Brazil’s Take on The LSA

Based on DeLand, Florida’s DeLand Municipal Airport (DED), Aero Affinity Holding Corporation maintains the rights to represent, sell, and service international aircraft brands in the United States. Additionally, the company reportedly provides flight-training, aircraft maintenance and support, and aviation consultancy services -- though, be advised, we've had a very difficult time communicating with this company to get more info.

Among the aircraft represented by Aero Affinity is the Montaer MC-01, a Brazilian Light-Sport Aircraft (LSA) based on the popular Paradise aircraft family of high-wing, all-metal airplanes.

Developed in 2013 by prominent Brazilian aeronautical designer Bruno de Oliveira, the Montaer MC-01 is a striking and stylish aircraft evocative of a 21st Century reimagining of Cessna’s sleek 177 Cardinal. Notwithstanding differences the likes of its braced, semi-cantilever wing and ample stabilator, the MC-01 evokes the selfsame visceral sense of moving while standing still for which the Cardinal was renowned.

The MC-01’s four-place cabin is accessible via a trio of lightweight but sturdy composite doors—two large, forward-opening front doors and a third, smaller door just aft of the aesthetically-pleasing confluence of the aircraft’s starboard wing-brace and solid-aluminum main landing-gear strut. The roominess and comfort of the MC-01’s cabin are surpassed only by the durability of the machine’s welded, 4130 molybdenum-steel-tube passenger safety-cell and solid-metal rivet construction. The fabrication of such an airframe is more time-consuming than the pulled-rivet architecture typical of most Part 23-certified metal aircraft.

The MC-01’s propulsion scheme comprises a turbocharged and intercooled iteration of Rotax’s potent, 141-horsepower 915iS engine turning a ground-pitch-adjustable three-blade (or optional four-blade) propeller. Even higher-output mills—such as Continental’s 150 to 205-horsepower Titan powerplants—can be wedged into the MC-01’s engine bay.

Diverging from Light Sport convention, the MC-01 forgoes center or side-stick controls in favor of the dual-yoke configuration familiar to and favored by pilots trained in legacy general aviation aircraft. The MC-01’s familiarity is further enhanced by its steerable nose-wheel, dual toe-brakes, electric flaps, and center-mounted throttle and choke controls.

The MC-01’s 1,320-pound maximum gross takeoff weight includes the aircraft’s eight-hundred-pound empty weight and 520-pound useful load. It must be borne in mind, however, that useful load—within the aerospace context—includes the MC-01’s 37-gallons (223-pounds) of usable fuel. Fully gassed, the aircraft manages a range of 780-nautical-miles.

At 117-knots and 104-knots respectively, the MC-01’s Vne and cruise speeds are unremarkable. The airplane’s stall performance, however, impresses. In a clean configuration, the MC-01 stalls at a docile 45-knots; while in its Vso configuration, the machine stalls at a glacial 39-knots.

Fully-loaded with a G3X ten-inch touch screen, G3X autopilot, and G-5 primary flight display back-up, the MC-01 is priced at $250,000. Equipped more modestly, the aircraft—capable and stylish, still—can be had for as little as $180.000.

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