Sport Flying With In Flight USA - March 2010
Where the Rubber Meets the Runway
By Ed Downs
This column has been addressing the Sport Pilot rule and Special Light Sport Aircraft (S-LSA) primarily from the perspective of general education. In others word, what this Sport Pilot movement is all about and how you, the reader, can apply Sport Pilot to your flying. The frustrating part of both writing and reading such accounts of these exciting, new, flying opportunities is that it lacks the “let’s go flying” side of the story. To be sure, S-LSA’s are being seen more often, but in general, one can wander around most airports and not see this new breed of airplane.
While several of the better known, S-LSA import manufacturers proudly proclaim delivery numbers in the hundreds, only a few of these planes are appearing at FBO’s. But, this lack of visibility is beginning to abate. This writer recently met with Erin Hay, Aircraft Sales Manager for West Coast Sport Aircraft Inc, located at Watsonville Airport. Nestled just to the west of the Santa Clara Mountains on California’s Santa Cruz coast line, West Coast Sport Aircraft has teamed up with full service FBO, Ocean Air Flight Services, Inc. These folks now sell and distribute the Tecnam (a well established Italian aerospace company) line of aircraft to dealers and customers throughout all three west coast states.. Notice, Tecnam is not referred to as only an S-LSA manufacturer. In addition to four S-LSA airplanes now being sold in the U.S., Tecnam is currently touring the country with their new Rotax 912 powered light twin, the P 2006T. You have to see this one, but let’s stick to the S-LSA side of the house.
Ocean Air Flight Services is beginning to look like what a lot of FBO’s will look like in the future. The Tecnam Eaglet (a high wing S-LSA) and Tecnam Sierra (a low wing S-LSA) are now on the line and available for both sale and rental. With rental rates in the range of $98 and $115 per hour, the average flying enthusiast can simply walk in, get a check out and rent a spiffy little airplane that will significantly out-perform the ubiquitous Cessna 152, 172 and Piper Cherokee offerings.
This writer flew the Sierra, well equipped with an AF 4500 flight display, digital com and interphone set up, optional auto pilot and analog engine instruments. A full up EFIS and digital engine monitoring system is available in the Tecnam Sierra, the Eaglet and the P2008. The “little fighter” appearance of the Sierra does not go away as one accelerates down the runway. With a take off roll of around five seconds, and climb rate in excess of 1000 fpm, this Italian offering sports handling qualities usually reserved for a famous red Italian sports car. Okay, this column is not supposed to be about pilot reports, but it is nice to see high quality, fun, S-LSA type airplanes showing up in the real world of FBO’s. And, according to Erin Hay, we are going to see more, “Tecnam is gearing up their U.S. distribution efforts and service support networks, and given Tecnam’s long history of building fine aircraft, Tecnam aircraft are definitely here to stay. Our goal at West Coast Sport Aircraft is to get Tecnam aircraft into the hands of both private owners and FBO’s. We know there need to be more S-LSA’s available for rental, and lease back opportunities abound.”
Back in the mid to late 1950’s (yes, I was there, not Erin) flight training and recreational flying had just about dropped off the charts. Then Cessna took the bold risk of introducing what was, at that time, an exciting, new, two place airplane called the Cessna 150. The rest is history. S-LSA airplanes have the ability to accomplish the same kind of turn-around we saw in the late 50’s. And, like the 50’s, companies like Tecnam, Cessna and Piper have larger airplanes for folks to move into if the mood strikes. Finally, we are beginning to see the “rubber meet the runway,” as S-LSA’s begin to show up at your local airport.
