A "new" Super Hornet, a Rotax 912 powered SportPlane that will be sold in kit form or as a ready-to-fly Experimental Light Sport Aircraft (E-LSA), has been introduced.

According to Higher Class Aviation's President, Robert Gaither, "We are a new company in the sense that our team purchased the established U.S. Light Aircraft Corporation in September of last year. U.S. Light Aircraft had designed and kitted what I felt was the highest class (hence the name of the new company) ultralight trainer in the industry, in the way of the Rotax 503/582 powered Hornet. The Hornet was originally designed in 1992, and, up to now, only 52 of these remarkable airplanes have been made available for public purchase. Even with that small number, the Hornet has won 15 major airshow awards for design and quality, plus numerous "best of show" trophies. I thought it was time to let the Hornet out of the box."

The Sport Pilot Rule is now spooling up with numerous entrants vying for what is sure to be an exciting market. The Hornet qualifies as an FAR 103 training ultralight, but can be certified as a ready-to-fly-airplane under the new E-LSA provisions of the Sport Pilot Rule. Gaither continues, "We have developed a new, much upgraded version of the original two-place Hornet ultra light trainer, powered by the 4 stroke Rotax 912. This new airplane, the Super Hornet, qualifies as an E-LSA that can be flown by a Sport Pilot. It has a sophistication of features, engineering, and performance that rivals airplanes costing twice as much.

The Super Hornet has a great payload and will cruise at over 90 mph on only 3.5 gph. Best of all, you can order it as a ready-to-fly plane for less than the cost of many kits. We are now finalizing our pricing and options structure, but a Super Hornet can be picked up at the factory and flown home for under $50,000 with full financing available. The Super Hornet is incredibly rugged and ideal for training. There are a lot of folks who may never have considered owning an airplane who will find themselves taking a closer look at ownership."

In addition to design refinements, the new Super Hornet is being manufactured in a new facility, specifically designed to ensure quality production and economical manufacturing. This recent relocation to picturesque Ramona Airport in southern California (close to San Diego) will allow Hornet customers to both test fly and take flight training within minutes of their airplane's birthplace.

FMI: www.flyhornet.com