The retro-look Sam LS, from Canada, which first flew in March, was on display at EAA AirVenture this week, and copies are for sale as a kit. Company president Thierry Zibi told AVweb the aircraft is available as a kit or as sub-kits, for those who prefer to work on the project in smaller chunks — the wings, fuselage, and empennage can all be purchased separately, at prices ranging from $2,600 to $7,300. All those kits together cost $29,000, and the cost is the same whether they are purchased all at once or piecemeal.
A complete kit with a Rotax engine and Dynon Skyview avionics is about $65,000 and takes about 900 hours to build.“There is really no construction, it is more assembly,” says Zibi. The all-metal airplane features tandem seating and a canopy that can be removed for open-cockpit flying. It also can be configured to fly with either a nosewheel or tailwheel.
