The spacious Light-Sport Aircraft, Flight Design’s F2, has taken the next step in becoming FAA certified. 

Concurrently with this development, however, has come fear for workers in the company’s Ukrainian facility. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency recently submitted a validation request to the FAA for the F2. The request, which is being processed through the Small Aircraft Standards Branch in Kansas City, Missouri, is the next step in getting the two-seat high wing certified under Part 23. The F2 received approval from the European aviation certification body in December 2021, earning an EASA CS-23 certification similar to the FAA’s Part 23 certification. Recent updates allowed for greater harmony between the two regulations, which should make the process in the United States easier. Since the December certification, the aircraft, currently equipped for day and night VFR, has been undergoing testing for IFR flight in instrument meteorological conditions.

Flight Design USA President Tom Peghiny expects the FAA-certified version of the F2 to be even more popular in the United States than the current Special LSA version, which was approved by the FAA in July 2021. It is being marketed as an affordable option for flight schools interested in new trainers, both the new IFR version and the VFR S-LSA. The past several months have brought new innovation for Flight Design, but also tragedy and concern with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The German-based company has manufacturing facilities in Germany, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine. The latter of which is located in Kherson, in southeastern Ukraine, a city of 300,000 people that has been under Russian occupation since March 2, 2022.

The one silver lining is that the factory is still intact. There are 200 Flight Design employees at the Ukrainian facility, people who Peghiny sees as family and friends. “As of today, all of our people are fine and that's the most important thing. You can make new molds, you can get another building, but you can’t replace your friends and people that you love,” Peghiny said at the Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo. 

The facility has remained operational during the past month of occupation, making spare parts and working on the roughly one-dozen airframes at the plant. In light of the invasion, Flight Design is working to begin F2 production at the facility in Sumperk, Czech Republic. Under normal circumstances, that facility would be home to prototypes and the EASA production organization. The company is offering to move their Ukrainian staff there, as well.

“We’re hoping for the best and preparing for the worst,” Peghiny said.

FMI: www.flightdesign.com