Light sport dying?

[drseti]

So... realistically, many new LSAs make terrific Light Sport single seaters?

Realistically, yes.

[FastEddieB]

So... realistically, many new LSAs make terrific Light Sport single seaters?

Well, at 855 lbs empty, my “cheat sheet” shows I can carry passengers reasonably well, as long as they’re reasonably svelte.

[jetcat3]

Personally , after doing taildragger endorsement for fun, I am still not a big fan of taildraggers ... to me it is just added complexity with no clear benefit , especially in places like IL - my plane already lands at 35-40 knots so it is already pretty safe to put it down in tight places.

Additionally, I hope that the new Norden is much more ergonomic than their old design because their old model (circa 2008) was just awful in terms of creature comforts.

Compared to my Sting it was :
- cramped and not very ergonomic in terms of basic comforts as well as positioning of controls. I had to constantly switch hands and overall “work hard” to just fly that thing while in my Sting it is more like sitting in a recliner with every control instantly available without any additional effort.
- very mushy handling. Compared to crisp handling in my Sting it was like everything was happening in slow motion.

I realize that I was flying a pretty beat up older trainer but still , I could not point to anything that plane did better than my Sting and flying it felt like a chore rather than a pleasure.
Of course some of it was simply due to me being new to the plane but then again, when I had my first demo flight on a Sting , it was very much new plane to me but I instantly knew that I wanted to fly it going forward compared to the Remos plane I did my initial training in.

I guess what I am trying to say is that flying taildraggers is an acquired taste - quite a few people , like me, just won’t get it and that alone limits the market ...

I know what you mean, but the difference between the Savage Cub you flew and the Norden would shock you I do believe. 30” wide, you can sleep in it, and ergonomics look greatly improved.

But what I’m the most excited about is the much improved handling by way of pushrod ailerons and elevator. It has frise ailerons like many other LSA designs that help alleviate adverse yaw like y’all already know. If you watch the videos you can see the roll rate being impressively fast and those who have flown it are shocked by the improvement in handling. Quick precise feedback, just like you’d get in a Sting, Tecnam, or Bristell. In fact, one of them said it reminds him of the aerobatic aircraft he flies so it’s got to be special. You’re right though, an aircraft like this doesn’t make a whole lot of sense if you’re living in Illinois but it would still be fun low and slow along the fields and you could always take it somewhere to have fun off airport. If this aircraft exhibits handling even remotely close to my personal favorite in the Tecnam P2008 it’ll be a huge winner in my book.

At 00:42 in this video you can see how maneuverable and precise it is. https://youtu.be/AGwBuaXinvg

[3Dreaming]

You’re right though, an aircraft like this doesn’t make a whole lot of sense if you’re living in Illinois but it would still be fun low and slow along the fields and you could always take it somewhere to have fun off airport. If this aircraft exhibits handling even remotely close to my personal favorite in the Tecnam P2008 it’ll be a huge winner in my book.

At 00:42 in this video you can see how maneuverable and precise it is. https://youtu.be/AGwBuaXinvg

In Illinois there is a state law that prohibits landing an airplane any place that is not designated as an airport. Actually Illinois has quite a few aviation specific laws, and some are pretty stupid. A new one out governor just signed into law requires that all public funded airport display a POW/MIA flag.

[drseti]

I like the sentiment (and fly one myself), but to me it seems pretty stupid to make that a law.

[Sling 2 Pilot]

So... realistically, many new LSAs make terrific Light Sport single seaters?

Well, at 855 lbs empty, my “cheat sheet” shows I can carry passengers reasonably well, as long as they’re reasonably svelte.

At the end of the day, it’s nice to know that your Sky Arrow and my SLING, have higher MAUW ratings, but are capped to 1320 by LSA standards. Not, that we would ever consider flying over gross... But, it is comforting to know.

[Atrosa]

Hey Everyone, it has been a bit since I posted. I started my PPL in March and I'm not sure if you heard about this Corona thing but it sent us all home as remote workers. since then I've been a remote employee and a school teacher because of a remote 9 year old. Now that he is back in school the I will start flying again. Only issue is that my previous flight school was 6 miles form the office and is now 1.25 hours from my home. I really like my CFI but I don't think will be able to complete my training knowing I will spend 2.5 hours to and from the airport. Luck for me there are airports everywhere in CT so I will restart in March flying again as my work schedule will slow down then.

