many respects.

Technically, the model 36 was conceived as a stretched version of the E33A and introduced in 1968. The goal was to allow room for an additional row of seats and solve the CG problem on the four-seat Bonanzas. To that end, the cabin was stretched 10 inches and moved forward, relative to the wing. Beech added a pair of cargo doors on the aft starboard fuselage and the baggage compartment was omitted. The model 36 has been in continuous production ever since, accounting for some 4,700 airplanes.

If you’re looking for a normally aspirated, six-place machine with good speed, reasonable comfort and the best-harmonized controls in the industry, the Bonanza is the airplane to beat.

…And hardly anyone can.

These days, there are only two models in the normally aspirated six-seat class: the Cessna 206 Stationair and the G36 Bonanza. In configuration alone, you couldn’t imagine two airplanes more widely divergent in both mission and capability. The Stationair is a fixed-gear heavy hauler, designed primarily for utility transport, and the Bonanza is a plush, comfortable cruiser, intended more for luxury, cross-country travel.

The differences are so significant that some prospective buyers of either type expand the class to include the turbocharged, cabin-class Piper Matrix. The Matrix is an unpressurized Mirage that offers a considerably reduced empty weight by reason of the pressurization plumbing left in the factory-parts bins. The difference is a significant 177 pounds, almost exactly one passenger’s worth. Also, not insignificantly, the Matrix enjoys a base price that’s $130,000 lower than that of the Mirage. Accordingly, the Matrix is the world’s newest six-seat, cabin-class single. Defining cabin class often hinges on an airstair door, though some pilots argue it relates equally to the 2+4 conference-seating configuration.

The G36 Bonanza’s model designation pays tribute to Garmin’s remarkable G1000 flat-panel avionics suite, the system that’s now installed in virtually all new Cessna, Beech, Diamond and Mooney piston products. Beech’s Garmin package encompasses practically every feature of the G1000, including the GFC700 autopilot with altitude and rate of climb preselect, terrain avoidance, Traffic Information System uplink, yaw damper, six-place intercom, dual WAAS GPS, Mode S transponder, XM radio, Synthetic Vision Technology and a number of other features. There ARE some options available on the G36 Bonanza, but the delivered airplane comes fully equipped and more than IFR-capable. Also standard on the 2010 Bonanza is the Garmin GTS 820 Traffic Advisory System that acts as an ADS-B “in” component and uses active interrogations of transponders to provide traffic awareness. Read More...

Mature, stable, fun, comfortable: Evektor’s superb Sportstar max offers the whole package

I stand by the Evektor SportStar Max at the 2nd Annual Midwest LSA Expo in Mount Vernon, Ill., talking with a gentleman (let’s call him Gary), who epitomizes the typical “hot prospect” to buy a high-end S-LSA. Around 55, approaching his retirement years, Gary can afford any LSA on the market. Though he has never flown, he knows what he wants: When I suggest a variety of LSA types, including a lower-priced cage-and-fabric model, he shakes his head.

“No, I don’t want an ‘ultralighty’ type, I want something like this,” he says, sweeping his hand toward the Max, “that looks like a real airplane.” I nod my head and ask about his profession. “I’m an engineer.” I nod again. Having just shared nine straight hours in this beautiful, solid, refined Max with another lifelong engineer, Evektor’s northeast regional “partner” Art Tarola, I understand his attraction: The Max is an airplane any engineer would love.

In the air all the day before, Art and I had winged west from Allentown, Pa., toward a storm front. Smooth and beautiful as we cruised above the long glacial ridges of Pennsylvania, the flight turned gnarlier by midday. We were forced to overnight in Dayton, Ohio. But the flight afforded a perfect opportunity to know an LSA in a way I rarely do—by flying it all day in a variety of conditions.

The many virtues of the Max became evident the more we flew and the more I talked with Art. He wrangles his AB Flight full-service LSA operation, (www.abflight.com) in Allentown, and is as knowledgeable and experienced in recreational flight as anyone out there. And being an engineer, he appreciates not only the things you see, like refined (remember that word) aerodynamic construction and high-quality fit and finish, but the things you don’t see, too.

Design And Construction

Art’s hyperenthusiastic engineer’s brain kicks into overdrive when discussing the Max. After telling me at least 20 times that Czech Republic’s Evektor has designed and built quality aircraft for 40 years—it becomes a running joke between us—he describes how it manifests in the airframe’s composite and metal construction. It’s not only bonded with space-age adhesives but also riveted the way GA aircraft have been for decades.

“This is one strong and solid airplane,” he says, eyes all a-twinkle. “On the IFR version, every piece is electrically bonded to every other to eliminate any chance of a spark from lightning strikes.”

