Light Sport Aircraft

So-called light sport aircraft (LSAs) are gaining in popularity and while much of this increase could be attributed to the current state of the economy and the costs associated with learning how to fly and maintain an aircraft, LSA have always had their admirers – even among non-LSA pilots.

These non-LSA pilots include Steve Tupper who, along with a group of his friends, had the opportunity to test-fly the Remos GX light sport aircraft at Oshkosh and he has written about his experience in entries on both the Let’s Go Flying! and the Airspeed blogs. This was actually his first time to fly a LSA and he sums up his experience by saying:

I enjoyed flying the airplane.  It was responsive, it met all of the book numbers, and struck me as meeting all of the promise of the LSA category.  I need to fly a couple of other LSAs in order to have a real feel for how the Remos GX stacks up, but I’m a confirmed fan of LSAs if the GX is at all indicative.

However and I have to admit (and let me also admit that I have no experience around LSAs) that when I first saw the picture of Steve standing in front of the aircraft (and perhaps this is also due to the camera lenses and the angle of the shot), I wondered how he could comfortably fit into such an aircraft and let alone get off the ground in one! Not that Steve looks to be a particularly large guy but that appears to be one SMALL aircraft – smaller than a Volkswagen bug (Let me also note that I’m 6’4” and I have trouble fitting comfortably into really small cars!). Nevertheless, looks can always be deceiving – especially when performance is considered…

Hence, I would like to ask all other non-LSA pilots out there whether or not you have flown a LSA before and if so, what do you think of their overall performance and how they compare to other aircraft? Would you fly one again and on a more regular basis? And finally, would you recommend learning how to fly a LSA to non-pilots thinking of learning how to fly?

For would be pilots who still want to learn how to fly but may be put off by the cost of obtaining training and then the costs associated with owning or operating an aircraft, so called light sport aircraft (LSA), that is, an aircraft weighting less that 1,320 pounds (600 kilograms), offers an alternative. In fact and as we have noted in the past, obtaining light sport aircraft training and a sport pilot license is cheaper than obtaining a regular pilot’s license.

However, as Andrew points out on the Lets Go Flying! blog, light sport aircraft have an image problem because in his words “its mostly to older pilots who are concerned about losing their medical.” In fact, Andrew comments:

Show up to any LSA event and you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about– those in the cockpits, asking the questions, and working the controls are 70 year old pilots who see an LSA as their only way to keep flying and avoid spending all their money on golf.

Andrew further comments that if the FAA in the USA were to do away with some of the medical certificate requirements for flying other types of aircraft, the light sport aircraft industry would be in serious trouble. However and at the same time, he notes that:

Just as young people don’t want to drive Dad’s Oldsmobile, young would-be pilots won’t want to fly aircraft known for servicing mainly older people.

Andrew may have a valid point here. However, and given the state of the economy, light sport aircraft has remained one of the few bright spots for general aviation even during the lowest depths of the current economic downturn. In fact, some comments to Andrew’s post touch on the increased interest in learning how to fly one being reported by flight schools in the USA and that there are other issues involved that hamper significant growth – particularly when flight schools have more expensive models that they prefer students to use.

Hence, what are your thoughts about so-called light sport aircraft and are they really worth considering as a serious alternative to other types of aircraft?