Francessco Rizzi flys left-seat in an Alitalia Airbus for his day job, but his passion is decidedly old-school. He has designed the Aerolab Sport Camper to meet the LSA standards in the U.S. and Europe, as well as sell as a kit. The airplane is an open-cockpit, radial-engine powered taildragger. The wings are even made of wood. The instruments have an old style but reveal modern amenities — such as an electrical system. The radial engines — you have a choice of two — are also both modern. The Parmatechnik Mikron IIIC is an 80-hp engine out of the Czech republic and the Rotec R2800 is a 110-hp model out of Australia. The Aerolab also comes in three versions, a biplane, a low-wing, and a parasol, high-wing. The complete kit, including engine, is under $50,000. There is no price for the certified LSA version yet, but the plan is to have it ready by next year’s Oshkosh.