Now back to the subject, This forum is awesome! I have gained more knowledge on this site then any other site. I think that is due to the members having the heart of a teacher without the ego of a pilot. Special call out to Paul and Shawn. Even though I'm seeking my PPL I post on this website more than any other. I originally thought I would be relegated to Sport Pilot because of a kidney stone 9 years ago, my AME assured me that it is a non-issue. I really want to fly at night and I love flying through a layer to get on top (IFR of course). Finally, I would like to eventually carry my family which is 2 adults (wife is only 110 pounds so she is practically a kid when it comes to W&B) and my 9 year old.

If the folks change here then I will probably go to SCfliers because they have similar personalities there, even though I will not own an SC anytime soon. People make the difference and the people here are gold.

[Atrosa]

here is a pic of my trainer under the weather. wicked nose gear shimmy. Scrubbed flight that day
I keep wanting to take pic's or video when training but I'm a little busy trying to drink from the fire hose of information.

N5169E.jpg (191.1 KiB) Viewed 3771 times

[drseti]

This forum is awesome! I have gained more knowledge on this site then any other site. I think that is due to the members having the heart of a teacher without the ego of a pilot.

And you, sir, have the heart of a student, without the ego of a student. Stick with it, and please stay with us to share your adventure.

[Atrosa]

Believe me I wanted nothing more than to fly that day. Winds were calm Vis was unlimited, no traffic in the pattern..... Made me think, would I have made the decision to park it if it were mine? I hope so.

WWPD (What Would Paul Do) is always in my head.

[JimParker256]

Believe me I wanted nothing more than to fly that day. Winds were calm Vis was unlimited, no traffic in the pattern..... Made me think, would I have made the decision to park it if it were mine? I hope so.

WWPD (What Would Paul Do) is always in my head.

The other thing that helps me with that type of decision is to think "Would I take my wife and son with me on this flight?" That "imaginary passenger" sometimes helps me to re-evaluate before doing something that might be "borderline" on the risk-assessment side. The more you love the imaginary passenger, the better your decision-making might be.

[ShawnM]

This forum is awesome! I have gained more knowledge on this site then any other site. I think that is due to the members having the heart of a teacher without the ego of a pilot.

I agree and there are some great people on here with a lot of knowledge to help whenever they can, and some are teachers. Good call on parking the plane and being safe. There's always another day to go flying. As they say, it's always better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air than in the air wishing you were on the ground. Stay safe Tony.

As for pictures or video while flying, back when I was training in my SportCruiser my instructor wanted me to record video of all my training flights with him using my GoPro. This way I could go back and review each flight/lesson to see where I could improve. It was really an invaluable resource and helped me make changes in my flying to improve my skills. Reviewing the flight from the comfort of my desk was easier than drinking from that fire hose while trying to fly the plane.

[JimParker256]

I think using the video recording to review your flights could be an incredibly valuable tool. Back when I was an Army helicopter instructor pilot – long before video cameras (my kids say "when the dinosaurs were still roaming the earth") – I used one of those tiny Olympus mini-tape recorders to record every flight. Then we'd replay the tape during the debrief afterward, and review everything that happened during the flight.

Even later on, when the pilots were fully qualified at flying the helicopter, I would use that same setup during every combat training mission. In that simulated combat setting (which we tried to make as realistic as possible, short of having someone shooting back at us), there is so much going on that it is impossible to catch everything, and sometimes (because we weren't the only ones "training" at the time all this was going on) I'd have to just jump in if they missed something. Often they wouldn't understand why until afterward, when they heard the tape during the debrief, and realized they'd missed an entire thread of activity that took place... Sometimes, we'd even use those tapes in our debriefing sessions with the entire unit, because it highlighted some teaching point that was incredibly valuable.

So even though training for your private pilot might be a little bit less chaotic than combat training in the Army, there is still an incredible volume of "new stuff" being thrown at you – especially early on. Being able to review the flight afterward with a cup of coffee in your hand would be extremely beneficial. If your CFI is willing and able to do that with you, it would be even better. But some CFIs may be required to charge for that time, so if that's financially impractical, I'd suggest doing so with your aviation mentor.

And if you don't already have an aviation mentor, you're missing out on a great asset. Find someone with some experience (and with the heart of a teacher) who would be willing to be your mentor. Having someone who's been around for a while and seen a few things can be really helpful when you just need a second opinion, or when you get into a situation unfamiliar to you. Having that person watch some of your videos with you can be really helpful. They may well see things you don't, or be able to provide an explanation for something that you might wonder about, but either forgot to ask or were hesitant to bother your CFI with... I did that for a friend who had been "almost ready" for his PP checkride for a year. He would call me after every flight, with some question or another, or sometimes just to tell me about a particularly great landing. It's nice to have someone "invested" in your success. He's now a Private Pilot, and building an RV-10.