New models range from single seaters to four-place planes

Dan Johnson, president of the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association, is an expert on Light Sport Aircraft.

An amazing thing happened on the way to AERO 2011, Europe’s very popular show in the south of Germany. Light-Sport Aircraft (LSA) companies — a large and growing flock of 83 manufacturers that have provided an astounding 115 new aircraft models in the last six years — took off in two new directions. Companies known to build the flock of more than 2,000 Special LSAs in the USA are now beginning to offer four-seat (or larger) aircraft, while others are testing the market for single seaters.

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Dan Johnson, president of the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association, is an expert on Light Sport Aircraft.

While the Continental O-200 engine — used in several LSA — attains Chinese ownership, Lycoming appears to be making a stronger push to enlist LSA manufacturers. One example at AERO 2011 was the upgraded Tecnam Eaglet, which airshow visitors could compare with either Rotax or Lycoming O-233 power. The appearance difference was significant [Read more...]

Professional sports created the term “double header” to refer to two games played back to back. For the most part in aviation, show producers work hard to secure a part of the calendar where they don’t compete with other shows. [Read more...]

Dan Johnson, president of the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association, is an expert on Light Sport Aircraft.

One of the “diamonds in the rough” of the LSA movement has been the kit LSA or Experimental LSA or simply ELSA. For the first five years of Light-Sport Aircraft, fully manufactured Special Light-Sport Aircraft dominated the sales figures. With very few exceptions, ELSA were nowhere to be found. That’s begun to change, perhaps as voices have been getting louder about the prices of today’s well-equipped and surprisingly capable SLSA. Are ELSA a way to constrain the cost for consumers? Maybe.

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Dan Johnson, president of the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association, is an expert on Light Sport Aircraft.

If you’ll pardon a little fun in my title, I’m pleased to offer a report from Chairman Bob Woods on the seventh running of the Sebring U.S. Sport Aviation Expo, abbreviated by many to simply Sebring LSA Expo. The total number of exhibitors was 147, a small decline from last year. Aircraft on display numbered approximately 135, about the same as 2010 and including some new or returning exhibitors such as Kitfox, Pipistrel, and Diamond. The Popular Rotorcraft Association had a presence this year with a promise to increase its footprint in 2012.  Attendance was about 11,000, the same as last year and I observe this count is larger than many other so-called “major” airshows.

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Dan Johnson, president of the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association, is an expert on Light Sport Aircraft.

In the world of recreational flying — that portion of aviation that does NOT deal with transportation as a core activity — the Sun ’n Fun air show signals the beginning of the flying season.

While aviators in the southern states may have been active in January and February, much of the country has been coping with the extreme cold and an unusual amount of snowfall in 2011. Many aviators sincerely welcome Sun ’n Fun…both the literal sunshine and the aviation fun it permits.

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Dan Johnson, president of the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association, is an expert on Light Sport Aircraft.

Progressive Aerodyne and its popular SeaRey amphibian represent a current-day success sufficient to generate envy in most airframe sellers. Consider these results: The company delivered 31 kits in 2010, an average of 2.5 per month during a lousy year. Plus, in the three weeks after the Sebring LSA Expo, another 14 Sea­Rey kits were ordered, upping the monthly average to four.

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Dan Johnson, president of the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association, is an expert on Light Sport Aircraft.

In my rounds with videographer Dave Loveman at last month’s U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Fla., to shoot more LSA videos, we uncovered two new Special LSA models that were not previously on the semi-official SLSA List. I rushed to add them as I recently found out another FAA branch regularly uses our SLSA list — I was informed Aircraft Registration in Oklahoma uses this resource before issuing at least some new registrations so it’s in a seller’s best interest to be sure their models are on the list.

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Dan Johnson, president of the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association, is an expert on Light Sport Aircraft.

You just have to marvel how a dynamic new industry unfolds. No matter your level of expertise, no one can foretell the future of the grand experiment we call Light-Sport aviation. So, what’s the irony? After all the years I’ve released the results of Jan Fridrich’s laborious market share assessments using FAA data, one company has finally displaced perpetual #2 producer, American Legend. The star that rose is, of course, Piper, who not quite one year ago announced it would distribute the then-SportCruiser. That model (with its own winding tale) had done respectably well on its own and Piper’s legacy brand brought an impressive growth spurt even during a very weak economy. Yet, even as Piper rose from 6th place last year to dislodge the Legend Cub producer, the Vero Beach outfit ended its relationship with Czech Sport Aircraft. Who could’ve predicted that… in less than one year’s time?

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Dan Johnson, president of the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association, is an expert on Light Sport Aircraft.

How many is too many? As the Light-Sport Aircraft industry has now reached 114 FAA approved models, some have started to say, “Enough!”

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