RE: Light-Sport Aircraft Yahoo group LSAs with the Best Safety Record, and the Lowest Insurance Cost?

Maybe, the reason it is standard category rather than SLSA is that it does not meet the ASTM standards of an empty weight of 890 lbs for a 100 HP engine.  See their web site of http://www.amerchampionaircraft.com/NewAircraft/Champ/NewChamp.html

where an empty weight of 925 lbs is listed.

 

Jerry in NC

 

From: Sport_Aircraft@yahoogroups.com [mailto:Sport_Aircraft@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Helen Woods
Sent: Sunday, March 14, 2010 7:17 PM
To: Sport_Aircraft@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: Light-Sport Aircraft Yahoo group LSAs with the Best Safety Record, and the Lowest Insurance Cost?

 

 

True, but their are advantages to doing the engine mod under a under the rules for standard category aircraft.  A number of years back, before anyone had even thought of Light Sport, I had the pleasure of meeting the owner of American Champion, the company that produces the Champ these days.  I had seen a press release that he was planning to put the Champ back in production and asked him about this project.  While yes, the Champ was near and dear to his heart, with light sport having not been thought up yet, he realized their wouldn't be much demand in such a plane.  However, his reasoning, while there were not a lot of people looking for a new Champ, there were a lot of people with old Champs and Chiefs, both of which shared the same type certificate.  His dream was to recertify the Champ with a new engine so he could support the owners of original Champs and Chief who could no longer get parts to overhaul their 65hp Continentals.  By adding the new engine to this original type certificate, owners of original planes could find a modern replacement engine.

Interestingly enough, the leading contender he had in mind at the time for this project was the Jabiru.  He was having a hard time finding a satisfactory propeller for it though.  He had ruled out Rotax for the fact that at the time Rotax engine mounts cost so much and he wanted the engine swap out to be affordable. 

I lost track of the project after that, and I think it went on the back burner for a while, but obviously he picked the O200 and pushed the project forward when the LSA rules came out.  You'll notice though that the new Champ has a standard airworthiness certificate and that's why.

Helen

On 3/14/2010 6:19 PM, Rick Pitcher wrote:

Seems like somebody did this with an old Thorp design. Sky Scooter or something.

They used the old Type Certifcate and modified it with a lightweight 120 horse Jabiru 3300  6 cylinder.

 

With the new cost of getting an STC, it might be cheaper to cerify a new design under SLSA rules.

 

Rick

 

 

 

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Helen Woods

To: Sport_Aircraft@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Sunday, March 14, 2010 4:55 AM

Subject: Re: Light-Sport Aircraft Yahoo group LSAs with the Best Safety Record, and the Lowest Insurance Cost?

 

 

Don, as an Ercoupe guy, perhaps you can answer my long standing
question. Who owns the type certificate for Ercoupe these days and why
haven't they put it back into production? 5 years ago I would have laid
bets that that would have been the very first LSA to go into
production. Great safety record, easy trainer, wicked crosswind
capability, and the insurance companies know how to insure it. Yes,
there's W&B issue but I suepct that you could hang a Rotax on it to take
care of the weight and shift a few items around to take care of the
balance issues caused by the lighter Rotax and then have a great, safe,
and easily insurable plane. Any ideas?

Helen

On 3/13/2010 8:52 PM, Donald wrote:
>
> I chose an Ercoupe. Flying for over 70 years now and still going strong! Spinproof and stallproof, can land in a crosswind that makes others cringe. My insurance reflects that and is quite reasonable - especially for an old geezer with zero previous time in a coupe.
>
> --- In Sport_Aircraft@yahoogroups.com, Helen Woods<Helen_Woods@...> wrote:
>
>> The LSA industry is so new that you are probably going to find that
>> insurance rates are based more on hull value that safety records. You
>> will of course pay a premium for anything tailwheel, seaplane, or
>> experimental as with any plane.
>>
>> I can't speak for other brands but Tecnam has only ever had one fatal
>> accident in the USA, that was caused by a mechanic leaving a flashlight
>> in the tailcone that got snagged in the control linkages. Tecnams are
>> built with a steel roll cage that makes nearly any accident survivable.
>> Also, their P92 series is about the closest thing to spin proof that you
>> can get without being an Ercoupe.
>>
>> Helen
>>
>> On 3/13/2010 5:46 PM, swferris@... wrote:
>>
>>> To all:
>>>
>>> Which LSAs have the best safety record, and the lowest insurance cost?
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> Steve
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ------------------------------------
>>>
>>> Yahoo! Groups Links
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>

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