God In The Details

The company’s designers and builders love to constantly tinker with the airplane. “That’s something guys like me really appreciate,” says Art. “They’ve been building airplanes for…how long?”

“Forty years,” I shoot back.

“Who told you that?”

“Can’t remember.”

Case in point: The airplane’s redesigned interior reflects Evektor’s commitment to refinement that transcends routine periodic upgrades. The current Max represents several iterations down the line from the original SportStar—the first S-LSA certified and sold in America.

Changes include a new, graceful stick; a center console with reclining armrest; automotive-style, upholstered side panels that run to the firewall and sport handy map pockets; another map pocket; a cup holder at the front base of each seat (great for Art’s malnourishment bags of Nutter Butters and chocolate-chip cookies) and a redesigned panel trim package.

The day before, he had quipped: “I keep waiting for the flight attendant to come forward and ask us what we want to drink.” Indeed, if it were LSA-legal, someone could almost curl up in the ample 6.2 cubic feet of cargo area behind the seats. Just big enough to fit a golf bag, max baggage weight is 55 pounds, better than many LSA.

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Jacobson passed his checkride in this cessna 170A in 1962, and look at it now

One of the benefits of writing about airplanes for a living is that I’m often entrusted to fly some truly wonderful machines. I flew half a dozen different airplanes at the 2010 Oshkosh AirVenture, and though there was one that cost $1.7 million and carried six people at 220 knots, by far the most impressive of the lot was the smallest, the oldest, the least expensive and the only one that was used. “Well used” might be a better description. The Cessna 170A in question was built in 1950 (and yes, you probably saw this coming), but it was a prize winner. It was the inevitable beneficiary of a discontinuous, 25-year renovation.

It belongs to Stephen E. “Jake” Jacobson of Ft. Worth, Texas. Jake’s father and three partners purchased the all-metal Cessna for $3,500 from a pipeline patrol company in the early 1960s when Jake was a teenager. The 170A was indeed well used. It had 5,000 hours on it in only 10 years of service, but because it had been a working machine, flown practically every day and maintained religiously, it was in sound mechanical condition.

Jake took most of his early training in his dad’s 170A, even earning his private and commercial tickets in the all-aluminum Cessna. His dad later became the sole owner of the 170A, and the airplane remained in the family until 1972, then was sold and moved to Florida, sold again and relocated to Arizona. Meanwhile, Jake had moved on to a U.S. Navy military career flying attack aircraft off the carriers USS Oriskany and USS Roosevelt. Jake flew combat missions over Vietnam during the height of the conflict. He spent 2,000 hours in military jets before retiring from the Navy.

Jake continued to have a soft spot for the little Cessna and caught up with it in 1985. “It was up for sale at Falcon Field in Phoenix, and I jumped at the chance to buy it unlicensed and ‘as is’ for $9,500,” says Jake. “I was so attached to the airplane for sentimental reasons, I was going to buy it no matter what, and I didn’t bother with a prebuy inspection from an A&P mechanic.”

Jake comments that he learned quickly the inadvisability of such a rash action. “This was not a smart move. I tried to get it licensed at a local shop (in Phoenix) before flying it home to San Francisco. After writing checks for over three grand, the best I could negotiate was a ferry permit for 10 hours/30 days,” Jacobson explained. “Signing off the annual inspection at this shop would have meant spending big bucks and leaving it in Phoenix for several weeks.” As a result, Jake flew his airplane to the San Francisco area on the ferry permit and initiated the rebuild project at Porterville in the nearby San Joaquin Valley. Read More...

Diamond Aircraft’s entry-level trainer hopes to lure new pilots to the company’s innovative line of aircraft

The lady in my life, Pilot Peggy, is in the process of learning to fly. She started in a Piper Archer, switched to a new Skyhawk S when the Archer went off leaseback, and most recently, dropped back to a Cessna 152 because of its $90/hour rental rate.

Along comes Oshkosh AirVenture 2010, and one of my assignments was to fly the newest version of Diamond’s DA20-C1 Eclipse. I had flown the DA20 several times before, and I was well aware of what a fun machine it was. It had been two years since my last visit, and I was immediately taken with the airplane’s remarkable adaptation to the training role. I couldn’t help speculating what a wonderful airplane this would make for Peggy, or any other student pilot looking for a trainer, that’s as much fun as it is instructive.

If you’re looking for a true two-seat, teaching machine these days, and you’d prefer to stay with a new, certified aircraft, there are only three real candidates. In Peggy’s case, her experience with the Archer and Skyhawk proved they could be adapted to flight training, but we always knew they were too much airplane for the mission. If you rent a four-seater, you pay for the privilege of hauling those four seats through the sky, regardless of whether they’re all occupied.

