Wm.Ince wrote:
I don't think it will make a bit of difference with my CTSW. It has good performance and capability (payload/range) as is.
Totally agree.
In all my years of flying , from Cherokees to transports, there are few airplanes that offer what most LSAs do for MY mission....retired pilot, fun flying, cost effective, great performance, ease of ownership, room for two but mostly solo, full auto gas fuel giving 3.5 hour range at almost 120kts, high tech glass cockpit, almost no oil consumption, $375 annual, still some room for baggage with full fuel and two folks, all for $14 hr in gas.
I chose the RV-12 SLSA and all of the above applies. I’d bet CTSW and similar LSAs achieve the same or similar.
If I trade up to the new RV-12iS SLSA, not available yet, it offers some improvements but with a probable $35k increase over what I paid for my RV-12 bought new. When/if manufacturers start to design/produce higher weight “light sport” airplanes I’m sure the price will be north of $250k, exactly the opposite of what folks said they wanted before the advent of light sport flying, where simplicity and economy were the watchwords. It isn’t tempting me.
Sure, a revised rule would eliminate owners “forced” to fly overweight in order to gain utility, but it would have to spell out how each model or even each individual airplane may need to be recertifide to fly at the new weight, with new operating speeds and limits. Who foots the bill for this? How long does it take? Will Vashon, for example, pay more $$$ in order to offer its Ranger at 1600-1700lbs?
It would be great to include airplanes such as Cessna 150s as part of light sport. That said, I can’t see anything that would change my current status flying light sport in my RV-12.
Unless I won the lottery!