Upon arrival at Oshkosh, Glasair Aviation introduced the newest member of their composite piston aircraft family: the Sportsman TC, which merges the proven Sportsman high utility aircraft with a state-of-the-art turbo-normalized engine and advanced carbon-fiber materials.
Advanced design and engineering changes, combined with the new carbon-fiber fuselage, have resulted in a 40 lb reduction in empty weight and a 150 lb increase in gross weight. This equates to an amazing ~200 lb increase in useful load, which now totals as much as 1200 lbs. (Put into perspective, that's more useful load than a Cirrus 22T or a new Cessna 182, and nearly three times more useful load than a Carbon Cub.)
Performance is also significantly improved. The Sportsman TC's turbo-normalized engine produces sea level manifold pressure all the way to 20,000 ft and offers higher cruise speeds on less fuel consumption than a normally aspirated engine operating at 75% power.
After his first flight in the Sportsman TC, Glasair President, Mikael Via was all smiles, and praised the new airplane's performance and capabilities. "I've always thought that the Sportsman had great performance, but I think I'm going to have to redefine 'great'. Putting it all together - the airframe changes and carbon fuselage, the advanced turbo-normalized engine, and the big carbon-fiber Hartzell prop - the TC is a game changer for us."
The Sportsman TC is also quieter, smoother, and offers many other refinements. Notable enhancements include dual HID wingtip landing lights, LED nav/strobes, parking brake, integrated door locks, and more. The TC is available as a trike, taildragger and/or on amphibious floats.
Commenting on the new TC, Director of R&D Ted Setzer said "It's not very often that we get an opportunity to decrease an aircraft's empty weight, increase its gross weight, or boost its climb and cruise performance. Accomplishing all of this at the same time takes the Sportsman TC to a whole new level. Needless to say, we're very, very excited about the TC."
Just in time for Oshkosh: A roadable Sportsman from Plane Driven!
Pilots who encounter inclement weather that prohibits continuous travel to their destination have desired a vehicle that could overcome this challenge. Over the past year the Plane Driven build team and engineers have worked on developing the unique design of the PD-1.
The PD-1 is designed to perform as an aircraft first and a vehicle second. By incorporating a movable and auxiliary drive pod, the plane maintains its original center of gravity. During the transition, the wings rotate back along the side of the fuselage, the tail hinges and vehicle controls are quickly snapped into place.
We're almost there. Oshkosh/AirVenture is just around the corner.
Events at Oshkosh include the annual, and much anticipated, GSAI Brat Roast. Once again this year hosted by Dan Dudley at his lavish campsite on Knapp Road just south of Oak Lane, it is scheduled for Wednesday, July 28, 2010. Please follow this link for an overall Google map.
Happy hour: 5:30 pm. Fine dining: 6:30 pm.
Those of you who attended last year surely remember the quality of the food, the great company (for support and commiseration, if needed!) and the soaring height of the tall tales told. This is a don't-miss event at Oshkosh!
A new version of the Spidertracks tracker will debut at OSH. It was supposed to be embargoed until the beginning of the show, but the Helicopter Assn website busted the embargo. The lowdown is that this is a new, dash-mount GPS tracker to sell for $995, half of what the previous Spidertracks unit sold for. There will be several data plans, replacing the current $15/month, 10-cents/message fee.
We know you flew to a cool place and you want to tell the world about it.
For an inspiration to builders and a reference to flying members, share your experience in the Events & Destinations Forum. Your story will add to our collective knowledge base about our favorite or not so favorite spots including things to do, potential hazards, fuel, and other tips.
Oh, and this GlaStar with sand in its tire grooves? That's Steve Tillinghast's plane enhancing the already beautiful scenery of Bahia San Luis Gonzaga on the Sea of Cortez in Mexico.
Steve writes: "It is 75nm below San Felipe, a convenient airport to clear customs, and the strip is adjacent to a beautiful bay perfect for snorkeling & fishing. One must be careful to check the tides because much of the strip is below the low tide line during certain times of the year! Pull your plane up to a high spot if you're spending the night. Alfonsina runs a basic small hotel and restaurant right there. Many Americans have built vacation homes all down the beach-a big change from when I first visited in 1974-still beautiful though. A new strip has been built less than a mile away which gives you options for unfavorable wind direction and there's a PEMEX station if you run auto fuel. Very nice spot fall through spring. Hot in the summer!"