The only certified 2-seat machines that could be construed as dedicated trainers are the American Champion 7EC Champ, the aforementioned Diamond DA-20 C1 and the Liberty XL2. The Champ came first and has been around for decades, but the trend has been away from tailwheels in favor of nosedraggers. The moral is that the early bird very well may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese. (Yes, I’m aware there’s a long list of capable LSAs coming on the market for flight training at reasonable rental prices, but these aren’t yet readily available in most parts of the country.) The Liberty XL2 is the most recent addition to the class, premiering in 2005 and employing a FADEC version of the same engine installed in the Eclipse. By the end of 2009, Liberty had sold about 120 airplanes, so there’s no question they’ll be a factor in the training market for the foreseeable future.

At Oshkosh, I flew the C1 with Diamond demo pilot and instructor Rob Johnson, an old friend from several other flight evaluations and a confirmed C1 lover. Johnson is more than just a demo pilot, however. He actually purchased an Eclipse and uses it to instruct in and around London, Ontario, Canada, where the C1s are built. His knowledge of the Eclipse extends from the production line to the sky, and I can’t imagine a better check pilot on Diamond products.

The C1 Eclipse (Diamond had the model name on a real airplane long before the better-known VLJ) has been around since 1998, and it has consistently endeared itself to a decade of pilots. The type was introduced as a follow-on to the 81 hp Rotax 912-powered Katana. The C1 was offered with a Continental IO-240 engine rated for 125 hp. Read More...

Expedition Aircraft introduces a tailwheel version of its bush-country workhorse

Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings,” wrote Gordon Lightfoot in his wrenching ballad about the sinking of the ore carrier Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975, “in the rooms of her ice-water mansions.” And on the eastern shore of Lake Huron, near Georgian Bay and about 150 miles north of Ontario, Canada, Expedition Aircraft quietly goes about the business of making some of the toughest aircraft on earth. Born of the legendary gales and fierce storms that batter this part of Canada, Expedition introduces a new contender in the heavyweight bush arena: Bigfoot.

If Expedition Aircraft doesn’t ring a bell, its parent company might: Found Aircraft. Bud Found started the company in 1946 to design and build ultratough airplanes for the backcountry market. Not just any backcountry, but the rugged northern Canadian wilderness, from the Mackenzie River to the Arctic coast. The first Found aircraft was certified in the U.S. and Canada in 1964 as the FBA-2C, and could operate on floats, skis and tires while delivering impressive payloads to the far-flung bush country. Somewhat odd-looking, the FBA-2C became popular with bush pilots operating out of the remote northern territories, and gained a reputation for being safe, tough and reliable—a reputation that continued for 40 years.

A formidable beast did emerge from the woods, both mysterious and a little frightening, and now promises to open a new chapter in backcountry operations.

In 1996, Found Aircraft began development on an improvement to the FBA-2C. They brought in de Havilland’s former VP of Engineering and Director of Research, among other consultants. The idea was to improve on an already legendary aircraft, and open the potential market to general aviation pilots. The result was the Bush Hawk-XP, which received FAA certification in 2000. The Expedition line of aircraft was born, and Oshkosh 2007 saw the unveiling of the Expedition E350, with tricycle gear and an interior that was a little more genteel than the Bush Hawk-XP. Certified by the FAA in 2008, the E350 is in service all over the backcountry today, with the same reputation for rugged safety, hauling capacity and reliability.

Rumors and sightings of a tailwheel version of the E350 began circulating around the backcountry last year. Like its namesake, a formidable beast did emerge from the woods, both mysterious and a little frightening, and now promises to open a new chapter in backcountry operations. Sure, Bigfoot lives up to its name, but unlike its hairy cousin, this beast does things a little differently.

Bigfoot Groupies
I meet Ted Dirstein, Chief Pilot for Expedition Aircraft, and I immediately realize he has the best job in the world. Ted gets to fly Bigfoot and demonstrate its capabilities to pilots everywhere. I’ve gone out to look at Bigfoot at AOPA Summit and have seen other pilots share my inquisitiveness, doing the pose like in the old RCA Victor ads where the dog is tilting its head at “His Master’s Voice.” From every angle, Bigfoot is intriguing. It’s not ugly, but it’s not “pretty.” It’s attractive in the same way that old Land Rovers and Willys Jeeps and International Scouts are attractive—it looks chunky and cool. Read More...

The pioneering aircraft maker to be acquired by a Chinese company

In a milestone development, Cirrus Industries Inc. officials announced on Feb 28th that Cirrus Aircraft will be sold to China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Co. (CAIGA). The decision to merge with, and then be acquired by the Chinese aerospace firm is partially motivated by Cirrus’ need for more funding to further develop their single-engine personal “Vision” jet, a project that Cirrus CEO and President, Brent Wouters, says will cost a total of about $140 million dollars. Cirrus has spent about $60 million on the jet to this point.

