LSA

Pipistrel has sold 15 Alpha trainer aircraft to a flight school in California, the company’s largest-ever U.S. order. The flight school, WorldWide Wings, operates facilities in California and Florida that train pilots from all over the world, especially India. WWW director Naushad Imam said his flight school had been looking for a “suitable LSA ab-initio […]

The sport pilot rule allows anyone who wants a seaplane rating to do it with five or so hours of training and then an endorsement from an evaluating CFI. AVweb’s Paul Bertorelli recently did the rating at Jones Brothers Air and Sea Adventures in Tavares, Florida. Here’s his report. view on YouTube

Pal-V unveiled the production model for its “flying car,” the Pal-V Liberty, at the Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland on Tuesday. “The production model is the moment of truth,” said CEO Robert Dingemanse in a news release. “All certifications required for commercialization will be granted on the basis of this production model.” He said the […]

Ford Motor Company recently advertised their new line of truck frames as being made of military-grade aluminum. It’s a new twist on the old hype: made of aircraft-grade aluminum. I suppose the salespeople figure: What could be better than aircraft-grade (or military-grade) aluminum, right? After all, you wouldn’t want a truck frame made of beer-can […]

Vashon Aircraft, a new company based near Seattle, Washington, said this week it’s ready to offer to the market its new S-LSA, the Ranger R7, which will sell for $99,500. Led by CEO John Torode, who is also the founder and CEO of the Dynon avionics company, the staff has been developing the aircraft for […]

Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) has certified the Pipistrel Alpha Electro in its advanced ultralight category, the first certification of an electric aircraft in North America. The certification means the aircraft can be used commercially in its intended role as an economical trainer. Electricairplanes can’t qualify for the factory-built light sport category (S-LSA) because FAA […]

Last week, just as I was girding to launch into the savage hinterlands of central Florida where Sebring is situated, I got a note from Sebastien Heintz, of Zenith Aircraft. At the Sport Aviation Expo, he wanted me to build a rudder from one of the company’s new match-hole kits because he wished to make […]

Five years ago, one strain of conventional wisdom predicted that the demise of the Third Class medical would equal the demise of the light sport aircraft market, too. With BasicMed firmly entrenched, the reality is proving more mixed according to an AVweb canvass of the flight line at the Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring this […]

Now that it’s out of receivership and ramping up production, Flight Design General Aviation is turning its attention to the long-awaited C4 certified four-place aircraft. But as time has marched forward since the airplane was announced eight years ago, so has technology. In this podcast recorded at the Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Flight Design […]

For once, the Sport Aviation Expo caught a break from Florida’s potentially nasty winter weather. The show opened under sunny skies on Wednesday and AVweb was there with this quick overview of what’s to be seen on the show line. view on YouTube