The other photo is an awesome swimming hole between Cabo and La Paz with no other people around.
Glasair Aviation and Flabob Airport are hosting the Glasair Fly-In marking the 30th anniversary of the debut of the Glasair design. As with all fly-ins, there will be a lot of fun flying, socializing and hangar talk. There will also be the invaluable information swapping about the various Glasair models and of course the usual “show and tell” offered by proud builders. Rumor has it that the original Glasair I prototype will be in attendance and on display!
Friday evening, there will be a wine and cheese welcome party. Saturday offers fly-out activities, maintenance seminars and Q&A sessions, and concludes with an evening banquet at the facilities of EAA Chapter One, with Tom Hamilton, Ted Setzer and Henri Chorosz scheduled as featured speakers. Departures will be Sunday morning.
Those attending will enjoy a tour of the historic Flabob Airport and a private viewing of Tom Wathen’s Golden Age Replica Racers: the Comet, Meteor, Firecracker and Caudron. Demonstration flights in a Two Weeks To Taxi Sportsman 2+2 will be available on a pre-scheduled basis.
“We are really excited about getting together with multiple generations of Glasair, Glastar and Sportsman builders” said Mikael Via, President of Glasair Aviation. “I’m sure that every Glasair/Glastar owner will have a busy, enjoyable three days at Flabob Airport, which seems like an excellent site to hold this event, given its rich history, the EAA Chapter One facility and range of excellent activity within a short drive of the airport.”
The Federal Communication Commission on June 15 published its Third Report and Order. In it, the agency said that, “After reviewing the comments [prompted by an earlier order], we conclude that we should prohibit the certification, manufacture, importation, sale or continued use of 121.5 MHz ELTs. The USCG and NOAA, as well as other commenters, support a prohibition on any continued certification, manufacture, importation, sale or use of 121.5 MHz ELTs, for the reasons cited in the Second FNPRM. There is no dispute that 406.0-406.1 MHz ELTs are more accurate and reliable than 121.5 MHz ELTs, and minimize false alerts. We believe that if 121.5 MHz ELTs are no longer available, aircraft owners and operators will migrate to 406.0-406.1 MHz ELTs,and the advantages of 406.0-406.1 MHz ELTs will provide safety benefits for search and rescueteams as well as aircraft pilots, crew and passengers, while also preserving search and rescue resources for real emergencies. Were we to permit continued marketing and use of 121.5 MHz ELTS, on the other hand, it would engender the risk that aircraft owners and operators would mistakenly rely on those ELTs for the relay of distress alerts.”
The Aircraft Electronics Association said that, “The AEA was made aware of this issue only today (June 21, 2010), and has begun working with the FAA, FCC and other associations to allow for a timely transition to this new FCC prohibition without grounding thousands of general aviation aircraft. At this time, the AEA recommends members delay selling any new 121.5 MHz ELTs until further understanding of this new prohibition can be understood and a realistic timeline for transition can be established.”
Glasair is offering complimentary Sportsman demo flights as part of the exhibition at this year's Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) Migration. Here's your chance to see the incredible performance from the pilot seat and get re-energized about building your Sportsman.
Demo flights can be scheduled from Thursday June 17th to Saturday June 19th at Wright Brothers Airport (KMGY) in Dayton, Ohio and are available to qualified builders and potential builders as time and scheduling allows. Contact Harry Delong at harry.delong@glasairaviation.com or 360-435-8533 x232 to schedule your flight.
Service Bulletin 69 has been published. This bulletin, outlined in three PDFs, deals with relocation of seat-belt attach points to improve safety. GA considers this SB as MANDATORY.
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Owners, FAA prepare for aircraft registration changes, new fees For years, registering an aircraft in the United States was relatively easy, painless and inexpensive: Fill out a multi-part FAA form, keep the pink copy and send in a check for $5. Presuming no ...
Flying excitement down on The Farm: The ultralights live! The crowded traffic pattern, the sound of buzzing two-cycle engines, the roar of burners blasting as hot-air balloons are inflated; it was controlled chaos down on The Farm, and it was a gas!
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