Wouters said Cirrus and CAIGA began discussions in 2009, with Cirrus looking for another source of funding, and CAIGA looking to become a leader in the burgeoning Chinese aviation market. "They're about a $2.9 billion company and they're well capitalized and they want to grow general aviation and be a general leader in aviation worldwide,” Wouters explained. In addition to its acquisition of Cirrus, CAIGA last year acquired Epic Air, in Oregon, and is bidding on other American aerospace firms.

The deal will be finalized in mid-2011 once regulatory approvals have been secured. The acquisition deal is expected to help Cirrus expand into other markets despite the economic struggles the company has experienced. According to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), Cirrus’ single-engine aircraft shipments fell by 51% in 2009 and another 2% last year, following an overall drop in the industry of 55% in 2009 and another 8% in 2010.

Despite concerns about lost jobs and issues in quality control if the company were to move its manufacturing facilities out of their current location in Duluth, Minnesota, Wouters says Cirrus is committed to keeping everything status quo. "Jobs and job growth are going to be here. Secondly, it will expedite our product development efforts. Everybody knows we have a jet product underway,” Wouters assured. Founded by Alan and Dale Klapmeier, Cirrus’ majority stockholder since 2001 is Arcapita Inc., a Bahraini investment bank. Details about the merger were not disclosed.

Highly refined, quick and lively, light and strong: What’s not to like?

In American Indian lore, the coyote is a mythic totem, known variously as the prairie wolf, God's dog and the trickster. The coyote was respected for its intelligence, resourcefulness and adaptability. As an airplane, the Rans Aircraft Coyote II seems aptly named by making the most of its straightforward aerodynamic pedigree: It's lean, attractive, playful, and handles the elements athletically and with minimal fuss.

A Long Pedigree

"Just as a bit of trivia," Rans Aircraft's eclectic founder and head honcho Randy Schlitter says, "if we lined up wingtip to wingtip the 4,500 airplanes Rans has sold since the company began, it would stretch more than 25 miles."

Randy likes to conjure abstract visuals like that. His artist/engineer/
entrepreneur mind has brought forth, since 1983, a virtual air force of interesting aircraft, including a lifting body, ultralights that can handle brisk Kansas winds, full-on lightweight aerobats and both production and kit versions of popular models such as the current S-6LS and S-7LS high-wings and S-19LS all-aluminum low-winger.

A Randy Schlitter-designed airplane is a pilot's delight. It's impeccably hand-constructed and can be counted on for inventive design implementations in the service of performance and pilot contentment. The Coyote II S-6LS in particular is the classic Rans design: fundamentally functional, cute and spirited, but always in faithful service of number one—the pilot.
I had the pleasure of flying the ELS version a few months ago when it was briefly offered as a $63,000 S-LSA, which put it head to head against other budget-focused LSA.

I had thought the Coyote, with its slip-cover frame that carries the light and airy look of the ultralight breed, would feel similar to those "budget" birds. But that was a merely skin-deep assumption.

Randy has certainly made good use of that iconic bolt-together tube-style construction, but the Coyote is, by no means, an "ultralighty" airplane: It's responsive yet stable; and feels tight, balanced and solid yet is thoroughly enjoyable to fly around the local patch. Poking through some chop, pulling in a couple notches of flaps to curve down into a short-field landing or trimming up for a nice, longish cruise, it behaves like a "real" airplane—with no hidden vulnerabilities or nasty surprises in its highly evolved construction and flying personality.

The Good Doggie

Coyote began life 28 years ago as a single-place, sewn Dacron-covered, 28 hp ultralight. In continuously refined production as an experimental two-seat kit since 1989, the official S-LSA version was ASTM certified in 2008.

Coyote has come a long, long way through a tuning process responsive to customer input—and Randy Schlitter's tirelessly creative brain. Some people are born to think natively outside the box. Far fewer also have the business acumen to produce excellent products and successfully pilot their company through major economic recessions—and in the aviation industry, yet!

All Rans airplanes are completely American made. More than 2,000 iterations of the venerable Coyote design have gone out to 50 countries, including Japan and Great Britain. There are specific reasons for success across national borders and a variety of pilot preferences. At the top of the S-6LS's brag list are a no-nonsense, fun-flying personality; economical operating cost and the hybrid airframe construction that melds a welded chrome-moly-steel passenger cage with an aluminum tube tail. The wings also conjoin beefy tube spars with metal ribs. The airplane is covered the tried-and-true way: with dope and fabric. The stabilized Dacron envelope, clear coated for a surprisingly beautiful, airtight finish, can still be had in the S-6ES kit version. Simply put, the Coyote II has quietly become one of the most popular single-engine sport airplanes ever made.
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